Family and Community Medicine, Primary Care and Undergraduate Medical Education: recommendations and potentialities

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to show the importance and potentialities of Family and Community Medicine (FCM) and consequently of Primary care in undergraduate medical education, particularly in a moment when the Brazilian medical courses are undergoing a reform in the light of the national course curriculum guidelines. The article highlights the principal theoretical and practical content related to Family and Community Medicine recommended for the undergraduate course and the forms of institutional organization most appropriate for its development and implementation. Finally, it refers to the most relevant results of the I and II Brazilian Exhibits on Family and Community Medicine and Undergraduate Medical Education, held in September 2005 and 2006, and of the Workshop .Challenges in Learning/ Teaching of Primary Care and Family and Community Medicine in the Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Education. held during the Congress of the Brazilian Association of Medical Education in 2007. This article aims to contribute to the consolidation of this field of knowledge and practice in medical education as happens in most medial schools worldwide, mainly where medical education and health systems underwent competent reforms for meeting the health needs of the population.