Training and pedagogical involvement among higher education professors in health: an analysis of medical schools

Abstract

Recently, Brazilian higher education has undergone significant expansion. The combination of public policies and socioeconomic development provided a substantial increase in the number of institutions, vacancies, regions served by medical courses and, consequently, in the number of professors. Although mostly post-graduates, these teachers have technical training in the specific area of ​​Health without, in general, developing pedagogical skills. Given the importance of Medicine in Brazilian health care, the training of students is a fundamental topic of study and of constant improvement. Evaluating Professors training, one of the main actors involved in this process, is therefore essential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of pedagogical involvement of undergraduate medical professors in the city of Salvador, Bahia. One hundred and eighty registered and active professors in undergraduate medical courses in higher education institutions in the city received virtual access to a structured questionnaire with questions regarding training and professional performance in higher education, in addition to socio-demographic issues. Medical professors, although they mostly report knowing the National Curricular Guidelines of the course, in general they do not have teaching activity as their main job. In addition, a considerable portion has never done any kind of pedagogical training and bases their teaching performance solely on practical experience in their field of activity. The present study demonstrates that there is much to be developed within the scope of teacher development in medical education and proposes greater investment in the didactic-pedagogical training of these professionals.