Perceptions of faculty members and students about undergraduate training in primary health care

Background: It is unknown if medical education is preparing physicians to successfully work at primary health care settings. Aim: To explore what are the perceptions of faculty members and students about the type of physician needed and if medical education is coherent the practice of primary health care. Material and Methods: Fifteen semi-structured interviews to key informants from faculty members and ten focus groups with students were carried out. Results: Important influences of role modelling and hidden curriculum were found, especially in relation to the type of physician needed, generalist or specialist, and in relation to the places where the clinical practices were done. Although primary health care was declared in the profiles, most of clinical practices were done at hospitals and supervised by specialists. Working at primary health care is seen as a temporary work, not valued by professionals nor by the society. Conclusions: Medical Schools are not preparing professionals for primary health care but for hospital care and specialized medicine.