The Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) School of Medicine is one of the oldest and largest universities in Brazil. Founded in 1911, shortly after the creation of the capital city of Belo Horizonte, it produces 320 doctors every year, the biggest number of graduates per year in Brazil, and another 50 speech-language therapists.
History
On March 5, 1911, the Medical-Surgical Society of Minas Gerais created the School of Medicine in the city of Belo Horizonte, the fourth school of medicine to be founded in Brazil. It was housed in a stately house in the center of what is now the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. In 1927, the institution integrated the University of Minas Gerais, which was made federal in 1949 with three other tertiary schools that existed in Belo Horizonte: the School of Law, the School of Engineering and the Free School of Dentistry, which included the course on Pharmacy.
The class of 1960 was the inaugural class. The opening lecture was given by President Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, alumnus, benefactor, and honorary professor. In the 1960s, Medical Residency was made available for graduate students in various specialties. Graduate courses were implemented in 1968, with the creation of the Ph.D. in Ophthalmology.
In the last few years, the School of Medicine has also witnessed a considerable increase in faculty tenures and titles, leading to the expansion of numerous research projects and publications, always linked to theoretical and practical instruction for students.
The development of the School of Medicine has been constant. The first class to graduate in 1917 consisted of 17 students of medicine. In 1933, there were 70 graduates. In 1965, the number of ingresses was fixed at 160. In 1969, under pressure from a greater number of professionals in the market, the number doubled to 320, divided into two biannual ingresses. In 2007, the year of the graduation of the 123rd class, a total of 14,740 doctors graduated from this school.
On July 1, 1999, the undergraduate course in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology was created. The first class entered the university in 2000. Starting in 2010, with the creation of courses on Gerontologic Care and on Radiology and Image Diagnostics Technology, the School graduates professionals capable in the care of the elderly and image technicians, answering an increasing social demand in these areas.
The teaching reform in the School of Medicine in the 1970s revealed the necessity of a greater knowledge of the evolution of healthcare through the ages, and led to the creation of the Center for Memory of the School of Medicine – Cememor, open to visits by the public by appointment.
Undergraduate Course
Medicine
The main aim of the undergraduate course on Medicine in UFMG is the instruction of general physicians that are competent in the areas of Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Public Health, and Mental Health. Knowledgeable about these skills and attitudes, the graduate will be a medical doctor able to give quality assistance, acting for the promotion of health, disease prevention, and in the recuperation and rehabilitation of the sick.
The course is divided into four cycles: Basic, from the first to the fourth semester; Propedeutic, composed by the fifth and sixth semesters; Out-patient Ambulatoria, from the seventh to the ninth; and Internships, composed by the last three semesters.
The courses on the Basic Cycle are offered in the Biological Sciences Institute, on the campus situated in Pampulha. From the fifth to the ninth semesters, the courses on clinics are developed with direct contact between students and patients, in groups of ten students supervised by one faculty member. From the tenth onwards, the students take part in the urgent and emergency services, as well as in hospital inpatient care, always under faculty supervision.
The sites for the practical studies varies: laboratories for basic science; clinical analysis; and education technology simulations; outpatient clinics in municipal health centers – in Belo Horizonte and in other towns in the state –, in the university hospitals Hospital das Clínicas (HC) and the Hospital Universitário Risoleta Tolentino Neves; in inpatient units and emergency services in the HC and in the numerous associated hospitals, such as the emergency center Hospital de Pronto Socorro João XXIII.