Undergraduate degree in medicine and dentistry: analysis of professors’ perceptions of their roles.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the perceptions of faculty members in Medicine and Dentistry regarding their role in graduate education, with a focus on identifying their pedagogical conceptions, their concern for student autonomy, and the presence of alterity in their teaching practices. This was a cross-sectional, exploratory, qualitative study, conducted through content analysis of non-structured interviews. A purposive sample defined by saturation included 12 participants. Most were male, with a mean age of 42 years, an average of 18 years since graduation, and 10 years of teaching experience. Ten held a master’s or doctoral degree, and seven occupied academic management positions. The results revealed a lack of definition regarding predominant pedagogical conceptions, reflecting the influence of the professors’ own trajectories as learners. Although there was evidence of concern with student autonomy, this rarely translated into practices that guide students as active constructors of their own knowledge. The perception of alterity was even more limited, restricted to acknowledging either the student or the patient, without fully integrating the dialogical dimension of the teaching-learning process. It is concluded that, to achieve the graduate profile proposed by the Brazilian National Curricular Guidelines, it is necessary to invest in faculty training and professionalization, with an emphasis on processes of awareness and the development of specific pedagogical competencies. Only through this effort will it be possible to consolidate dialogical and emancipatory practices aligned with the formation of critical, ethical, and socially engaged professionals.