Experiences of the teachin-service integration produced by the education by work for health program (PET-Health networks)

Abstract

This paper reports the experiences of the teaching-service integration developed by the participants of the Education by Work for Health Program (PET-Health Networks) at Victoria-ES, Brazil. The effectiveness of activities to increase the education of health professionals working at the Brazilian Health System (SUS) has been discussed. Changes resulting from the program implementation are described and the openness to multiprofessional experiences are reported with particular emphasis on the success of Genogram and Ecomap in bringing students closer to the territory and users. Moreover, we discuss challenges and weaknesses, such as the difficulty in including PET activities in the healthcare unit’s routine as well as the need for a different pedagogical perspective toward professional education to ensure that students are more articulate with the healthcare services’ network and to reach out to all students prior to graduation.