Presentation
The Graduate Program in Medicine and Health (PPgMS) is part of the School of Medicine of Bahia, the first medical school of Brazil, established in 1808. PPgMS was the first graduate program in medicine in Bahia, founded on December 2, 1971.
Professor Armênio Costa Guimarães was the Program's first coordinator, who along with professors Zilton Andrade, Gilberto Rebouças, and Eliane Azevêdo created the project to implement the Program. Despite the Program's initial design to exclusively train Master’s in Medicine, in 1992, the Ph.D. Program was created, contributing to the development of teaching and research in the country by training qualified researchers.
This Program counted on following professor coordinators: Armênio Guimarães, Eliane Azevedo, Gerson Siqueira Pinto, Álvaro Rubim de Pinho, Lúcia Soares Azevedo, Luiz Guilherme Lyra, Edgar Marcelino de Carvalho Filho, Reinaldo Martinelli, Carlos Alfredo Marcílio de Souza, Leila Maria Araújo, José Tavares Neto, Irismar Reis de Oliveira, Álvaro Augusto Cruz, Raymundo Paraná, Luiz Carlos Santana Passos, Antônio Alberto da Silva Lopes, Ailton de Souza Melo, Helma Pinchemel Cotrim e Carlos Brites.
In 1997, the PPgMS underwent a broad curriculum reform, its area of concentration changed from Medicine to Clinical Medicine. In 2006, significant changes redefined the format of graduate studies and areas of concentration, culminating in the Program rebrand as Medicine and Health (PPgMS), expanding the access for health professionals and those from similar fields.
In 2002, under the management of Professor Raymundo Paraná (coordinator) and Professor Tavares Neto, the Program promoted an Interinstitutional Master's (MINTER) in Rio Branco, Acre. This step was fundamental for the human assets of the Medical Undergraduate Course at the Federal University of Acre, graduating 42 masters. In 2010, the Program promoted an Interinstitutional Ph.D. (DINTER) in Campina Grande, Paraíba, in partnership with the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), graduating 20 doctors.
PPgMS has been training qualified professors and researchers for almost 50 years, contributing to the improvement of research and education in the country. The Program presents a growing participation of professionals from different health areas, advancing in its mission to graduate masters and doctors, as well as boosting interest in teaching and research among undergraduate students. By 2020, there have been 840 students registered in the Master's program and 360 students registered in the Ph.D. program since the 1970s.
The curriculum at PPgMS is composed of courses that encourage graduate students to develop a critical judgment to assess scientific papers, use proper methodology in projects, and consistent analysis of results, all to qualify them to publish their studies in journals of scientific excellence. The courses use methodologies that favor learning, developing, and improvement of Master's and Ph.D. students as future professors, enabling integration between graduate and undergraduate students. The Program’s course design has increasingly included the English language.
Several PPgMS alumni have become professors in various health fields: medicine, nursing, nutrition, physiotherapy, and others. The vast majority of our alumni's scientific work has gained national and international recognition for their significant contributions to understand and solve health problems. The frequency with which the Program's professors act as visiting professors and researchers in universities abroad and the frequency with which the Program receives visiting professors from foreign universities can indicate PPgMS's recognition and insertion in the international scenario.
Source: Eliane Elisa de Souza e Azevedo. Bicentenário da Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia Terreiro de Jesus: Memória Histórica 1996-2007. Editora da Academia de Medicina de Feira de Santana. Feira de Santana, Bahia.
