Access and retention policies for indigenous people in Brazilian federal medical schools: mapping and experiences

Higher education in Brazil is known by being restricted to a privileged group, excluding the indigenous people. In the two last decades, affirmative action policies were developed to allow members of indigenous peoples access to Medical courses. In order to scan the students’ experience at Federal Universities, the study developed a quantitative and qualitative exploratory research. A group of 192 indigenous students were identified in 43 medical schools during 2019. Fourteen schools were visited, and 24 indigenous medical students held narrative interviews. The thematic subject analyses, showed two categories: Access to medical school; Policies of retention in the institutions. The students’ experiences at the campuses may contribute to their permanence in the courses, overcoming the invisibility and providing opportunities to reach the indigenous people expectations regarding the medical career.

Keywords Affirmative actions; Indigenous population; Education in medical courses; Higher education institutions; Higher education policy