Since the creation of the Unified Health System (SUS) and the implementation of the Family Health Program (PSF), a requirement has emerged for new public health professionals to develop, since their undergraduate courses, the capacity to have a holistic understanding of the patient and a critical vision of the community and performance in the PSF. Thus, in 2005 the Federal University of Alagoas medical course introduced some curricular reforms to provide students broader experience in Primary Health Care settings. This article describes, through qualitative analysis of log-books, the experiences of 22 first year students during their practical classes in a community covered by the PSF. 86% of the students observed some degree of difficulty faced by the Health Unit; 95% stressed the correspondence between practical classes and the learning process; and 59% indicated the importance of the doctor-patient relationship. Thus, the medical student's initial contact with primary health care services should be experienced in an active and critical manner, with encouragement to investigate aspects previously unknown to him or her .
Primary Health Care; Medical Students; Interdisciplinary Studies; Public Health
