This study analyzes the perceptions of participants in a graduate course on triggering processes of change during the training of health professionals. This was a qualitative study of course alumni residing in the State of Paraná, Braz il. Data were collected from February to April 2007. The secondary data included course monographs, and the primary data were from semi-structured interviews with the authors of monographs, considered as action plans. Twenty-one monographs were considered action plans, and the authors, all females, were interviewed. The course helped identify the discomfort experienced in relation to the participants' reality, provided tools for change, and fostered the actual use of these tools. However, upon conclusion, the course did not succeed in maintaining a link between these new actors and the pro-change movement.
Health education; Health manpower; Health policy; Permanent education in health
