ABSTRACT
The Education Through Work Program (Programa de Educação pelo Trabalho — PET), developed at UFCSPA, and supported by the Rede Cegonha public policy proposal, developed several activities aimed at qualifying the maternal and child health care network in the northern area of the city of Porto Alegre (RS). The PET-Saúde /Rede Cegonha Project helped the integration and coordination of different levels of complexity in the health care of women, children and families, as well as qualifying and training academics and health care professionals. This study aimed to evaluate the participation in PET activities by students from different undergraduate health care courses (Biomedicine, Psychology, Nutrition, Physiotherapy, Medicine, Nursing), investigating their experiences and the contribution of these experiences to their professional qualification. Twelve students, who participated in the PET Rede Cegonha UFCSPA Project for 12 months, were interviewed, through open and semi-open questions presented via email. Data were analyzed through a qualitative content analysis. The accounts given by the scholarship holders showed increased knowledge about the health system as a whole, especially basic health care, as well as the possibilities of professional work experience. It also highlighted the importance of experiences in practical work settings and of the interdisciplinary character of health care, as well as active learning and the recognition of a new, group-focused model of action, and educational and contextualized interventions in the scope of maternal and child health promotion. These findings indicate the relevance of undergraduate health students being inserted into PET and the achievement of the initiative's goals, bearing in mind the increased knowledge regarding public health and the early targeting of professional interests for this context. Participation in PET proved to be an important multiplier and motivating aspect of integrated and interdisciplinary practices in the field of health care.
KEYWORDS
Health Education; Health Human Resource Training; Maternal and Child Health; Health Care