Possibilities and challenges for interdisciplinary education in a specialization course in collective health

Abstract

Historically, the training of health professionals has been based on a positivist and biomedical model, fragmented into areas and themes. Although many efforts aim to align this training with the complexity and diversity of population health needs and with the principles of the SUS, this gap persists. This article presents the experience of the multiprofessional lato sensu postgraduate course in collective health. The general aim of the specialization course in collective health at the Instituto de Saúde is to prepare students for multidisciplinary practice in the dimensions of public policies and health care within the SUS. The course highlights the opportunity for students to complete the practical module within a municipal health system, working alongside managers and health workers and responding to local needs. Graduates have great potential to become SUS workers or managers who act with a critical interdisciplinary perspective on public health policies and with a transformative professional practice, using scientific evidence to solve problems and propose innovations in health care and health system management.