The modern physician must intensify his human attributes, adapt to varied contexts, and keep continued education. The formation of doctors usually does not take place in the context of real clinical practice but in the hospital, with emphasis on disease. The National Curricular Guidelines for Medical Graduation Courses call for an articulation between the university and the health system and foster the development of personal skills in continued education. Thus, the settings for the medical practice should be the outpatient units of the health services, and the learning process should be focused on the health needs of the community. Nowadays there is a strengthening of clinical academic medicine, which combines health care with research, education, and administration. The student must assimilate the modern view of a doctor-patient relationship with respect to shared decision- making, a task that requires developing communication skills. Teaching institutions and health care services as well as the media play a key role in this process. The introduction of the student to the scenery of clinical practice must be integral part of all disciplines of the curriculum, allowing the student to turn his attention to the health needs of the community. For establishing an innovative medical curriculum, educators need to understand the weariness of the traditional education model based on disease and transmission of knowledge, which turns the student away from the practical view of medicine. The modern pedagogical approach emphasizes formative aspects. Its chief domains are: patient behavior, physician's attitude and role, doctor-patient interactions and sociocultural factors related to health care.
Education Medical; Education Continued; Professional Practice; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Clinical Competence