In 2004 the Brazilian Ministry of Health instituted the National Policy of Permanent Education as a strategy for training and developing SUS' employees. This policy states that the educational process offered to these professionals should be decentralized, ascendant and transdisciplinary. Relying on principles of meaningful learning, this policy proposed that the transformation of professional practices should be based upon critical thinking of the work process developed by the teams at the health system's units, and suggested that the states adopt Circles of Permanent Education. Taking these suggestions as a reference, the Municipal Secretary of Health of Vitória, capital city of the state of Espírito Santo, adopted this tool in its humanization and educational policy, implanting the "Circles of Permanent Education" in Primary Health Care in 2005. The guiding principles of these circles regarded three aspects of health services, namely training, management and care, and were based in white papers (National Policy of Permanent Education; the Circle Method; National Policy of Humanization). This paper presents the first evaluation of this tool, conducted by the Municipal Secretary and supported by consultants of the Ministry of Health in 2006. Results indicated that the 'Circles' represent an important collective space for discussion at the health units of Vitória's municipal network of Primary Care, and are potentially helpful in promoting participative management, the appropriation of public health policies by the workers, and in humanizing work relations.
Education; Health Personnel; Health Primary Care
