The aim of this study was to identify expectations, prejudices, and feelings among medical students in relation to their experience in medical school at the State University in Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. The study analyzed written interviews of 73 students who were currently taking the course in public health during the fourth year of undergraduate training, and who answered two open questions on the first day of classes. The idea was to examine the students'thoughts about medical training and the medical profession before they started the fourth year. Five categories emerged from the initial reading of the answers: friendship and camaraderie as foundations during the course; medical teaching; the medical school and development of the course; physicians and the profession; and self-impressions. The results indicate that idealization of successful entry into medical school had already waned; by the fourth year, students had a better grasp of the course; they were still committed to and concerned with their training; and they were ready to enter internship with expectations of a conciliatory learning process. Although they were more mature and satisfied with their choice, the study identified students who had still failed to find strategies to deal with the adversities of medical school.
Medical Education; Medical Students; Perception