Abstract
The process of training in health faces a challenge of transformation and is being guided to meet the needs of the National Health System. This article analyzes how undergraduate courses in pharmacy have addressed the national curriculum guidelines, with a focus on training directed to pharmaceutical assistance, as well as on faculty and student participation in practices aiming to bring together teaching and the reality of working in the National Health System. A documentary analysis was made of the curricula and political-pedagogical projects of Pharmacy courses at public and private higher education institutions in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews with students and professors of courses in Santa Catarina were also conducted. The National Curriculum Guidelines have been adopted at different times since 2002, and the theoretical bases, as evidenced by the offer of subjects, also showed quite substantial differences among the courses. Internships were the most common strategy to draw teaching and service closer together; in courses with the Program of Education through Work in Health, it was noted there was a better understanding of the NHS among students. The study points to the need to critically rethink the National Curriculum Guidelines and how they have been implemented by the Pharmacy courses.
Keywords
National curriculum guidelines; pharmaceutical education; pharmaceutical care; Unified Health System