The Professional Master's Degree in Teaching in Health of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (MPEENSA/UFRN) was approved and ratified by UFRN’s Teaching, Research and Outreach Council (CONSEPE) according to Resolution No. 075/2010, of May 4th, 2010 and ratified by the National Education Council/CNE, according to the Ministry of Education (MEC)’s ordinance nr. 601, of July 9th, 2013, section 1, page 19. At UFRN, it resulted in the creation of the Graduate Program in Teaching in Health, where it is anchored, and its first group started in 2013 and has already completed the program.

Its pedagogical concept is critical-reflexive, based on active teaching-learning methodologies and adopts a curriculum with social construction, which encompasses, in addition to contents, the teaching-learning process and evaluation, based on explicit intention of the profile of skills of the students from the health careers. Given that the curriculum is a dynamic process, in permanent construction, this requires, for its implementation and adequate development, the active participation of all stakeholders in the follow-up and constant improvement of the proposal. In the MPEENSA-UFRN case, the curriculum has the challenge of advancing the deconstruction of health-disease-care concepts rooted in the biomedical model and in a restricted perspective of professional identity. The curricular design will be based on the reference of skills-based education, understanding skills as the ability to articulate, mobilize and put into practice values, knowledge and skills necessary to the adequate performance of activities required by the nature of the work. Among the didactic-pedagogical strategies, the curriculum prioritizes the development of active teaching-learning methods, such as teaching in small groups, problem-solving and the use of innovative methods of skill-based evaluation.

In this sense, it is intended that the MPEENSA-UFRN format itself function as an important training resource for the participants. Taking into account the need to train/educate students for the qualified and innovative teaching in Health, the proposal includes a list of subjects / modules geared towards achieving this goal, enabling the students flexibility in choosing the courses/subjects, according to the specifics of their area of interest.

Thus, the purpose of the Professional Master's Degree in the Teaching in Health is to train/educate a master’s degree student with skills for teaching/preceptorship (the health-school systems and the logic of lifelong education pose the challenge of monitoring curricular internships, residencies, specializations), who can produce knowledge and remain active in the services. It is a priority to strengthen the scientific training/education of these health professionals, encouraging the use of the scientific method and evidence in decision making in the management of the work process and care.
The nature of the end-of-program projects of the Professional Master's Degrees in the area of Teaching is different from that of the Academic Masters, because it involves the experience of implementing strategies or products of an educational nature, with the purpose of improving teaching in a specific area of knowledge. In this sense, the Master’s degree student must develop an instructional process or product and use it in real classroom conditions or in non-formal or informal teaching spaces, reporting the results of this experiment. The end-of-program projects of the MPEENSA must be presented in the form of a dissertation, examined by qualified examining committees, with at least 01 member external to the Program.

The dissertation of the Professional Master of the Teaching Area must, necessarily, present an educational product that can be disseminated, analyzed and used by other teachers. The academic production of the Professional Master's in the Teaching Area has its origin mainly in applied research and in the development of educational products and processes. It differs from the production of the Academic Master’s degrees and Doctoral degrees of the Area, which focus on basic research. This differentiation can be seen, for example, in the scope of dissertations, in the emphasis given to technical production and in the nature of journals in which publications are to be encouraged. In this area, technical production is understood to mean educational products and processes that can be used by teachers and other professionals involved in teaching in formal and non-formal spaces.

In order to enable the training and qualification of professionals for Teaching in Health, the MPEENSA - UFRN proposes a list of subjects/ training modules, among which some will be considered COMPULSORY for all and others will be chosen according to their area of practice and particular interest, the ELECTIVES. These are justified by the fact that professionals who currently practice teaching and health preceptorship have insufficient training in teaching methodologies, in contrast to the relevant technical training observed in all areas and professions. Thus, there is a fundamental need for didactic-pedagogical training for teaching in health.

Brief description of the program:

Total Hours for obtaining the Degree: 360 hours

Hours in Courses/Subjects/Modules:

Compulsory: 255 hours
Electives: 105 hours
Dissertation: obligatory
Frequency of Admission Procedure: Annual (decided by the Collegiate)

Vacancies per Selection: at the discretion of the program’s Collegiate Body

COORDINATOR: Rosiane Viana Zuza Diniz (email: rosianevzdiniz@gmail.com), contato:  (84) 99224-0094

VICE-COORDINATOR: Maria José Pereira Vilar (email: vilarmj@gmail.com), contato: +55 (84) 99224-0094

SECRETARY: Joseneide da Costa Soares (email: contato@mpeensa.ufrn.br), phones:  +55 (84) 99224-0094

OFFICE HOURS: 08:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. / 12:30 p.m. to 04:30 p.m.

ADDRESS: Av. Nilo Peçanha, 620, 3º subsolo do HUOL, Espaço de Convivência dos Serviços, Petrópolis, Natal/RN.

PROGRAM’S POSTAL ADDRESS: Mestrado Profissional em Ensino na Saúde (MPEENSA), Av. Gal. Gustavo Cordeiro de Farias, s/n, Petrópolis, Natal/RN. CEP: 59012-570