[Profile of former students of the Medical School of the University of São Paulo].

The authors present results of an inquiry involving 3,309 physicians graduated at the University of S. Paulo School of Medicine in the 1958-1989 period. Concerning sex, there were 79% male and 21% female students (6% female in 1958-1963 period and 38% in 1958-1989). Medical residence (1-4 years) were done by 91% of all inquired physicians. Postgraduate education was performed by 26% of the graduates in master degree and by 29% in doctorate degree. In reference to professional work, 26% exert surgical specialties, 20% clinical specialties, 13% pediatric specialties, 9% gynecology and obstetrics, 9% psychiatry and 5% neurology. Eighty por cent of them perform their activity as non employed professionals, sometimes associated with some other form of work; of those, 40% earn more than 60% of their total income as non employed professionals. Three different curricular structures were analyzed in this inquiry. In the period 1958-1980 (traditional curriculum), the areas considered more attractive and important were: medical and surgical clinics, pediatrics, anatomy, physiology and pathological anatomy. The less motivating were: legal medicine, psychiatry, phthisiology. In the experimental curriculum (1974-1980) the more attractive areas were: biochemistry, pediatrics, surgical and pediatric internship, general pathology and medical clinics. The less motivating areas were: mathematics, statistics, medical deontology, preventive medicine, ophthalmology and psychiatry. In the unified curriculum (1980-1989), the preferred areas were: general pathology, medical and surgical propedeutics, infantile-maternal, clinical and surgical internship. The less motivating ones were: preventive medicine, otorhynolaringology, anesthesiology, genetics and statistics.