Graduates from a Professional Master’s Degree Program in Family Health: Expectations, Motivations and Benefits

ABSTRACT The health care model based on the Family Health Strategy, created in the early 1990s, encouraged changes in health education, highlighting the need to create lato and stricto sensu postgraduate courses aimed at empowering professionals that foster comprehensive health care. Periodic evaluations are carried out and encouraged by Capes/MEC in order to maintain the quality of postgraduate courses, but evaluations of recently-introduced professional master’s degree courses in family health remain scarce. Objectives To describe the academic profile, contribution, motivations and expectations of graduates of a Professional Master’s in Family Health. Method Cross-sectional and quantitative study to analyze the results of 102 questionnaires answered by graduates of the Professional Master’s Degree in Family Health of the Estácio de Sá University (RJ), who had concluded the course between 2007 and 2012. The instrument consisted of open-ended and closed-ended questions, sent by e-mail and made available online through the electronic platform Survey Monkey. The study evaluated age, gender, regional origin, academic background, as well as the contributions, expectations and motivations related to the course. Results The survey sample was formed predominantly by female graduates, aged over 30, from 13 Brazilian states and, mainly from Medicine and Nursing courses. The contribution of the master’s degree to the graduate’s professional life was evaluated as excellent by 77% of the interviewees. The expectations regarding the course were positively evaluated and the main reasons for seeking the qualification were scientific-technical improvement and personal satisfaction, rather than better salaries or job stability. Conclusion The course was evaluated positively by the graduates, having exceeded their expectations and satisfied the interests that led them to it, thus producing changes to their personal and professional life. A longitudinal analysis of the impact of the professional master’s degree in the career of graduates will require a sequence of similar studies, as has been stimulated by Capes/MEC in recent years.摘要 始创于20世纪90年代初的家庭健康战略（Family Health Strategy）医疗服务模式推动了健康教育领域的变革，凸显了开设广义（lato sensu）与狭义（stricto sensu）研究生课程的迫切性，旨在赋能推动全面医疗服务的专业人员。巴西高等教育人员提升协调局与教育部（Capes/MEC）长期支持并推行定期评估，以保障研究生课程的办学质量，但针对近年新增的家庭健康领域专业硕士课程的相关评估仍较为匮乏。 研究目标 阐述家庭健康专业硕士毕业生的学术概况、职业贡献、就读动机与预期。 研究方法 本研究为横断面定量研究，对2007年至2012年间完成埃斯塔西奥·德·萨大学（Estácio de Sá University, RJ）家庭健康专业硕士课程的102名毕业生的问卷结果进行分析。调研工具包含开放式与封闭式问题，通过电子邮件发送，并依托在线调研平台Survey Monkey开放填报。本研究评估了受访者的年龄、性别、籍贯、学术背景，以及与该课程相关的贡献、预期与就读动机。 研究结果 本次调研样本以女性毕业生为主，年龄均在30岁以上，来自巴西13个州，学术背景以医学与护理学专业为主。77%的受访者认为该硕士课程对其职业生涯的贡献堪称优异。受试者对课程的预期均得到了积极评价，而攻读该学位的主要动因为学术与技术提升及个人成就感，而非更高薪资或职业稳定性。 研究结论 毕业生对该课程的评价均为正面，其学习收获超出了预期，满足了他们的求学初衷，并为其个人与职业生活带来了积极改变。后续需开展系列同类纵向研究，以分析该专业硕士课程对毕业生职业发展的影响，这也是近年Capes/MEC所倡导的研究方向。