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）医疗模式推动了健康教育领域的变革，凸显了开设泛向型（lato sensu）与专向型（stricto sensu）研究生课程的必要性，以赋能致力于提供全方位医疗服务的专业人员。Capes/MEC推动并开展定期评估以保障研究生课程质量，但针对近年新设的家庭健康专业硕士（Professional Master’s in Family Health）课程的评估仍较为匮乏。

研究目标 本研究旨在描述家庭健康专业硕士毕业生的学术背景、课程贡献、就读动机与预期期望。

方法 本研究采用横断面定量研究方法，对2007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上线发布。本研究评估了受访者的年龄、性别、生源地、学术背景，以及与该课程相关的就读收获、预期与动机。

结果 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，且大多毕业于医学与护理学专业。77%的受访者认为该硕士课程对其职业生涯的贡献极为突出。受访者对课程的预期均得到了正向评估，而他们攻读该学位的主要动机为学术与技术能力提升及获得个人成就感，而非更高薪资或职业稳定性。

结论 毕业生对该课程给予了正向评价，其效果超出了预期，满足了其求学初衷，进而对其个人与职业生活产生了积极改变。如Capes/MEC近年所倡导的那样，若要对家庭健康专业硕士课程在毕业生职业发展中的影响开展纵向分析，需开展一系列同类研究。