%0 Journal Article
%T Profile and professional expectations of medical students in Mozambique: a longitudinal study
%A Paulo Ferrinho
%A In¨ºs Fronteira
%A Mohsin Sidat
%A Fernando da Sousa
%A Gilles Dussault
%J Human Resources for Health
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1478-4491-8-21
%X The objective is to describe the medical students' social and geographical origins, expectations and perceived difficulties regarding their education and professional future. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to all medical students.The response rate in 1998/99 was 51% (227/441) and 50% in 2007/08 (484/968).The main results reflect a doubling of the number of students enrolled for medical studies at the FM-UEM, associated with improved student performance (as reflected by failure rates). Nevertheless, satisfaction with the training received remains low and, now as before, students still identify lack of access to books or learning technology and inadequate teacher preparedness as major problems.There is a high level of commitment to public sector service. However, students, as future doctors, have very high salary expectations that will not be met by current public sector salary scales. This is reflected in an increasing degree of orientation to double sector employment after graduation.In Mozambique, medical students are trained in three faculties: two are public institutions (Faculty of Medicine of the University Eduardo Mondlane (MF-UEM), in Maputo, and Faculty of Health Sciences of L¨²rio University, in Nampula) and the Catholic University in Beira, a private institution. The Faculty of Medicine in Beira, functioning since 2000, produced its first graduates in 2007. The Nampula faculty started in 2007. The joint output of graduates is currently approximately 100 medical doctors per year, with a total of 817 doctors having graduated from FM-UEM between 1975 and 2007. In addition, about 100 doctors were trained in foreign countries, mostly in Cuba [1].A previous study of medical students registered for the 1998/99 academic year in the MF-UEM, showed that academic performance was poor, which students explained by lack of library facilities, inadequate financial support, and poor high school preparation. Students knew that they would be needed i
%U http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/8/1/21