Medical education has been stressed by different models, which can motivate essentially biomedical and psychosocial knowledge. This article looks at how this knowledge relates to the teaching of health of the elderly, in the Comprehensive Care for the Health of the Elderly discipline, from the medical course of a public university in the interior of Minas Gerais. For data collection a qualitative approach was utilized, in which observations of theoretical and practical classes as well as interviews and documentary analysis was made. The results indicated that the theoretical classes have no planned relationship to the practice scenarios. The latter, on the other hand, demonstrate the potential to introduce students to the complexity of the health-disease process. In conclusion, the theory-practice, school-service relationships and their care models present challenges in medical training for integral health care of the elderly.
Access in: https://doi.org/10.1590/interface.200715
Keywords: Medical education, Elderly health, University education, Curriculum
