Profile and competencies acquired by egresses from a Pharmacy undergraduate course in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to characterize the graduates’ profiles and skills acquired in training at a university in Bahia, Brazil, through a quantitative study in which an online questionnaire was used in data collection that included four aspects: sociodemographic characteristics, characteristics of the training of graduates, professional performance of graduates, and evaluation of the course and competencies acquired by graduates. The study included 123 (38.7%) egresses that finished the undergraduate course between 2004 and 2020; 69.1% were female, and 66.6% were 24 and 33. Among the participants, 61.8% continued their academic career in a graduate course, 79.9% said they were employed in pharmaceutical activity. The most prevalent job was in community pharmacy (33.6%). The insertion in the labor market occurred few days after graduation for 48% of participants; 57.1% were financially satisfied with their income. Regarding professional competencies, the undergraduate syllabus allowed them to develop activities related to Health Care (90.8%); technology and innovation in health (83.7%); and Health Management (68.4%). The results showed that the Pharmacy course was well evaluated, and the profile of the egresses meets the Brazilian National Curriculum Guidelines and social demand. In the current conjuncture of education dismantling and definancing, the results strengthen the relevance of quality public education aiming at the training of
health professionals more critical and articulated with the needs of society, in the private or public sphere.