Postgraduate
Program
The postgraduate program in Urology at the Faculty of Medicine of USP has existed since 1987 and offers academic courses for master's, doctoral, and direct doctoral degrees. For over 30 years, it has represented a reference for postgraduate studies at the national and international levels in the field, considering the limited number of programs dedicated exclusively to the specialty.
Until 2004, the Urology program had low scientific productivity and courses that characterized more as a lato sensu postgraduate program than a stricto sensu one. The prevailing view of the postgraduate student was that of a specialist, rather than a teacher/researcher. Furthermore, it was not possible to characterize any research line within the program, as the same advisor had projects on diverse topics. This distortion of current understanding hindered the development of original high-level projects and deepening in relevant topics in the specialty, which compromised our reputation.
From there, proposals were developed for the restructuring of the program. The first was to create a new group of subjects aimed at training researchers and teachers instead of clinical specialists. The courses began to encompass subjects such as epidemiology in research, teaching in surgery, principles of medical genetics, and the foundations of urological diseases – from bench to bedside, among others. Specific research lines were created for each permanent faculty member, and the dissertations and theses became linked to these lines. Interinstitutional projects were also reviewed and aligned with the aforementioned research lines. Finally, the most difficult measures were those regarding human resources. All students and faculty members who showed no interest or had below-average performance were dismissed from the program. Simultaneously, a rigorous selection of students and advisors with high scientific production and strong commitment to teaching and research was instituted.
Another unique factor that helped boost the program was the establishment of a fundraising culture early on. Thus, scientific initiation projects, dissertations, and theses began to have their resources solicited from federal and state funding agencies. By the end of 2013, the urology program had already secured 48 projects funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and five by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). This measure enabled the execution of more complex projects and significantly improved the quality of scientific production.
As a result of implementing these measures, the program, which had a score of 3, received a score of 5 from CAPES in the three-year assessment of 2004-2006, and a score of 6 in the three-year assessments of 2007-2009 and 2010-2012.
Subsequently, with the increased demands and changes in metrics, deficiencies were pointed out by CAPES, leading our program to receive a score of 5 in the four-year assessment of 2013-2016.
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Objective
The postgraduate program in urology at FMUSP aims to train master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral candidates in health sciences with extensive scientific knowledge in the area of urology and related specialties. We hope that these graduates can establish themselves in their cities of origin, be suitable for teaching positions, and integrate into national and international scientific and technological research teams. They should continue to produce knowledge and help promote the health and well-being of society.
To achieve this, we have selected a highly qualified faculty and invested in a curriculum focused on the basic training of researchers and the acquisition of fundamental knowledge that enables the conduct of high-quality scientific research. In this context, our program offers 10 postgraduate courses. Learning about didactic teaching methodologies, writing techniques for scientific work in medicine, principles of medical genetics, and the foundations of urological diseases, fundraising for study development, and data analysis and interpretation, communication and leadership in medicine, are some of the topics we emphasize in our program.
Future Planning
The program continues its constant pursuit of increasing both the number and quality of scientific output and the training of human resources in research. To achieve this, among other actions, we mainly operate on three fronts: (1) optimizing the selection of students with genuine academic interest and motivation to face the postgraduate process, (2) renewing the faculty to diversify the program and encompass the most modern areas of medical science knowledge, and (3) promoting actions that increasingly favor the internationalization of the program.
