The mayor of Piracicaba, Luciano Almeida, believes that the project to create a medical course in the city – something that has been considered by Unicamp – can be implemented relatively quickly. According to him, the existence of a traditional health course in the municipality, in this case, the Faculty of Dentistry of Piracicaba (FOP), and the presence of structures such as the Hospital Regional de Piracicaba (HRP) and the AME ( Medical Specialties Outpatient Clinic) – which are already managed by the University of Campinas – are facilitating factors.
The mayor says that he has already spoken about the matter with the rector of Unicamp, professor Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, and with the state secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation, professor Vahan Agopyan. “We have already talked [about this] and concluded that the best alternative is to take this course here”, said the mayor. “We have a Unicamp campus here in Piracicaba, in addition to the Regional Hospital and an AME, which are managed by Unicamp. All of this makes the implementation of this course easier”, he believes.
Luciano Almeida also remembers that Dentistry and Medicine have some similar subjects in the first years of the course. Therefore, implementation costs would be lower. “This is the best cost-benefit, because implementation can be more quickly, as the conditions are all right here. [The creation of the course] will only require minor adjustments”, he argues. “We hope, As soon as Unicamp approves the project within its University Council, we can also approve it with the State government for implementation his as quickly as possible, given the urgency we have throughout the Metropolitan Region of Piracicaba, given the lack of medical professionals”, concluded the mayor.
The director of the FOP, Flávio Aguiar, also came out in defense of the implementation of the Medicine course in Piracicaba. “I think that the installation of a Faculty of Medicine could be very interesting, especially for the city”, said the director. According to him, Piracicaba is the headquarters of a metropolitan region and receives patients from many surrounding municipalities. In Aguiar's assessment, the only large institution linked to health in the region is the FOP itself. For him, a Faculty of Medicine would give a new boost to the sector throughout the region. “We would benefit from the interaction of the two institutions and the expansion and improvement of services”, believes the director.
Aguiar also remembers that this is an old demand from Unicamp in Piracicaba and of the city of Piracicaba and notes that the project has been structured since at least 2013/2014. For the director, the proposal now meets the necessary conditions to be implemented.
The project
On March 8th, Agopyan met with the dean of Unicamp and the mayor of Piracicaba to discuss the possibility of creating the course. At the meeting, the dean informed that the current Unicamp Administration is willing to analyze the creation of new undergraduate vacancies and considers the health area in Piracicaba to be a strong candidate for this expansion.
Meirelles also argued that the Piracicaba region presents a deficit, compared to other regions of the State, in terms of the number of new medical professionals trained, particularly with regard to public higher education. The dean of Unicamp remembers, however, that there are obstacles to be overcome before the project becomes viable.
According to him, it will be necessary to create new positions for teachers and employees in order to make it possible to open new courses, as the maximum number of employees in the different categories of the institution is regulated by state legislation.
The rector also recalls the need to ensure continuity in the management of local health equipment (HRP and AME), as this equipment would be essential for the operation of any new course. The dean notes, finally, that the issue of financing the course itself has to be analyzed by everyone involved in the process.
Read more:
Unicamp will study the creation of a medical course in Piracicaba
