The Adventist medical course at Brazil Adventist University (UNASP), Hortolândia campus, integrates spirituality and clinical practice from students' very first semester. The curriculum includes the Cincoprasete program—a weekly gathering held on Fridays at 6:55pm, featuring music, reflection, and prayer—as well as daily chapel services and small groups. Additionally, the school provides direct contact with patients at Primary Healthcare Units (UBS) within Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS).
For Arthur Fortes, a second-semester student, this experience broadened his understanding of medical training. "I find the spiritual aspect of UNASP very important because even when we study health, there's a spiritual dimension within health as well," he said.
Beyond technical knowledge
José Prudêncio Júnior, president of the UNASP Hortolândia campus, affirmed that the boarding school experience is an essential part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's educational proposal. "It will be in the day-to-day life, in the hallways, in the classroom, in the cafeteria, living in the Church, the spiritual aspect. That's how the student will experience a complete education," Prudêncio said.
In addition to Cincoprasete, students participate in initiatives such as Doctors in Mission, which provides free care to the community and weeks of prayer throughout the semester.
Integrating the Brazilian public health system and spirituality
Practical training takes place through Community Health Interaction (IESC), a pedagogical axis that brings the university closer to SUS units and the population. From their first semester, students observe care at UBS, including vital-sign checks, consultations, preventive measures, and home visits.
Dane Vital, a second-semester student, reported that the visits reveal aspects of health that are impossible to perceive solely in the classroom. "During the visits, we can see if patients are using their medications correctly, what kind of environment they live in, and better understand the routine and dynamics of the patients' and their families' illness," she said.
According to Dr. Gustavo Letsch, assistant coordinator of medicine at UNASP, the practice happens gradually. Students first observe, then interact. "The patient is a complete human being, with their own problems and situations. Now the student learns what they don't learn in the classroom: their posture, their approach, their gaze, how to ask questions, how to receive answers," Dr. Letsch said.
The program is built around three pillars: faith, healing, and mission. For Dr. Letsch, health must be understood holistically, going beyond the mere absence of disease. "Spirituality is an inherent part of the human being, and we are neither complete people nor complete physicians if we fail to understand this dimension in our patients' lives," he said.
Vital stated that an integrated approach is crucial for quality care. "Since medicine is about saving lives, we have to save the patient's life by understanding a little about their reality."
For Dr. Letsch, comprehensive training strengthens students to face the challenges of the profession. "It is necessary to unite the technical capacity of medicine with the mission, which is what motivates us and represents why we do what we do, and with faith, from a perspective that understands the patient as a unique, special, and complex person, who also needs this connection," he said.
The original article was published on the Brazil Adventist University news site.
