Emergency room volunteer internship: an instrument for quality in medical training

To analyze the influence of medical student's voluntary internship at the Emergency Room of the Workers Hospital (ER-HT) in the choice of medical specialty and its importance during graduation.

A questionnaire was given to doctors and medical students that performed internships at ER-HT for e" 500 hours, from March 2000 until March 2012.

A total of 765 medical students and doctors performed e" 500 hours of practical activities at ER-HT and 390 answered the questionnaire - 37,9% chose surgical specialties and 24,1% clinical. Internship was crucial in choosing a career for 82,3%, and was a positive influence for 83,8%. Regarding the increment in interpersonal relationship, grade e" 8 was given by 61% of the participants for relationship with other professionals, 71% for relationship with colleagues and 63% for relationship with patients. The internship increased self-confidence for 92% and 75% reported an increase in technical knowledge. The training was considered useful and necessary for medical education to 80% of participants.

Contribution provided by ER internships is undeniable for medical education and often influences students on choosing their medical specialties. The situations faced by students during these activities enable the development of intelligence in areas other than purely technical, which reflects in their medical practice.