[Survey of professionalism among medical professors in Mexico]

We explored the type of academic training and labor relationship of medical teachers in the schools of medicine in Mexico.

We considered two types of academic training (formal and informal) and of labor relations (primary and secondary): we considered a teacher as professional when he or she had formal training and a primary relationship with the school. A questionnaire was applied to 436 medical professors chosen at random from 10 medical schools (who were selected as representatives of the 10 types of medical schools identified by crossing characteristics of financing (public vs private), curricula (traditional vs modular), size (< 500 vs > or = 500 students) and longevity (established before 1970 vs 1970+).

Only 2.8% (n = 12) of the teachers had a professional standing, and in private schools the proportion decreased to 1.3%.

Medical education as a professional activity was seen in very few teachers. Medical education in Mexico appears to be a secondary and informal activity for a large number of teachers.