Frank País student teachers’ movement in the context of Higher Medical Education

Abstract

Introduction: The creation of Frank País Student Teachers’ Movement was a valuable solution of the Cuban Revolution to the exodus of university professors that took place in the early 1960s. It was founded with the purpose of ensuring the formation of future professors, researchers and specialists, as well as meeting the demands of the development of Cuban public health.

Objective: To characterize the historical evolution of Frank País Student Teachers’ Movement in the field of higher medical education.

Methods: A bibliographic review study was carried out using the Google Scholar search engine, in Spanish and English, and without a time limit. The following terms were used: alumno ayudante [student teacher], movimiento de alumnos ayudantes [student teachers’ movement], MAA (as it stands in Spanish), Medicina [Medicine] and ciencias médicas [medical sciences]. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 25 scientific articles with sufficient quality and timeliness were finally selected.

Conclusions: This Movement represents a formidable achievement of Cuban revolutionary higher education and is an expression, from its very genesis, of our people’s unfading spirit to grow during times of difficulties, as well as the revolutionary government’s constant will to give education a priority place. It is a formidable tool, but insufficiently used for the training of professionals of the highest level of care, teaching and research.