Trajetória e resistência de uma indígena Tupinikim na medicina: barreiras acadêmicas, pandemia de COVID-19 e conquistas

Abstract

This course completion project serves as a summative assessment tool for the Medicine program and is fundamental to my professional training. Developed in accordance with the guidelines of the Medicine Program’s Pedagogical Project at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), the work is structured as an autobiographical narrative of my journey as an Indigenous student at the institution. It integrates accounts and reflections on my experiences throughout the six-year undergraduate program—ranging from the initial challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic (which led to the suspension of activities and extended social distancing) to the return to in-person instruction and the culmination of my training. Representing a synthesis of my academic and personal development, the project is organized into three main stages: 1) The beginning of the Medicine program and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) The clinical cycle and the restructuring of instruction; and 3) The internship cycle. I introduce the narrative with a brief account of my choice of profession and institution—"Why Medicine? Why UFSCar?"—and conclude by characterizing and describing the academic work produced throughout my undergraduate studies.