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Graduated in Medicine from the State University of Piauí (Uespi) in 2016, Luciano Carlos was accepted, in the same end of year, into the Medicine entrance exam, the Administration exam, and a Banco do Brasil contest. Today, the doctor works in primary care in Teresina and has already outlined his career plan: medical residency and a return to Valença do Piauí.
Three acceptances in the same year and a Medicine degree obtained from a public and free university: this is the portrait of the career of the Piauí doctor Luciano Carlos, graduated from the State University of Piauí (Uespi) at the age of 25. According to UOL, in a report published in August 2016, the official graduation ceremony of the doctor took place on May 10, 2016, in Teresina, and the newly graduated was already working in a Basic Health Unit in the capital, in addition to fulfilling shifts in city hospitals.
What differentiates this professional trajectory is the consistency of results within the public system. Fully educated in the public education network — from elementary school in Valença do Piauí to a degree from the state university — Luciano was accepted at the end of 2009, all at once, into the Uespi Medicine entrance exam, through the quota system, in a second entrance exam for the Administration course, and in a Banco do Brasil contest. Faced with three open doors, he chose Medicine, went through graduation as class leader for almost the entire course, and with the professional registration in hand, defined the next steps: medical residency, with otorhinolaryngology as the first option, and the possibility of bringing the specialization back to the municipality where he was born.
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Complete education in the public education network of Piauí
The academic journey of the doctor began and ended within the public education structure of the state. Luciano attended elementary school at Ulisses Vale Veloso School Unit, in the rural area of Valença do Piauí, a municipality located 216 kilometers from Teresina, and completed high school in 2008 at the public school Maria Antonieta, in the urban area, in evening classes. From there, the path was set to the State University of Piauí, a free institution that maintains one of the most competitive Medicine courses in the state.
Son of a family of farmers from the Caatinga Branca village, in the rural area of the municipality, Luciano grew up following the routine of the family property, and his parents and two brothers continued living in the same locality when he received his diploma. The connection with Valença do Piauí, in fact, was never broken — and reappears, as will be seen later, in the doctor’s professional plans after the residency.
Upon completing high school in 2008, the goal was already defined: a spot in the Medicine course. From then on, preparation for the entrance exam became the center of the student’s planning, who structured his own study routine to compete for one of the most sought-after seats in higher education in Piauí.
The “triple acceptance” of 2009: Medicine, Administration, and Banco do Brasil
The first attempts did not bring the expected result. “I took entrance exams, but I wasn’t accepted,” recalled the doctor, about the beginning of the competition for a spot in Medicine. After short stints in preparatory courses — including three months in a course offered by the state government — he decided, in 2009, to take charge of his own preparation.
The chosen strategy was an individual study plan, conducted at home and organized by the candidate himself. “I studied with handouts and books,” summarized Luciano, about the method he structured throughout that year, with his own schedule of readings and reviews instead of conventional classes.
The result came all at once at the end of 2009. Luciano was accepted into the Uespi Medicine entrance exam through the quota system, also passed the entrance exam for the Administration course, and was also approved in a Banco do Brasil competition — three results that simultaneously opened three possible career paths. The choice for Medicine defined the course of the next seven years.
Paid internships and class leadership in graduation
Within the university, the student added professional experience to theoretical training. Throughout his graduation, Luciano did paid internships in the field, an activity that served as the first practical experience of the routine he would later encounter in health services, and he relied on the support of family, friends, and classmates to stay in Teresina during the course.
Academic performance was accompanied by recognition among peers. “Another fact that will leave me with memories is having been the class leader for almost the entire graduation,” said the doctor, about the representative role he played practically from the beginning to the end of the course.
He also cherishes from college “the affection and respect” he received from colleagues — a detail that helps to compose the professional profile: besides the results in exams and competitions, graduation provided the future doctor with leadership and class articulation experience, skills valued in the health job market.
Diploma in 2016 and work in primary care in Teresina
The official graduation took place on May 10, 2016, when Luciano was 25 years old, and the celebration events occurred months later, during which the newly graduated’s trajectory gained national media attention.
With the diploma registered, entry into the job market was immediate. At the time of the report, the doctor was working in a Basic Health Unit in Teresina — the entry point of the public health network, responsible for routine care, prevention, and population follow-up — and complemented the schedule with shifts in hospitals in the capital of Piauí.
The combination is common among newly graduates: primary care ensures a bond and broad clinical experience, while hospital shifts add experience in urgency and emergency — a set that usually weighs in the preparation for medical residency exams, the next step in Luciano’s career plan.
Medical Residency: Otolaryngology as the First Choice
The next professional project was already outlined. Luciano intended to compete for a medical residency spot, with otolaryngology as his first choice. Plan B was also defined: internal medicine, with a subspecialty in cardiology to follow.
To increase his chances, the strategy was to apply in several states. “I will try here, in Piauí; and in Ceará, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and probably in another state in the Northeast,” said the doctor about the map of exams he planned to cover.
The tactic reflects the reality of medical residency in Brazil, where competition for specialties like otolaryngology leads candidates to apply for selection processes in different regions of the country at the same time — and shows that the career planning of the Piauí native followed the same rigor of preparation that led him to university.
The Plan to Return to Practicing Medicine in Valença do Piauí
Once the specialization is completed, the intended destination already has a name. “I will possibly return to Valença to practice the profession,” stated Luciano, indicating his intention to bring the accumulated knowledge from the capital back to the municipality where he was born, 216 kilometers from Teresina.
If the plan is confirmed, the move goes towards one of the most discussed challenges in Brazilian healthcare: the interiorization of Medicine. The retention of doctors — and especially specialists — outside the capitals is historically difficult in the country, and professionals willing to return to their hometowns after residency are precisely the profile that interior municipalities most seek to attract.
Overall, the career of the doctor trained by Uespi follows the complete cycle of the public system: state school in the interior, free state university in the capital, work in primary care, and on the horizon, the specialization that may return to the interior of Piauí. Each stage fueled the next — from the triple approval in 2009 to class leadership, from paid internships to a routine divided between the Basic Health Unit and hospital shifts.
It is also a script that helps to understand how the medical workforce is formed and distributed in the Northeast: free state universities, like Uespi, place new doctors in the market every year, and the path taken by these professionals — primary care, shifts, residency, and eventually, the return to the interior — outlines the map of healthcare assistance in the region for the coming years. The trajectory of Luciano Carlos, in this sense, is less an exception and more a portrait of a path that Piauí knows well.
And you, do you follow the medical residency selections and the movement of Medicine interiorization in Brazil? Do you think doctors trained by state universities should have more incentives to work in the interior? Leave your opinion in the comments and share this article with those interested in a career in the health field.
Keywords: doctor, Medicine, Uespi, medical residency, Teresina
