Medical schools must follow a national teaching guideline designed by the Ministry of Education and the Federal Medical Council, which currently does not standardise any specific training on dementia. The national curricula broadly mentions ‘healthcare for older people’, ‘neurological conditions’, and ‘psychiatric illnesses’ (Ministry of Education, 2014). Medical students are likely to have contact with people living with dementia or with dementia as a learning subject within the departments of clinical neurology, geriatrics, and psychiatry. Only approximately 42% of the Brazilian medical schools offer teaching in Geriatrics nationally. In the South-Eastern region where the largest number of older people live, 36% of institutions taught Geriatrics to their students (Jacinto et al., 2015).

References:

Jacinto, A. F., Leite, A. G. R., Lima Neto, J. L. de, Vidal, E. I. de O., & Bôas, P. J. F. V. (2015). Teaching medical students about dementia: A brief review. Dementia & Neuropsychologia, 9, 93–95. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642015DN92000002

Ministry of Education. (2014). Diretrizes Curriculares—Cursos de Graduação. http://portal.mec.gov.br/escola-de-gestores-da-educacao-basica/323-secretarias-112877938/orgaos-vinculados-82187207/12991-diretrizes-curriculares-cursos-de-graduacao