The Freshman Reception Week of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP) took place from March 13 to 18, 2022, and, for this school year, 175 students entered the 110th Medicine class, 25 students from the 53rd Physical Therapy class, 25 in the 47th Speech Therapy class, 25 in the 53rd Occupational Therapy class and 25 in the 1st Medical Physics class.

Physiotherapy freshman Mariana Veiga Afonso Tanque participated in the entire Reception Week schedule and said that it was always a dream of her and her family to enter USP. “Being able to live the university experience here, having such qualified professors, a solid base, a teaching hospital - such as the Hospital das Clínicas of FMUSP or the University Hospital -, having classes in several specialized institutes, I think it is very enriching”. Marina added: “We were able to share experiences, stories with people from other courses and I think this is very important. After this reception, everyone left more united and more willing to participate, to engage”.

The welcome program for students consisted of an introduction to institutional services, academic centers, sports associations, extensions and collectives. With face-to-face visits to the Faculty of Medicine, both on the Pinheiros campus and in the building of the Department of Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy (FOFITO), located in Cidade Universitária, and also at Hospital das Clínicas. In addition to solidarity activities, competitions and dynamics.

The Academic Center XXI de Junho said it is important to promote discussions on the problems of public universities, but also to do everything so that the new entrants feel integrated with each other. “The university is a space for teaching and learning and also for innovative experiences and a lot of struggle. As an Academic Center, we highly prioritize the integration between the FOFITO and Medicine courses, in our view this is very important for the feeling of reception and we hope that this reflects in the relationships throughout the graduation”.

Prof. Milton de Arruda Martins, President of the Graduation Committee, made the presentations of the courses and gave an overview of Medicine in the world on the last day (18/03) of the Freshman Reception Week. He declared that FMUSP “receives very competitive university students and it is a challenge to transform that into collaboration and solidarity, but that working in a group develops other skills and is currently essential in the health area”. Prof. Milton also spoke about the national curriculum guidelines and left a reflection for the freshmen: “what kind of professional do you want to be? Of the general competences, at the very least, you need to have knowledge, how-to skills and innovative attitudes”.

"Despite the apprehension of returning to face-to-face meetings after so long in isolation due to the pandemic, we think that the freshmen were open to the experience of the University, they were very excited, comfortable and welcomed in the space of FOFITO", declared the Academic Center XXI de Junho.

Freshman Matheus Matos Nascimento joined the Occupational Therapy course at FMUSP, this being his second graduation, and said he was wondering about what he would have to do during a week of reception, since in his previous experience it was only one day. According to him, "care for newcomers and concern for their well-being, food and fun are actions that I will keep in my heart because they were so special. The way we were received by veterans of Occupational Therapy It was just wonderful, I felt like I belonged, a part of this great family that I will have for at least four years and I believe that this period will be very special".

Admission to undergraduate courses at FMUSP is done through a selection process applied by the University Foundation for Admission (FUVEST), segmented in different vacancies: wide competition, public school, black, brown and indigenous quotas (PPI), or by the System of Unified Selection (SISU). The FMUSP Medicine course was the most popular at the University of São Paulo at this year's admission test, reaching 124.8 candidates per vacancy (https://bit.ly/3iIjt7h).

Eduarda Garcia Lopez, freshman in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, said that the reception made by the veterans was better than anyone could have imagined and the dynamics were so fun that not even the rain got in the way. She stated: “integration activities have brought me friendships that I want to perpetuate throughout my graduation and, if possible, even later. So, I look forward to years of a lot of partnership, personal development and hard work, in an arduous but very rewarding journey that, for the freshmen, started in a memorable week of reception”.