title: [Undergraduate students of "Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais": profile and trends].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  this study was made with the medical students of the "Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais" (UFMG), to get their social economic profile, and their reasons for studying medicine, choosing the specialty, doing medical residence, and showing preferences for being a liberal professional or a salaried employee.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 1997, a study was made comparing UFMG's medical students beginning their clinical practice (5th semester) and those medical students during the internship in the last term of clinical practice. Both groups were given questionnaires for evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results were similar for both groups and showed that women constituted almost 50% of the students and about 50% of them were from Belo Horizonte, the State capital of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and from small families with less than three children, and whose parents held a college degree. These students passed the college entrance exams on their first try. Two thirds of their families had income of about 10 to 50 Brazilian minimum wages, and approximately 12% of the families had an income of less than 10 minimum wages. The majority of the students decided to study medicine for altruism or vocational reason; very few (<5%) chose to study medicine for financial reasons. Almost all students (98%) preferred a liberal medical practice; however 80% would accept civil-service employment as an alternative. Nearly all of them (98%) chose to do medical residence to specialize. Most students would prefer to be specialists and only less than 20% would prefer to do general practice in areas such as adult and pediatric clinic, gynecology-obstetric and general surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that medical students from UFMG have an elite social economic profile and a preference for specialized medical practice.
authors.affiliation: Trabalho realizado no Departamento de Pediatria, Faculdade de Medicine da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Peret Filho
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Goulart
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Valadão
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002321:Career Choice; D003625:Data Collection; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013038:Specialization; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires