RESUMO
We organized a problem-oriented education program for fifth-year medical students to help them develop a patientoriented point of view. Each student was introduced to an outpatient who had never visited our hospital. Students escorted the patients through an entire day of care at the hospital but were not allowed to take part in clinical practice, even if tempted by a professor to perform a clinical examination. The students' duty was to record the time and nature of every event and to record every feeling they had while communicating with the patients. At the end of the day, a discussion was held with the students about the patients and problems in the clinics. The students pointed out the bitter attitudes of medical staff (64%), unbearably long waiting times (56%), inadequate signage (24%), some of which could be resolved with information systems. We conclude that the education program is effective for helping fifth-year medical students develop a patient-oriented viewpoint.