1 · What it is
What is Escola de Pacientes?
Escola de Pacientes DF, called EPDF, is a group at the University of Brasília (UnB). It is made up of students, mainly of Medicine and Nursing, and coordinated by a professor. It has existed since 2016.
The group does two things. First, it creates tools to improve health care in SUS, Brazil's public health system. Second, it studies what worked and writes about it, so that other health services can learn.
Research
Ask a question, look for the answer in an organized way, and write down what was found. The result becomes an article (a text published in a scientific journal) or a conference presentation (an event where researchers show their work).
Outreach
Taking what the university knows to people: patients, the community, and health professionals. It is the part of the work that happens outside the classroom.
Primary Care
It is the first level of care in SUS: health posts (called UBS) and family health teams. This is the level of care where the group works.
Those who join take part in these projects and learn by doing. In time, they get their name on scientific work and present it at conferences.
Glossary: words that appear on this page
- SUS
- Sistema Único de Saúde, Brazil's public health system.
- UBS
- Unidade Básica de Saúde (UBS), the neighborhood "health post".
- Scientific article
- A text that tells a piece of research from beginning to end and is published in a scientific journal.
- Conference
- An event where researchers present their work.
- Submit
- To send a work to a journal or conference to be evaluated.
- Co-authorship
- Having your name on the list of authors of a work.
- Call for proposals
- A public document with the rules, dates, and number of places of a selection process.
- Lattes CV
- The official CV of students and researchers in Brazil.
- Commitment Agreement
- A document in which the new member agrees to the rules of the Bylaws.
2 · Why join
What the group has already achieved
So you know what you are getting into, these are the group's results.
In 2026
In progress
In the group's history
Incentives of at least R$ 34.8 thousand. This is the minimum documented sum of PIBIC, technical payments, and prize money, not counting the total budget of the projects.
What this means for you
Simple Prescription, SimulaPacientes, and Núcleo EP are used for real, and you can work on them. They are described in section 7.
The group has published articles, books, chapters, abstracts, and other scientific texts. Your name could join that list.
The group takes part in scientific events, presents work, and submits texts for evaluation, in Brazil and abroad.
Research, outreach, authorship, supervision, and leadership improve your Lattes and help in future selection processes, such as scholarships, residency, and graduate programs.
3 · How it works
The selection has 3 steps
This selection has a call for proposals
The call for proposals gives the application dates, the number of places, and the rules. Read the call and this page: the call says when and how to apply, and this page explains how to prepare.
The link to the call for proposals will appear here as soon as it is published.
Application
You fill in an online form with your details, program, semester, and available times, and paste the links of three academic profiles (Lattes, ORCID, and Google Scholar). See how to do it.
Interview
A conversation with the Coordinator and the Supervisors. They ask how the group is organized and which projects it has created, and they want to get to know you. The answers are in sections 6 and 7. See what to study.
Answer
The Director-General and the Coordinator decide and notify each candidate individually by email.
What they evaluate
Four things, set out in the Bylaws: your interest, your availability, how much you identify with the group's work, and your ethical and collaborative stance.
If you are approved
You sign the Commitment Agreement and become a member, with the rights and duties of the Bylaws. The selection decision is final, but you may ask for clarification.
4 · Before you decide
What is expected of those who join
The group works in a serious and organized way. Those who join take on some commitments, all set out in the Bylaws.
Missing three meetings in a row without justification leads to dismissal, which means leaving the group. Excused absences notified in advance do not count.
Each semester, choose at least one work front and make at least one delivery. The fronts are: looking after the group's organization, improving one of the projects, or writing articles.
Reply to the Coordination and Supervisors within 72 hours.
Record tasks, deadlines, and meetings in Núcleo EP, the group's online system.
Do not disclose patient data or the group's internal information, even after leaving. Do not copy other people's text or invent data. If you use artificial intelligence to write, say so.
Guidance from a Supervisor, access to the materials, a certificate each semester with the hours completed, and your name on scientific work in line with your effort.
5 · Step 1 · Application
Apply
Application form
Registration is a single online form. It asks for your details, your program and semester, your available times, and the links of three academic profiles. If you don't have one of them yet, the form itself shows, next to the question, the link to create it.
Apply within the period set in the call for proposals. Questions? Write to escoladepacientes@gmail.com.
The three profiles the form asks for
You can create the profiles before opening the form, to fill everything in at once. All three are free, usually take a few minutes, and can stay empty for now. What matters is that they exist and that you have the link to each one.
Lattes CV
What it is: the official CV of students and researchers in Brazil, maintained by CNPq, the government agency that supports research. Scholarships and selection processes usually ask for it.
What you will paste: the address of your CV, similar to lattes.cnpq.br/1234567890123456.
ORCID
What it is: a researcher identification number, like a national ID. It does not change even if you change email, name, or university.
What you will paste: the address of your profile, similar to orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000.
Google Scholar
What it is: a public page, within Google Scholar, that shows a person's scientific works and how many times they have been cited.
What you will paste: the address of the profile, similar to scholar.google.com/citations?user=....
6 · Step 2 · Interview · EPDF organization
Who does what in the group
The group has four levels. In the interview, you will be asked who they are, what each one does, and whom to approach in each situation.
Prof. Dr. Estêvão Cubas Rolim
Professor at the UnB Faculty of Medicine, founder of EPDF
The professor responsible for the group. He guides the scientific work, represents EPDF before the University and other institutions, makes the final decision when there is doubt, and approves changes to the Bylaws. Learn about his career.
João Lucas Soares Ramos
Student, chosen by the Director-General
Coordinates the group's people and work, runs the selection process (and is the one who interviews you), tracks attendance and deliverables, and keeps the files organized.
Group students assigned each semester
They follow tasks and deadlines and help those who have just arrived. They take part in your interview. The term lasts one UnB academic semester and can be renewed, so whoever holds the role changes often. The current ones are on the Team page.
A quem recorrer?
- Day-to-day question about a task or a deadline: the Supervisor.
- Absence, leave, how the group is going, or selection: the Coordinator.
- Final decision, a case the Bylaws do not cover, or a rule change: the Director-General, together with the Coordinator.
Who chooses the co-authors of a work and the order of names is the Director-General together with the Coordinator. Supervisors help with information about each person's work.
7 · Step 2 · Interview · EPDF products
What the group has created
We call a product each tool or project created and maintained by the group. This is where members work: looking after the organization, improving the product, or writing articles about it. For each one, be able to explain what it is, who it is for, and how it works.
Simple Prescription
A medical prescription that the patient can understand.
- Who it's for
- People with chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, who take several medications, and the pharmacists who guide them.
- How it works
- The prescription uses plain language, drawings, and medications organized by time of day. The goal is to reduce errors in medication use.
- Where it came from
- Born in 2016-2017, at UBS 2 in Itapoã (DF). It was tested with health professionals and is now part of the Federal District Health Department's routine.
- To remember
- Won 1st place at the INOVA Brasília Award 2017 and at the SUS DF Showcase 2017.
SimulaPacientes
A made-up patient, created by artificial intelligence, for the student to practice the consultation.
- Who it's for
- Medicine students and students from other health programs. The professor provides a class code for access.
- How it works
- The student chooses a case and an artificial intelligence and talks in writing with the patient, as in a consultation. The patient only answers what is asked. At the end, the student sees what they did right and what they failed to ask.
- Behind it
- Each case follows a clinical script written by the team, based on the official Primary Care and SUS guidelines.
- To remember
- The group has run patient simulations since 2016. The version with artificial intelligence has existed since 2023.
Review by disease
A study page for each disease, in three steps.
- Who it's for
- A student who did poorly in a simulation and needs to study that disease.
- How it works
- The three steps are: 1) The basics, with a short video and a podcast; 2) How to see the patient, with protocols and book chapters; 3) Going deeper, with more material sorted by topic.
- Link
- When a simulation in SimulaPacientes ends, the student is taken straight to the page of the disease of the patient they saw.
Núcleo EP
The online system in which the group organizes its own work.
- Who it's for
- Members only. There is no public sign-up: the Coordination creates each person's account.
- How it works
- It brings together the group's projects, tasks, deadlines, and people responsible. It also lists opportunities such as calls for proposals, awards, and conferences. Each member has a page with their tasks and what is about to fall due.
- To remember
- The Bylaws require that completed tasks be recorded there.
Other work fronts of the group
The group maintains other health education projects. They are not a topic for the interview, but are worth knowing.
8 · Etapa 2 · Entrevista · Teste-se
Can you answer already?
These are questions similar to the interview's. Think of the answer in your own words and then click to check.
What is Escola de Pacientes DF and since when has it existed?
A UnB research and outreach group, made up mainly of Medicine and Nursing students, that works with Primary Care and SUS. It has existed since 2016.
What are the group's four levels?
Director-General, Coordinator, Supervisors, and Members.
Who is the Director-General and who is the Coordinator?
The Director-General is Prof. Dr. Estêvão Cubas Rolim, the professor responsible for the group. The Coordinator is João Lucas Soares Ramos, a student chosen by the Director-General.
Who conducts the selection interview?
The Coordinator and the Supervisors. The final decision is the Director-General's, together with the Coordinator.
What do Supervisors do? How long is the term?
They follow tasks and deadlines and help those who arrived recently. The term lasts one UnB academic semester and can be renewed.
Which product helps the patient understand the medical prescription?
Simple Prescription, which uses plain language, drawings, and medications organized by time of day. It was born at UBS 2 in Itapoã and is now used by the Federal District Health Department.
What is SimulaPacientes?
A platform where the student sees, in writing, a patient simulated by artificial intelligence and receives feedback on their own care.
What is the review by disease for? What are the three steps?
It lets students study the disease they did poorly on in a simulation. The steps are: The basics, How to see the patient, and Going deeper.
What is Núcleo EP and who can use it?
The group's online organization system, with projects, tasks, and deadlines. Only members have access, and accounts are created by the Coordination.
How soon must you reply to the Coordination? What happens if you miss three meetings in a row without justification?
Within 72 hours. Three consecutive unexcused absences may lead to dismissal.
9 · Step 3 · Reply
After the interview
The Director-General and the Coordinator decide based on your interest, your availability, your fit with the group, and your ethical and collaborative stance. The result is sent individually, to the email given in the application. If you are approved, you sign the Commitment Agreement and become a member. To ask for clarification about the decision, write to escoladepacientes@gmail.com.
- Applied through the form, with the three links? Step 1 is done.
- Studied the organization and the products and took the quiz? You are ready for the interview.
- Have you read the Bylaws? They are part of the commitment you take on.
