Development of research skills during the Student Community Service: Nueva Esparta. Venezuela, 2015-2016

Introduction: the General Training Program of the Comprehensive Community Physician (GTPCCP) in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela aims to guarantee the training of physicians called to renovate health care services. During the sixth academic years, students perform the community intervention project, which requires research skills. Objective: to implement a system of actions and operations for the development of research skills in sixth-academic year students of Comprehensive Community Medicine. Method: a pedagogical research, with a qualitative approach was conducted from January 2015 to January 2016 in the state of Nueva Esparta, Venezuela. The sample coincided with the target group, 36 sixth-year students, and seven teaching advisors of the Community Comprehensive Health Areas and the 12 tutors of the research teams. Results: the experience is presented on the succession of actions and operations systematically interrelated, and it has a specific characterization in the research process by allowing students to progressively and comprehensively acquire the efficient modes of action in an independent and creative way; improving interpersonal communication, feelings of cooperation, along with the potentials of teamwork that were developed supported on the tutor’s guidance. Conclusions: the systematization of the actions and operations in the consultancies enabled the students to progressively and comprehensively acquire efficient modes of action for the development of research skills in an independent and creative way and to develop the potential of teamwork.