Objective:

Reflect on the distance education strategies adopted by Brazilian higher education institutions, in order to continue their activities within the context of the new coronavirus pandemic at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Content synthesis:

The current pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has led to a general crisis in Brazil and, therefore, the interruption of classroom activities at Brazilian universities. This episode has resulted in a debate around the possibilities, risks, and consequences of the distance education strategies being adopted. On the one hand, such strategies allow reaching students and ensure the continuity of teaching amid the context of social distancing. On the other, they precede the dissolution of the curricular guidelines of undergraduate programs in health studies. Although distance education is presented as a powerful tool for the development of the cognitive domain, it falls short in the psychomotor and affective dimensions. The current pandemic shows that the application of merely technical practices is not enough for the activities carried out by health professionals, since human contact is essential in their teaching and learning processes. Thus, it is necessary to guarantee the teaching-research-outreach triad based on the social bond held by future professionals and the understanding of the realities in which they will exercise their profession.

Conclusion:

Although distance education is important for the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it must subsequently be incorporated as a complementary method within education processes, without taking the place of in-class education.

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