This course is designed to introduce 1st year medical students to health systems, health determinants, global health problems with a focus on healthcare force, processes and institutions and another focus at community level response, namely patient pathways and patient associations. The medical students are presented with the portuguese health system institutions and its problems. They will also have to observe different health facilities and different players (mostly non-medical doctors) as to identify the patient perspective while navigating in the system and also to identify the roles and perspectives towards the medical profession.