The Brazilian and international scientific communities have engaged in extensive debate on the balance between scientific knowledge, clinical reasoning, development of practical skills, character-building, and professionalism. However, the teaching-learning process during medical residency has received little research attention in Brazil. This article aims to describe the relations between the science of learning and teaching during medical residency. We analyze this interface in Brazilian and international publications (1997-2007) from the field of education in general, medical education, and medical residency, demonstrating the important learning assumptions in the development of clinical reasoning, teaching of skills, and acquisition of indispensable competencies for the resident's training.