INTRODUCTION: The medical course at the School of Medical Sciences and Health at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) in Sorocaba (SP, Brazil) has undergone changes to its curriculum model. These changes were determined by various factors, such as the creation of the National Curriculum Guidelines for Medical Courses, which resulted in an increase in practical training. Since 2011, the clinical emergencies internship undertaken in the sixth year of the course has been conducted at an Emergency Care Unit. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate internships at UPAs from the students' perspective. METHODS: The evaluation tool was a semi-structured questionnaire, which was applied to students who completed the internship in 2012. RESULTS: The students considered the practical aspect of the experience to be positive, as well as the high number of patients and the supervision by a professor. A comment frequently mentioned was the high number of patients requesting a doctor's certificate to justify absences from work and the cases of lumbago, chest pain, abdominal pain and respiratory diseases. Negative aspects highlighted were the short duration of the internship and the low number of consultation rooms. CONCLUSION: The insertion of students in the secondary level of emergency care at an Emergency Care Unit (UPA) serves as a new possibility for the teaching of emergency care in medical degrees and is in fact fundamental, given the organization of the healthcare system.