This article discusses the issue of legal, technical, and political legitimacy for formulating a public policy aimed at organizing the training of health professionals in accordance with the population's health needs, while highlighting the competencies of the education and health sectors in this construction. Comprehensiveness is viewed as the main thrust for proposing and supporting the changes needed in the training of professionals in education and health, since it involves an expanded understanding of health, the linkage among multi-professional and interdisciplinary knowledge and practices, and dialogue/exchange with health system users, aimed at innovation of practices in all scenarios of health care and health sector management.