[Family medicine in Brazil].
A need for general physicians, chiefly to deal with health problems in the interior, has made itself felt since 1948. The first two medical residency programs for the training of general physicians were begun in 1976, and today there are 13 such programs. Ten of those programs have been studied in this report, which is based on visits to the establishments where the resident physicians receive training and to some areas served by the programs, and on interviews with education and health officials, alumni of the programs, resident physicians, and coordinators and supervisors of residency programs. "Community general medicine" is the term most widely used in the profession to designate medical practice addressed to the individual, the family and the community and providing total, ongoing and personalized care of the patient. Community general medicine must take account of psychological and socioeconomic factors and interact with the community to collaborate in the solution of its problems. The residency programs in community general medicine are essential for the training of teachers and researchers who will be models to the graduating students and change the undergraduate courses by removing them from the now prevalent overspecialization so as to arrive at a more humane medicine that is more responsive to the health needs of less developed regions. For lack of information on the practice and teaching of community general medicine, attitudes in the medical profession vary from apathetic to sceptical to approving. As a new movement in Brazil, it has great difficulties to overcome, including shortcomings in the training for it and a lack of job openings for graduates. Up to 1982, 174 physicians had completed residencies in community general medicine in Brazil, and about 154 of them are known to have been employed. There are at present 138 physicians attending the 10 programs considered. The regular teaching staff are joined by many professionals in different capacities, who vary in number and working hours with the requirements of the program. In addition to the 13 residency programs in community general medicine, others have sprung up under the agreement between FEPAFEM, PAHO and the K. W. Kellogg Foundation; they are already operating under different names in Brazil and include the training of general physicians. The residency programs in community general medicine are still new and need to become better known to the public and members of the profession before it can be confirmed that they are of use.
D001938:Brazil; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution; D003154:Community Medicine / Q000193:education; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D007396:Internship and Residency; D000078329:Workforce
Medicina familiar no Brasil.