A formação do otorrinolaringologista no Brasil

Abstract

The training of otorhinolaryngologists can happen in medical residency programs certified by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), with a right to the title of specialist immediately after completing the program, or in specialization programs certified by the Brazilian Association of Otorhinolaryngology-Neck and Facial Surgery (ABORL-CCF), which give the title of specialist to those who pass a test from the latter institution afterwards. Specialization and medical residency programs are defined as graduate studies for physicians and are characterized as "on the job training", with theory and practice, at a full time basis, carried out in public or private institutions, universities or not, under the supervision of highly qualified and ethical professionals. The program certification is based on fulfilling the minimum requirements established by MEC or those from the ABORL-CCF, and the latter is more stringent in terms of the program's content. The criteria established by MEC are more stringent in terms of the legal aspects of teaching, with the mandatory granting of a scholarship, a certain number of hours the resident has to attend the service per week, vacations and others. These requirements aim at guaranteeing the desirable profile of the ENT specialist, which is the goal to be reached at the end of training, based on a set of skills and knowledge that student has to acquire during training, providing them the expertise to properly perform as specialists after they are finished with the program. The Committee of Higher Level Professional Improvement-Comissão de Aperfeiçoamento Profissional de Nível Superior (CAPES) assesses and classifies the sensu strictu graduate programs through a stringent and acknowledged process which has continuously improved the quality of research in Brazil. The National Committee of Medical Residency Programs-Comissão Nacional de Residência Médica (CNRM) is yet to develop such a comprehensive evaluation system, requiring medical residency programs to fulfill the "minimum set of criteria". CNRM criteria level off the teaching programs through minimum parameters which; however, do not stress quality nor foster their improvement. The spots available for medical residency in otorhinolaryngology offered by medical schools in universities do not match the demand medical students have for this specialty. Approximately 50% of the candidates enrolled to take the test for the title of specialist offered by the Brazilian Association of Otorhinolaryngology-Neck and Face Surgery are candidates coming from training programs developed in general hospitals or private clinics. These training programs are numerically significant to the training of Brazilian otorhinolaryngologists, considering the profile of this specialty in our country. Of these, some are certified by MEC and others, by ABORL-CCF. Since they are not being held in an