Implementation of the Residency Program in Family and Community Medicine of the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Health Department, Brazil

Abstract

The reform of Primary Healthcare in the city of Rio de Janeiro created various needs for improvement of the network, one of which was professional training/qualification of doctors to practice at this level of care. To respond to this the Municipal Health Department took the initiative of structuring the Residency Program in Family and Community Medicine. This paper aims to describe the experience of implementation of this program in the context of the reform of primary healthcare. It also reports on the process of structuring of the program to meet the objectives proposed by the reform, and how this is reflected in the network, and suggests investments in studies that can indicate impacts generated by the Program.