Abstract

RIBEIRO, Rafael Casali; FONSECA-GUEDES, Cristina Helena Ferreira  and  NUNES, Maria do Patrocínio Tenório. Médicos recém-formados: sólida formação geral ou sólida formação especializada?. Rev. Bras. Educ. Med. [online]. 2009, vol.33, n.04, pp.571-585. ISSN 1981-5271.

Objective: To investigate the effects of early specialization (defined here as concentrated dedication to a single specialty during under graduate medical school) on the general skills of newly graduated doctors. Sample and Methods: Applicants for Admission to Medical Residency Programs at the University of São Paulo who had recently finished the under graduate medical course at the same institution (n=163), grouped by specialty of choice. The study focused on applicants’ performance in admissions exams and their under graduate grade point average. Inter group analysis - Applicants for a specific career versus other applicants. Intra-group analysis - Performance in each respective field of knowledge versus mean performance in the other areas studied. Correlation coefficients - between each admissions exam, and between under graduate GPA and exams. Significance level: p<0.05. Results and Conclusions: There was a tendency towards early specialization in Obstetrics-Gynecology, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics, with a loss of performance in areas not directly re la ted to the specialty choice. Applicants for the Residency Program in Internal Medicine showed overall higher grades on the residency admissions exam and undergraduate GPA, possibly due to a broader and more comprehensive interest in Medicine.

Keywords : Educational Measurement; Specialism; Education Medical Undergraduate; Internship and Residency.

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