Regional Health Service's Training Plan contributes to qualification and maintenance of doctors in the Azores
The Regional Director for Health stated in Angra do Heroísmo that the 2019 Training Plan for the Regional Health Service provides a strong contribution to the maintenance of doctors for the attention drawn to medical emergency services and to general medicine and family medicine interns.
"The training programme of the Regional Directorate for Health focuses on six areas. It took into account the needs of general and family medicine interns, the reinforcement of some clinical areas and the needs identified in the area of medical emergency. The modules are directed to doctors working on islands without hospital," stressed Tiago Lopes at the presentation of this training plan.
The Regional Director highlighted the broad scope and the new training offer provided under this training strategy that aims to ensure the professional qualification of workers and managers and improve their performance, while enhancing the effectiveness and quality of services provided to patients.
"On the one hand, it was our concern to respond to the legitimate expectations of interns and, on the other hand, to provide general and family medicine doctors with tools to practice on islands without hospital, thus contributing to the much sought-after maintenance of doctors in the Azores," stressed the government official.
Tiago Lopes stated that the training for interns will be carried out in cooperation with the Regional Coordination of the General and Family Medicine Internship. The strategy proposes compulsory courses, but also some courses that, without being compulsory, are essential for the medical training of interns.
In regard to emergency services, this plan extends training to as many health professionals as possible, taking into account the need to train professionals in key areas such as inpatient care, emergency services, home-based care and continuing care.
The first phase of the training of general and family medicine doctors on the islands without hospital includes a Basic Life Support course to be held on each island in a first phase. In turn, the second phase provides for the organisation of courses on Advanced Life Support, Advanced Trauma and Immediate Paediatric Life Support.
The strategy of this plan also comprises training in specific clinical areas, complementary training and training sessions directed to the community in general, including training on quality management (ISO9001), Advance Directives and the General Data Protection Regulation in Health.
Overall, 66 courses will be taught during this year, 35 more than in 2018, with an increase in the number of training hours from 485 hours in 2018 to 795 hours in 2019.
"In addition to improving the performance of health professionals, we intend to promote health by providing the population with tools to prevent disease or minimise the effects of chronic diseases such as diabetes or obesity," said Tiago Lopes.
The Regional Director added that the training programme was based not only on the input provided by health units but also on the needs identified in the Regional Health Plan.
"We are determined to invest in the efficiency and humanisation of health care in the Region, through the qualification of its human resources, in order to improve quality and the attention given to patients," stressed the government official.