The Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Cremerj) filed a public civil action to prevent the rehiring of doctors trained abroad, without revalidation of the diploma, to work in the More Doctors program. The objective is to prevent, on a preliminary basis, the return of professionals without registration in the CRM to participate in a new call process to work in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Cremerj took the initiative after a decision by the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF-1) that authorized the federal government to rehire Cuban doctors who were part of the program. For Cremerj, the decision is arbitrary, defies the law, compromises the separation of powers and puts the public health of the population at risk.
In the petition, the council explains that, without the CRM, it cannot apply sanctions in case of violation of the Code of Medical Ethics or supervise the exercise of medical practice in the state. Both situations directly expose the population and can cause damage to the quality of patient care.
In the text, the autarchy states that “it is clear that the rehiring of professionals for just one more year is not a skillful measure to remedy the deficit of professionals in the most disadvantaged regions of the country”. Another excerpt from the document points out that “the measure only masks an existing problem, leaving the population helpless regarding possible technical and conduct failures practiced by these professionals, who, because they are not registered in the light of the national legislation, are not doctors”.
The revalidation of the medical diploma in Brazil is done through Revalida, an exam that is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education. All professionals, including Brazilians, trained in medicine by foreign colleges must undergo the revalidation of the diploma. Cremerj recognizes the importance of this process and only issues CRM for physicians trained abroad with all the necessary documentation.
“We cannot agree with an arbitrary decision, which puts the health of the population at risk. We hope that the Judiciary understands our concern and we are available to provide all clarifications”, said the president of Cremerj, Clovis Munhoz.
