Occupational medicine residency in Brazil: trends, positions, and regional distribution.

Introduction: Resolution No. 1,634/2002 of the Brazilian Federal Board of Medicine (Conselho Federal de Medicina) and Resolution No. 5/2002 of the Brazilian National Medical Residency Commission (Comissão Nacional de Residência Médica) introduced the opportunity for occupational medicine training through medical residency programs. Nonetheless, recent studies analyzing the landscape of occupational medicine residency programs remain scarce, particularly with regard to their growth, geographical distribution, and occupancy rates.

Objectives: To assess the increase in the number of graduates from occupational medicine residency programs, the regional distribution of these programs, the occupancy of available positions, and the proportion of specialists in relation to the workforce.

Methods: This was a documentary study that used data from the Brazilian National Medical Residency Commission system and the Brazilian Federal Board of Medicine. Descriptive and temporal trend analyses were conducted for the 2006-2023 period.

Results: There was a growing trend in the number of occupational medicine residency graduates in Brazil (annual percentage change = 3.32%; p = 0.012). Residency was offered in 8 out of the 27 Brazilian states; moreover, 60.7% of graduates completed their programs in the Southeast region, and 57% of the 94 positions available in 2023 were filled. The ratio of occupational physicians per 1,000 employed individuals was 0.178.

Conclusions: An increase in occupational medicine residency graduates was identified, as well as unequal regional distribution and low occupancy of positions in Brazil.