Abstract
BACKGROUND: In Brazil, residency programmes in Family and Community Medicine (FCM) and Multiprofessional Residency in Family Health (MRFH) are two-year specialisation courses, funded by the federal government, which aim to train professionals to work in Primary Health Care (PHC). The aim of this study was to draw up an inventory of the assessed competences of the residency programmes in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. Our study's hypothesis is that self-assessment of competences can be a useful tool for monitoring the development of competences in the training of health professionals, contributing to the process of transitioning from academic curricula to one that is more responsive to the needs of health systems. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, in which a structured questionnaire was applied to 300 residents and preceptors from eleven FCM and MRFH residency programmes. Thirty-four professional competences were assessed, and scores were produced from the sum of the Likert scale scores, ranging from 0 to 170 points. Descriptive statistical analysis showed the frequency of residents and preceptors mastering each of the 34 competences. Bivariate analysis was used to compare the differences between these two groups (residents and preceptors) and to assess the agreement between the residents' self-assessment and that of their preceptor's evaluation. RESULTS: Most participants were female (69.7%), had no partner (53.7%) and no children (76%). The competency score was higher among preceptors (p = 0.003), males (p = 0.008) and those with more experience in PHC (p = 0.003). Among physicians, the median resident self-assessment score was 123, while the resident assessment by the preceptor was 140 (p < 0.001). In the case of the MFHR, there was no significant difference between the median resident self-assessment (134.5) and the resident assessment by the preceptor (130.0) (p = 0.483). CONCLUSIONS: The Inventory of self-assessed competences proved to be a useful and quick tool for identifying the training strengths and weaknesses of professionals working in Primary Health Care. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.