Dental resident participates in a graduate program in Maryland (USA)

The 3rd year resident of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Traumatology Residency Program at Bahiana/Roberto Santos Hospital, Vilson Rocha Cortez Teles de Alencar, participates, from June 3rd to 28th, in the exchange program at the University of Maryland (USA), thanks to an agreement signed between the two institutions.

In 2011 and 2012, the Bahiana received visits from classes of undergraduate Dentistry students at the University of Maryland who, for 15 days, participated in classes and extension activities together with students from the same course at the institution in Bahia.

This time, the partnership takes place within the postgraduate program, which required resident Vilson Rocha Cortez Teles de Alencar to adapt all of his academic documents (academic and residency history, curriculum, letters of recommendation, etc.) to English , in order to be submitted to evaluation by the coordinator of the Residency Program in Buccomaxillofacial Surgery and Traumatology of the American institution. "After almost two months of submitting the application, I received an email with the details of my acceptance to the International Medical Observationship Program", says the resident who is a graduate of the Federal University of Pernambuco (2006).  

Vilson Rocha Cortez Teles de Alencar

 
Vilson says that, unlike Brazil, "where only dentists are qualified to attend residency programs, in the US, both physicians and dentists (CD) are qualified to carry out the training. There is also the possibility of, during the training, already in residency, the CD can choose to supplement their training and, for a longer period of residency (six years in total), receive the title of MD (Medicine Doctor), then having a double degree (Double Degree). Dentists who prefer not to take the Double Degree choose to make the selection for the four-year program."

Despite having previous expectations, the resident believes there will be a lot of surprise with the experience. "I think my expectations today couldn't be higher. Still, I believe I'll be surprised by everything I'm in contact with. The reality of the American healthcare system is completely different from what we're used to, I can testify this after seeing the reactions and listen to the reports of the students who visited us here in our hospital, in the last two years".

Among the differences he hopes to find, he highlights the access that dentistry professionals have to cutting-edge technology, which, according to him, is at all levels of care, from the most basic to the most complex procedures. "However, it is known that the basic precepts of universality and equity that are followed in the SUS, here in Brazil, are not an American reality. They need to pay to have access to health services. However, in terms of structure as to the Bahiana, the reactions were quite different. They really said that, most of the time, it was all very close to what they had there and in some ways we surpassed them."