Professional Doctorate in Primary Care (DPAPS): a legacy for the Rio de Janeiro SUS

Since 2009, the Municipal Health Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro (SMS-RJ) has encouraged the creation of a Master's degree in primary health care at the National Health School/Fiocruz (ENSP/Fiocruz). In the following decade, this proposal became one of the main lines of the institution's professional stricto sensu postgraduate program, which culminated in CAPES approving the first professional doctorate class in the history of Fiocruz-RJ offered in 2024. The class comprises primary health care (PHC) students from Rio's SUS and Fiocruz employees in science, technology and innovation. Regarding the profile of the PHC students, the highlights were women (61.5%), a degree in medicine (53.8%), a mean of 15 years since graduating, 10 years working in PHC, graduates of a medical or multiprofessional residency course (69.2%) and a Master's degree in primary care from ENSP/Fiocruz or UFRJ (84.6%). The SMS-RJ thus leaves a legacy for Brazilian Public Health as a leader in the promotion of Fiocruz-RJ stricto sensu professional training programs, innovating in the end-of-course work, reviving the presence of doctors in the classes and bringing the contributions of the Portuguese SNS, a source of inspiration for the PHC reform undertaken in Rio de Janeiro, to the Rio de Janeiro SUS debate.