Continuing medical education, a nice problem☆

enabled access to up-to-date surgical materials. However, we oday, the medical degree certificate only gives new graduaes a permit to continue studying and improving themselves, ince it is impossible, over the six years of the course, to resent students with the vast amounts of material that make p the various medical specialties. This completion of training is done in a variety of ways and y a variety of institutions. Initially, there is residency, which n our specialty is well structured and controlled, although it s accessible to ever more insufficient numbers of new medical raduates. After this phase, further improvement of physiians is offered by a diversity of institutions. The diversity and importance of these institutions is what oncerns us. Brazilian physicians prefer to update their knowledge hrough classes and presentations rather than through readng. Because congresses are meeting places where information s disseminated rapidly, they reach Brazilian physicians more irectly. Physicians in this country work long hours and yet ave good recreational options provided by our climate, which s pleasant in most of the country. Few hours remain for readng. Universities, which have the premise of teaching and coninuing to teach, are still the main source of improvement ourses, provided formally through postgraduate courses, or nformally through extension courses. The limiting aspect of nformation coming from universities is the difficulty repreented by excessive formality. Medical societies offer accessible courses and congresses in variety of locations, in which continuing medical education s the main tonic. These courses are generally one of the few opportunities for hysicians to improve their knowledge. Therefore, they should e organized with the highest level of seriousness, since what ay be said at these events will be taken to be the law by many f the participants for a long time. It is far from rare to see invitations given to professors who eet political criteria, which ask them to make presentations n topics in relation to which they have no experience. They