The government’s expectation is to fill up to 28,000 vacancies in the new “More Doctors” by the end of the year.| Photo: Lula Marques/Agência Brasil

The “More Doctors” program was relaunched at the end of this Monday morning (20) with the immediate opening of 15,000 vacancies, 5,000 through public notice and 10,000 through direct hiring from municipalities. Among the new rules for hiring is the preference for Brazilian professionals, although foreigners are allowed to participate in the selection process.

The government’s expectation is to hire 28,000 doctors by the end of the year to work mainly in cities far from large urban centers, with an investment of R$ 712 million. Professionals who agree to stay in these places will receive an additional 10% to 20% of the total sum of scholarships for at least 36 months.

As for the incentive for physicians who used Fies during training, they will receive an additional 40% to 80% of the total sum of scholarships for the entire period of the program. According to the new rules, the contracts will be valid for four years, renewable for the same period.

“We want all doctors who sign up to be Brazilian. If not, we will call for foreign doctors to take on this task”, said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) during the relaunch of the program.

According to the Ministry of Health, doctors who participate in the program will have incentives to carry out a specialization or master’s degree in up to four years, with receipt proportional to the monthly amount of the scholarship, to work in the peripheries and more remote regions.

The estimate of the new More Doctors is to serve 96 million people in primary care.

The first version of Mais Médicos, launched in 2013, had the participation of 18,200 professionals. Of these, 11 thousand were from Cuba, and 75% of the salary was directed to the dictatorship commanded at the time by Raúl Castro. In addition, the professionals’ diplomas were not subject to revalidation in order to work in Brazil.