Professional competence and the family health strategy: views from professionals

Abstract

This exploratory, descriptive study, qualitative in nature, had as its purpose, to characterize the views of the health care professionals (dentists, nurses, and doctors) from the Family Health Program, with specialty training, at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in regard to the meaning of professional competence and its underpinnings, considering that competence is the key element in the performance of professionals within the logic of the principles behind the Unified Health System and the Family Health Strategy. Twenty-two professionals took part in the research and data collection via a questionnaire. Responses were gathered during November and December of 2006. Priorities for professional performance in family health were, in the following order from the highest to lowest: providing health care, continuing education, decision making, communication and leadership, and administration and management. Over all the professionals involved in the research demonstrated an understanding of competence in a technical narrow sense (tecnicista). Thus in their understanding of competence (knowledge about, and its types), that is, ability and attitude, they were confused because of difficulties in distinguishing between “ability” from its broader concept of “competence”. The responses, generally, touched on knowledge and attitude. The main problem was related to attitude, often mixed (confused) with capacity (ability) and, especially, with knowledge. We concluded that due to difficulties in expressing the fuller understanding of professional competence and its foundations, it is not easy for the professionals to identify the over all knowledge, the capacity (ability), and the attitude in their work in Family Heath. The capacity to face situations, events, and facts inherent in one’s professional area, with initiative and responsibility, and acting with practical intelligence and skill to coordinate them with other actors in the mobilization of their skills reveals professional competence.