Abstract Background Although cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death among women, cardiovascular risk assessment in young women is frequently postponed due to a number of factors. Objectives To assess cardiovascular risk of young adult women living in one of Rio de Janeiro’s Family Health Strategy geographical units in the city’s central area. Materials and Methods populational, cross-sectional study with adults between 20 and 50 years old. Sociodemographic characteristics such as educational level and employment status were recorded. Anthropometric measurements, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, gynecological and gestational history, and selected laboratory exams were assessed. The bivariate analysis compared the baseline characteristics of the population between genders and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in women according to educational level and occupation status, using non-paired Student’s t-test for normal continuous variables, Mann-Whitney test for asymmetrical continuous variables, and chi-square test for categorical variables. A significance level of 5% (p < 0.05) was adopted. Results A total of 710 individuals were enrolled. In women, who comprised 59.7% of our sample, central obesity and a sedentary lifestyle were more prevalent, whereas smoking and hypertension were less observed. However, women with lower educational status had a higher prevalence of smoking and hypertension. In hypertensive women, factors such as early menopause, higher prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and higher number of pregnancies were noticed. Conclusion An adverse cardiovascular risk profile in our population of young women was particularly influenced by central obesity, sedentary lifestyle, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and lower educational status.

A sociedade brasileira vem discutindo, recentemente, a ideia de implementar um exame de licenciamento em Medicina (ELM) para médicos recém-formados no país. Para avaliar a adequação dessa proposta e sua real necessidade, analisa-se neste trabalho se os ELMs estabelecem eficazmente a aptidão dos recém-formados para exercer a Medicina e se os sistemas de avaliação vigentes no ensino médico brasileiro já o fazem. Usando o modelo baseado em competências como referencial, discute-se a experiência da comunidade internacional com os ELMs e as características das avaliações que se propõem a medir, no Brasil, a aptidão dos recém-formados. Conclui-se que, isoladamente, ambas as alternativas são ineficazes para cumprir esse objetivo. Propõe-se o desenvolvimento de um programa mais amplo de avaliação e enfatiza-se a importância da colaboração entre os atores envolvidos para aprimorar a qualidade das avaliações dos médicos recém-formados no Brasil.

The introduction a medical licensing examination (MLE) for the country’s newly qualified doctors has been the subject of discussion recently in Brazil. To assess the suitability of and real need for this test, this article analyzes whether the MLE provides an effective measure of the aptitude of newly qualified doctors and whether the evaluation system currently in place in medical education already does this. Using a competency-based model, we discuss experiences with MLEs in other countries and the features of the examinations proposed in Brazil to measure the aptitudes of newly qualified doctors. It is concluded that, in isolation, both alternatives are inadequate. We propose the development of a broader assessment program and stress the importance of collaboration between the different actors involved in order to enhance the quality of the examinations proposed to test the aptitude of newly qualified doctors in Brazil.

La sociedad brasileña ha discutido recientemente la idea de implementar un examen de licencia (ELM) para médicos recién graduados en el país. Para evaluar la adecuación de esta propuesta y su real necesidad, se analiza en este trabajo si los ELMs establecen eficazmente la aptitud de los recién graduados para ejercer la Medicina y si los sistemas de evaluación vigentes en la enseñanza médica brasileña ya lo hacen. Usando el modelo basado en competencias como factor referencial, se discute la experiencia de la comunidad internacional con los ELMs y las características de las evaluaciones que se proponen medir, en Brasil, la aptitud de los recién graduados. Se concluye que, aisladamente, ambas alternativas son ineficaces para cumplir ese objetivo. Se propone el desarrollo de un programa más amplio de evaluación y se enfatiza la importancia de la colaboración entre los actores envueltos para perfeccionar la calidad de las evaluaciones de los recién graduados en Brasil.

A sociedade brasileira vem discutindo, recentemente, a ideia de implementar um exame de licenciamento em Medicina (ELM) para médicos recém-formados no país. Para avaliar a adequação dessa proposta e sua real necessidade, analisa-se neste trabalho se os ELMs estabelecem eficazmente a aptidão dos recém-formados para exercer a Medicina e se os sistemas de avaliação vigentes no ensino médico brasileiro já o fazem. Usando o modelo baseado em competências como referencial, discute-se a experiência da comunidade internacional com os ELMs e as características das avaliações que se propõem a medir, no Brasil, a aptidão dos recém-formados. Conclui-se que, isoladamente, ambas as alternativas são ineficazes para cumprir esse objetivo. Propõe-se o desenvolvimento de um programa mais amplo de avaliação e enfatiza-se a importância da colaboração entre os atores envolvidos para aprimorar a qualidade das avaliações dos médicos recém-formados no Brasil.

The introduction a medical licensing examination (MLE) for the country’s newly qualified doctors has been the subject of discussion recently in Brazil. To assess the suitability of and real need for this test, this article analyzes whether the MLE provides an effective measure of the aptitude of newly qualified doctors and whether the evaluation system currently in place in medical education already does this. Using a competency-based model, we discuss experiences with MLEs in other countries and the features of the examinations proposed in Brazil to measure the aptitudes of newly qualified doctors. It is concluded that, in isolation, both alternatives are inadequate. We propose the development of a broader assessment program and stress the importance of collaboration between the different actors involved in order to enhance the quality of the examinations proposed to test the aptitude of newly qualified doctors in Brazil.

La sociedad brasileña ha discutido recientemente la idea de implementar un examen de licencia (ELM) para médicos recién graduados en el país. Para evaluar la adecuación de esta propuesta y su real necesidad, se analiza en este trabajo si los ELMs establecen eficazmente la aptitud de los recién graduados para ejercer la Medicina y si los sistemas de evaluación vigentes en la enseñanza médica brasileña ya lo hacen. Usando el modelo basado en competencias como factor referencial, se discute la experiencia de la comunidad internacional con los ELMs y las características de las evaluaciones que se proponen medir, en Brasil, la aptitud de los recién graduados. Se concluye que, aisladamente, ambas alternativas son ineficaces para cumplir ese objetivo. Se propone el desarrollo de un programa más amplio de evaluación y se enfatiza la importancia de la colaboración entre los actores envueltos para perfeccionar la calidad de las evaluaciones de los recién graduados en Brasil.