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PADULA, A/Prof Inez: Iberoamericana CIMF region president 2016-18

Maria Inez Padula Anderson is a Brazilian Family Physician, elected the president of the WONCA Iberoamericana CIMF for the period 2016 to 2018.

Inez Padula, as she is known, holds a degree in Medicine from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (FCM / UERJ- Medical Sciences,). She did her residency in Family and Community Medicine at UERJ, which pioneered this course in Brazil, offering the first three programs within this particular specialty. This program is coordinated by the Department of Integral Family and Community Medicine (MiFID) and it has been working continuously for 33 years now, although, for most of its existence, there has not been a specific field of work for its specialists.

After completing her residency, Inez Padula chose to dedicate her professional life to the training of residents and graduate students in the field of Family and Community Medicine and Primary Health. She also works on regular clinical activities within this specialty and, until 10 years ago, she worked in the field of Geriatrics too.

She holds an MA and a PHD in Public Health from the UERJ Institute of Social Medicine. She is an Associate Professor for the Department of Integral, Family and Community Medicine (MiFID), FCM / UERJ, for which she was also the head from 2007 to 2011. She is currently a professor of graduate courses in medicine and the coordinator for the Residency Program in Family and Community Medicine (PRMFC / UERJ), which at present offers 70 vacancies for residents. 

She is also one of the coordinators of a Specialization Distance Course in Family Health, aimed at doctors, nurses and surgery dentists and is the representative of Family Medicine in a distance education program called “Telessaúde”. This program is a support service for diagnosis and treatment through teleconsultations online and offline and aims at the implementation of continuous education, offering courses and other educational activities.

In addition to her regular professional activities, since 2001, Inez Padula has participated in and dedicated herself to the growth and qualification of family medicine, notably through her work for the Scientific Societies of Family Medicine, nationally and internationally.

She was vice president for the Brazilian Society of Family and Community Medicine (SBMFC) from 2001 to 2003; SBMFC President from 2004 to 2008; Scientific Director of the SBMFC from 2008 to 2010 and vice President of the WONCA Iberoamericana – CIMF/Conesul, from 2006 to 2013.

She has experience in issues related to her specialty, with particular interest to those about the applicability of the complexity paradigm in health, the ambulatory medicine, the personal-centered approach and the family and community approach. In addition to this, she has dedicated herself to the study of active teaching and learning methods and of new educational technologies through the use of distance education as well.