The Shortage of Healthcare Professionals in Outlying Regions of Brazil and the COVID-19 Pandemic - Reflections on Immigrant Integration and the Realization of the Right to Health

Sep 7, 2026

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The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the barrier faced by foreign-trained medical graduates in Brazil, where legal restrictions prevent qualified immigrant physicians from practicing. Using a hypothetical-deductive approach supported by documentary and bibliographical research, the study examines the legal dimensions of allowing immigrant doctors to work during pandemic conditions. By interpreting Brazil’s context and reviewing educational and healthcare experiences, the analysis argues that greater flexibility in the Revalida exam can improve healthcare access and support immigrant integration, strengthening health rights.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Pandemic and healthcare workforce shortage in Brazil

Revalidation barriers for foreign-trained doctors

Migration, ethics, and public health concerns

Research approach and hypothesis

Hypothetical-deductive method

Legal constraints and exceptional circumstances

Immigrant doctors in scarcity contexts

Right to work and universal access to healthcare

Flexibility of the Revalida exam

Beijing Law Review, 2023, 14, 1863-1877 [https://www.scirp.org/journal/blr](https://www.scirp.org/journal/blr) ISSN Online: 2159-4635 ISSN Print: 2159-4627 The Shortage of Healthcare Professionals in Outlying Regions of Brazil and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflections on Immigrant Integration and the Realization of the Right to Health Thais Alves Costa1, Júlia Oselame Graf2 1Department of Philosophy, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil 2Department of Law, Scholarship PROSUC/CAPES Modality II, University of Santa Cruz do Sul, Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil How to cite this paper: Costa, T. A., & Graf, J. O. (2023) . The Shortage of Healthcare Professionals in Outlying Regions of Brazil and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflections on Immigrant Integration and the Realization of the Right to Health. Beijing Law Review, 14, 1863-1877. [https://doi.org/10.4236/blr.2023.144102](https://doi.org/10.4236/blr.2023.144102) Received: October 10, 2023 Accepted: December 2, 2023 Published: December 5, 2023 Copyright © 2023 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0) . [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Open Access Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to the issue of foreign-trained medical graduates who are unable to practice medicine in Brazil. Employing a combination of the hypothetical-deductive method and a documentary and bibliographical approach, our research aimed to explore the potential relaxation of legal restrictions for immigrant physicians, particularly in exceptional circumstances of a pandemic. By analyzing the Brazilian context, we delved into the legal aspects surrounding the discussion of allowing immigrant doctors to practice during a pandemic. Through data analysis and an examination of recent experiences in teaching and healthcare, we concluded that the flexibility of the Revalida exam offers a promising solution to enhance healthcare access and integrate immigrant doctors, harnessing their valuable skills for the benefit of Brazilian society. Keywords Immigrant, Health Rights, Public Policies, Pandemic, COVID-19 1. Introduction At the end of December 2019, a new virus broke out in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread worldwide, causing the greatest pandemic of the last 100 years, COVID-19. When we started writing this report, in the winter of 2020, Brazil had about two million infected and almost 100,000 deaths due to the coronavi- rus. In a scenario characterized by poorly implemented quarantines and a lack of political commitment to address the health crisis, a new issue arises: the shortage of qualified labor and healthcare professionals. Thus, we are faced with a rather challenging reality: on the one hand, the shortage of health professionals, and on the other, the large number of people who obtain medical degrees abroad (immigrant doctors and doctors who graduated abroad) who do not have authorization to practice the medical profession in Brazil. These thousands of people in that situation encountered the obstacle of only being able to practice medicine in Brazil once they successfully passed the revalidation exam to validate their diplomas. The proficiency test responsible for validating the diplomas of these doctors who graduated abroad is called Revalida. It is administered by the National Institute for Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP, 2020), resulting from a partnership between the Brazilian Ministries of Education and Health. However, this exam is not applied periodically having already gone three years without being applied. Without the revalidation of diplomas, professionals, despite being duly qualified in their country of origin, cannot exercise their profession in Brazil, even for exclusively emergency purposes, as in the case of the pandemic. In light of this inconsistency, wh

FAQs

What problem does the paper focus on regarding immigrant physicians in Brazil?

It addresses how foreign-trained medical graduates cannot practice in Brazil due to legal restrictions, even during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is Revalida and why is it central to the discussion?

Revalida is the proficiency exam used to validate foreign medical diplomas in Brazil, and the paper argues for its flexibility during exceptional pandemic circumstances.

What approach does the research use to develop its argument?

The study applies a hypothetical-deductive method with documentary and bibliographical procedures to analyze legal aspects and relevant experiences.

Sep 7, 2026

Upload by Liam