Of the 182 doctors who took part in the welcoming ceremonies held at the CHUA units in Faro and Portimão, 134 are General Training interns and 48 are Specialised Training doctors, the Algarve University Hospital Centre said in a statement.

The 48 specialised doctors have been placed, in Faro and Portimão, in "Anaesthesiology (2), Cardiology (1), General Surgery (3), Infectious Diseases (1), Gastroenterology (2), Gynaecology/Obstetrics (3), Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (5), Intensive Medicine (3), Internal Medicine (10), Nephrology (1), Neurology (1), Medical Oncology (2); Clinical Pathology (2), Paediatrics (3), Pneumology (1), Psychiatry (6), Radiology (2)."

"With regard to General Training, in order to deepen their knowledge in various clinical contexts, the interns will develop their training, in a tutored way, in different specialties and services in the hospital units of Faro and Portimão and also in the Health Centres of the region," clarified the CHUA.

On the occasion of the ceremony to welcome the interns, the president of the CHUA's board of directors, Ana Varges Gomes, highlighted the importance of the doctors' spirit of mission in treating patients and the need to be demanding to give their contribution to medicine.

"Challenge those who are with you, challenge the system, be the change you want to see in the National Health Service. Do your best, be restless souls," said Ana Varges Gomes, quoted in the CHUA statement.

The clinical director of the CHUA, Horácio Guerreiro, also addressed the new internal clinicians to stress the "opportunities of working in a growing hospital centre" as is the case of the Algarve health unit.

Also quoted in the communiqué, Horácio Guerreiro considered that, in the context of working in a "growing" centre, the interns "can make a difference and differentiate themselves technically", benefiting from "integration in teams through tutelage" and an "important connection to the university and research world".

Present at the ceremony in Faro, the president of the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve, Paulo Morgado, stressed the need for interns admitted to the CHUA to develop new skills and the "interaction and communication" between doctor and patient, said the CHUA statement.