The Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) welcomed this Monday the students who will make up the 4th class of Multiprofessional Residency in Care for People with Disabilities, pioneering postgraduate program in Brazil for professionals in the areas of physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychology and social work. 

The residents will work in the healthcare of people with hearing, physical and intellectual disabilities, distributed between the Specialized Rehabilitation Center (CER III) of the Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Research in Health and the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neurosciences. At the ISD, students learn and assist in the care of users with Epilepsy, Parkinson's, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Spinal Cord Injury, Microcephaly, Prematurity and Neurogenic Bladder. 

Empathy 

The new class is welcomed in a week full of welcoming activities promoted by veteran residents, who are in their second and final year of the course. On their first day at the Institute, the new students are encouraged to put themselves in the shoes of people with disabilities, the target audience of the Residency. With the help of a wheelchair, walker, blindfolds and earplugs, they get a feel for the potential challenges that people with disabilities face. 

“During this first week, we introduce the new residents to all the work of the Institute, and we discuss how to deal with people with disabilities. We try to integrate them into a new way of working, encouraging them to become aware of the needs of people with disabilities,” explains the coordinator of the Multiprofessional Residency, Lorenna Santiago. 

Internship and Residency 

One of the new students entering the Residency, recently graduated physiotherapist Andreza Viana, decided to apply for the Residency selection process after completing the Mandatory Curricular Internship at ISD. The student passed through the Institute in 2020 and immediately applied for the Residency. She says that she began to see the importance of multidisciplinary experience.

“When I did my internship, I saw how important the Institute is for this region and the state. The entire team that works here is made up of excellent professionals, and the students also end up becoming excellent professionals, with a highly qualified background in healthcare. Without a doubt, my internship experience made me see that it would be worth it to do this postgraduate course here,” said Andreza. 

Residence 

The Multiprofessional Residency in Health Care for People with Disabilities has been offered by ISD since 2018. The program's main field of activity is the Anita Garibaldi Center for Education and Research in Health and the Specialized Center for Physical, Auditory and Intellectual Rehabilitation (CER III), at ISD. Enrolled candidates may also be allocated to Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS), in accordance with the activities defined by the Residency coordination, in order to meet the teaching-research integration needs of the Santos Dumont Institute. 

ISD is a reference in maternal and child health, people with disabilities, neurosciences and neuroengineering. Service to the population is offered through the Unified Health System (SUS) and, in the CER, includes people with refractory epilepsy; Parkinson's; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); spinal cord injury; microcephaly; hearing deficiency; prematurity and neurogenic bladder. This is the first CER in the Northeast of Brazil with operations integrated into a research and innovation system through joint work with the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience. 

Click on the gallery below to see other images from the first day of Welcome Week for new residents.