Uruguay SUMEFAC Forms

The international success of Uruguay in South Africa (playing soccer football) was a mixture of good players and team work. In my opinion the team work was essential. Indeed working together is essential and more important than winning.

Playing soccer is just an issue in my country. Is a kind of stigma not being a good soccer player?I am an awful player but I am devoted to team work.

On November 25, 2011 the primary care professionals in formal assembly founded their scientific society with the name SUMEFAC (Sociedad Uruguaya de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria- Uruguayan Family and Community Medicine Society). After two years’ of work and negotiations the two institutions representing primary care professionals in the country agreed to join efforts and fuse.

In the middle of the eighties, the state create a few family oriented facilities. The Family and Community residency program started in 1997, with only four places, and academic support from the University came two years later. Today the residency program has 30 places and the Family and Community Medicine Department is responsible for teaching medicine students in first contact with communities and patients, applying a new curriculum from 2008.

We hope this “team building” strategy is a tool oriented to improve primary care and give support to the system reform going on in Uruguay. Hopefully, to lead primary care development and give communities our best: to achieve equity, more life quality and happiness we will work hard - as one.

We wish for success in soccer. We wish for, we need success in team work in primary care.

Miguel Pizzanelli