Introduction The professional training in Occupational Medicine in Brazil is guided by the list of competences defined by the National Association of Occupational Medicine (ANAMT) in 2003 and updated in 2016, covering 6 domains and 28 essential competencies headed by the competence of moral judgment. This work presents the results of a study carried out with the objective of elaborating a residency program in Occupational Medicine at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, with a duration of 2 years, distributed in 5760 hours, with emphasis on detailing the essential competences of the Professionalism and Study and Intervention on the Health Situation of Workers.

Methods The quantitative-qualitative study took as reference the competences defined by ANAMT and the norms that regulate the medical residency programs in the country, with the construction of matrices that were successively submitted to the appreciation of residents, graduates of the program and professionals specialised in the area. At the end, a Seminar was held to validate the results.

Result A preliminary document was produced where the main technical knowledge, skills and attitudes expected for each general competence contained in the fields of Professionalism and Study and Intervention on the Health Situation of Workers were defined and listed.

Discussion This study detailed the general competences of the first two domains of the competency matrix prepared in 2016 by ANAMT with the aim of making their use easy and practical. This detail can serve as a platform for the development and orientation of Medical Residency Programs in Occupational Medicine.