- Various renowned doctors have given their opinion on the alleged lack of health professionals in Mexico.
- In recent months, hospitals have been reported to have cut doctors hired during the pandemic.
- One of the main requirements is to offer decent working conditions to Mexican doctors.
The announcement by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about the hiring of 500 Cuban doctors has provoked a strong discussion in our country. Although the intention is noble, the action has been frowned upon by most health professionals. It has also caused the question of whether there really is a shortage of doctors in Mexico.
To begin with, the objective of the agreement is to strengthen medical care in rural areas of our country. In fact, these are the most forgotten places and where deficiencies prevail.
In this sense, since the beginning of his government, the president has indicated that his priority is the poor. Many of his actions are aimed at this sector of the population and the field of health is no exception.
Is there a lack of doctors in Mexico?
Now, during the last few days, various voices have expressed themselves through social networks. Among those who question the supposed deficit of doctors in Mexico is the Dr. German Fajardo Dolciwho is the current director of the Faculty of Medicine at UNAM.
His message is short but accurate. He assures that Mexico has enough doctors and does not need to import doctors from other countries. He also points out that the real priorities should be to improve the conditions in the boarding school, social service and offer a decent job to general practitioners.
Mexico produces very good and enough doctors, better conditions are urgently needed in medical internships, social service and decent work for general practitioners. We do not need to import doctors.
– German Fajardo Dolci (@germanfajardo) May 10, 2022
In this regard, one of the biggest complaints towards the Mexican health system is the way in which young people are exploited since their formation. In hospitals, shifts that last more than a day are common. During that time, aspiring doctors must work tirelessly.
For its part, the Dr. Jackie Lopez, who focuses on content creation, also denies that there is a shortage of doctors in Mexico. What he mentions is that they are actually poorly distributed.
One day I commented on this in a video and was -canceled- I’m glad that Dr. Tello says it so frankly: in Mexico there is no shortage of doctors, resources are totally poorly distributed. https://t.co/5mDJEbg1vU
— Jackie Lopez (@drajackielopez) May 11, 2022
While the issue of economic remuneration is one of the most complaints caused in the union. To date, Mexico is one of the countries in Latin America that pays doctors the worst.
In 2020, the Belisario Domínguez Institute of the Senate of the Republic carried out a study. What was obtained is that doctors in Mexico earn an average of $16,146 per month.
The figure represents almost a third of the average salary for this profession in countries such as Brazil and Spain. While the nursing staff, meanwhile, earn an average of $9,909 per month. This is less than half of what their colleagues in Chile or Italy earn.
From heroes to unemployed
Finally, the argument of the deficit of doctors in Mexico is contradicted by the constant reports of personnel in public institutions. Although at the beginning of the pandemic there was a massive hiring of doctors, after a few months several were fired.
Due to the above, to date there are thousands of Mexican doctors who in a matter of months went from being heroes to being unemployed. The lack of memory caused his support during the moments of greatest concern to be forgotten.
And in your case, do you think there is a shortage of doctors in Mexico?