Throughout the year there are dates related to health and today is one of the most important. Every September 23, the International Resident’s Day is commemorated. It is a day that has the objective of recognizing all the young people who are not satisfied with the Medicine career and seek to continue with their studies. Although they have already faced a long road, they still extend it for more years and that leads to a key question: Is it worth studying a medical specialty today?
Before proceeding, it is necessary to put in context the origin of this celebration. It was precisely on September 23, 1849 that William Halsted was born. It was this American surgeon who, together with William Osler, founded the first formal residency program in the John Hopkins Hospital. From then on there was a need to create doctors who had a deep knowledge in a specific specialty.
Since then, many years have passed and especially in Mexico there are strong discussions regarding how forgotten the resident is by the health system. It has even been classified as the most exploited element within any hospital.
The way to go
In that sense, it should be remembered that to study a specialty you must first pass a tough and complicated test. Its about National Examination of Applicants for Medical Residencies (ENARM) and to date very few doctors are accepted each year. This generates frustration in thousands of young people who cannot continue with their professional training.
But now it is necessary to talk about those who do pass the ENARM and can do a specialty. The main problem is that they lack a legal figure. This results in them being forgotten by the system to which they belong during the entire time that their residence lasts.
Are they students or workers?
The dilemma of medical residencies is that the role of each is not clearly determined. On the one hand, some consider them scholarship holders for the simple reason that they receive a scholarship and depend on a responsible doctor. In turn, when there are problems with patients, they are awarded legal responsibilities like any other professional. This means that sometimes they are general practitioners and sometimes they are not.
The truth is that everyone must perform functions like those of any doctor, although with extreme working hours. It has become common for them to face guards for up to 36 continuous hours without being able to rest. Regardless of their level of fatigue, they must be ready to attend patients and that threatens their own integrity.
It is because of this level of exploitation that many question whether it is really worth studying a medical specialty. In the end the satisfaction is very great but the problem is the path that must be traveled and during which there is very little support.