In ZamoraMichoacán, the municipality that is in position 10 on the list of those with the most homicides, the IMSS-Well-being hospitals in Villamar and General del Insabi have a lack of specialists in internal medicine, medical-surgical emergencies, pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics and anesthesiology, among others.
Why don’t Mexican doctors go to rural regions?
According to Dr. Mauricio Sarmiento and what was said in Medscape There are some reasons why Mexican doctors do not want to return to rural areas after their social service and they are the following:
I am dedicated to defending health personnel against the arbitrariness of the country’s health authorities and from my experience I conclude that the health system is authoritarian. There are various laws and regulations that regulate medical practice, but it is the same authorities that have no interest in complying with them. They treat health personnel in a despotic manner, without respect and violate their labor and human rights. Generally, when some of these cases happen in medium or large cities, we have instances to which we can go to report and sue, but in rural communities it is very difficult to defend health personnel.
2. Bad working conditions.
It is a daily practice that health personnel are hired for three, six or nine months and after that time their contract is renewed. This should not be like that; the contracts would have to be for an indefinite period of time and with legal benefits. Temporary contracts are only part of the violence against health personnel, it is a way to control them, since their performance depends on whether or not they are hired again.
3. Lack of supplies and medical equipment.
The Zero Shortage Collective has documented that in recent years the shortage of drugs has increased, as well as counterfeit drugs and non-filled prescriptions. What is the use of having the best doctors without the supplies?
On the other hand, in addition to the lack of drugs, we must recognize that modern medicine is not individual work, but team work. The best medical specialist is useless if you do not have other doctors and a large number of health professionals at your side to address the problems of society.
4. Violence and insecurity.
In many columns I have talked about the violence suffered by health personnel. It is something that the authorities do not want to mention, but that the vast majority of health personnel know. Doctors do not want to go to rural areas because there is no one to guarantee their safety. We have had cases like that of Dr. Mariana, who despite denouncing that there was violence against her, the authorities ignored her and even threatened not to leave her health center.
Mexican doctors do not trust our authorities, we know that in case of violence they are going to wash their hands and they are going to leave us to our fate. It is no coincidence that those positions that nobody wants to occupy are in states of the republic considered insecure.
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