There are many challenges that doctors face, but one of the greatest comes when they graduate from university. Although you can practice your career, there is also the option of becoming a specialist to focus on a specific area. By doing so, you can also aspire to better jobs with more attractive salaries. Although if the second option is to be selected, it is necessary to pass the National Examination for Applicants to Medical Residences (ENARM).
To date, it remains one of the most complex tests that exist within the educational system of our country. Its objective is to summarize all the years of training in 450 questions to verify the capabilities of each applicant, although that is unfair. While another of its characteristics is that there are few places available with respect to the applicants who register each year.
Throughout history, the increase in places and the number of young people who take the exam has not been proportional. As a consequence, until 2019 only two out of 10 doctors obtained a residency.
ENARM’s Most Important Recent Change
It was in the 2020 edition when there was a radical change. For the first time, the available places were doubled. Thanks to this action, of the 42,423 professionals who supported it, 18,173 were selected, which represents a historical acceptance percentage of 42.2 percent.
Although it is an important advance, it is still not enough. Still just over half of those who submit the ENARM will be rejected. Therefore, it is necessary that the increase in places be maintained in order to end the deficit of specialists that has existed in Mexico for decades.
Number of places for each specialty
Now, it is necessary to clarify that there are great differences between the 27 direct entry specialties. While some offer thousands of places, others barely offer dozens of places. That is why from 2020 report of the Interinstitutional Commission for the Training of Human Resources for Health (CIFRHS) we share the figure of each one.
- Pathological Anatomy – 222
- Anesthesiology – 1,683
- Audiology, Otoneurology and Phoniatrics – 34
- Quality of Clinical Care – 28
- General Surgery – 1,646
- Epidemiology – 263
- Medical Genetics – 38
- Geriatrics – 595
- Gynecology and Obstetrics – 1,285
- Imaging, Diagnostics and Therapeutics – 531
- Physical Activity and Sports Medicine – 15
- Rehabilitation Medicine – 449
- Emergency Medicine – 1,962
- Occupational and Environmental Medicine – 115
- Family Medicine – 3,582
- Internal Medicine – 2,142
- Legal Medicine – 5
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging – 14
- Preventive Medicine – 12
- Pulmonology – 145
- Ophthalmology – 271
- Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery – 159
- Clinical Pathology – 43
- Pediatrics – 1,381
- Psychiatry – 341
- Radio Oncology – 50
- Traumatology and Orthopedics – 899
Regarding the numbers, the authorities indicate that they depend on the needs of the country. While it is expected that for the edition of this 2021 they will be similar or even greater but in no way less because it would mark a setback.