The future MIR, on the new system of allocation of places: “It was the last straw”

The State Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) has called another demonstration for next June 8 and a subsequent concentration of unlimited duration in front of the Ministry of Health to protest the situation of those affected by the process of choosing MIR places. After holding a meeting last Monday with representatives of the Ministry of Health, the State Confederation of Medical Unions explains in a statement that the Ministry maintains “an inflexibility that prevents progress in the search for a satisfactory solution, clinging to a telematic model imposed unilaterally ».

As explained by the CESM, the ministerial officials were limited to taking note of the errors detected in the computer tool for the choice of places with the aim of improving the system, since in the first days of the term for the graduates in Medicine it was inoperative in many cases.

Errors in the system and empty squares

It has only been a week that future MIRs have been able to make the choice of places, in a process that will last, in principle, until June 16, since on the 17th it is expected to make the allocation of places. However, from day one, the application enabled by the Ministry of Health has experienced a multitude of errors. «The specialties are not loaded, the web hangs all the time, it does not allow you to select more than one specialty in more than one autonomous community … the program allows you to make drafts, but there are people who have not yet been able to make a request due to the errors of the system ”, comments Patricia Díaz, another applicant. There was even a day that the website was completely inoperative, because, as advertised, maintenance tasks were being carried out. Many applicants have sent mass emails to the Ministry and have called the incident telephone number, but have not received a satisfactory answer so far.

Another of the complaints of the graduates in Medicine is that with this telematic system there will be places that will be empty before the foreseeable resignations of places that will not be awarded later. «Last year, with the vacancies that were released because they had been rejected, even the person who had the number 10,000 in the MIR was able to choose a place. This year it will not be like that, and there will be more people who will be left without a place, ”says Patricia. The fact that there is no play-off, says Anna, will cause a lack of professionals working. “It does not affect only us, but the system as a whole, because some 2,000 places may be lost.”

According to the schedule provided by the Ministry, the incorporation to the assigned place will be between June 29 and 30, that is, two weeks after the allocation of places. “This means that if you end up in another autonomous community, you have two weeks to look for a flat, move, enroll… it is a very disappointing start. We have studied Medicine by vocation and we are the first to join in as quickly as possible, but with guarantees. Politicians fill their mouths saying that it is a safe and effective system, but none of them have done the MIR or know what we have been through, ”emphasizes Patricia.

End of course in pandemic

Just a year ago, Anna, Patricia and Andrea they explained in Plural Catalonia as had been the last months of the medical career. In the midst of a global pandemic, doing the last subjects of a tough six-year career, they began working in different centers to help fight Covid-19.

In Anna’s case, she was working in a health hotel linked to the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona that was set up in Plaza España, which welcomed mild patients who did not require intubation or mechanical respiration. There he did support tasks for the medical team, without having direct contact with the patients. “We visited patients by phone and decided which patients should be seen in person and which could wait. We also informed family members of the health status of the patients, we wrote reports, we looked at the analytics or asked for X-rays, “he says.

Patricia, on the other hand, did have more direct contact with the patients. In his case, he was working in a health hotel in Badalona linked to the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital. “They were mild patients who came from the Hospital to finish isolation, or people with a complicated socioeconomic situation who could not properly isolate at home, because they lived with many people,” he explains. “We spent a telephone visit and, when necessary, we visited patients to adjust treatment or do other support tasks,” he adds.

For her part, Andrea was doing support tasks in the ICU of the Hospital Clínic. “As final year students we did telematic support, we wrote courses, we filled in patient data, we made requests for analytics and, sometimes, we spoke with family members by phone,” he says.

All three explain that finishing the race in this way was strange. “We were not able to make the final degree trip nor were we able to graduate. With the uncertainty we were experiencing, we forgot a bit, but now, looking at it with perspective, it hurts to have finished the course like this », explains Andrea.

Lack of communication from the start

A few days after taking the last exam, at the end of June, the medical students started at the MIR exam preparation academy. The interviewed applicants explain that, on the part of the Ministry of Health, there was a lack of communication from the beginning. “From the beginning they have not treated us well at all. The issue of the allocation of places has been the straw that broke the camel’s back, after several months of misinformation “, denounces Anna.

«The months of study were hard. It was not until November that they told us when the exam would be. You start out unmotivated, because you are studying for an exam that you don’t even know when you will do it. Having announced the date earlier would have been of great help, because it is very different how you approach the study knowing when you are going to take the exam ”, says Andrea. “I had a really bad time,” explains Patricia. “There were days when you had a headache from studying so much and you didn’t even want to talk to anyone.”

The three interviewees agree that the pandemic, leaving aside all its consequences, has played their favor in the study. “For me it has been the best year to prepare an opposition,” says Anna. “With the restrictive measures, you couldn’t do too many activities and, therefore, it wasn’t so hard for me psychologically to lock myself up at home to study, because everyone was the same. I didn’t have so many external stimuli.

Election time

Anna, Patricia and Andrea are very clear about what specialties they want to do, and the fact of having a good position in the MIR exam reassures them, because they will surely be able to obtain the place they want and stay in the province of Barcelona.

Anna wants to do Internal Medicine. «During my career I wanted to do cardiology, because of the medical specialties it was the one I liked the most. But when I went through oncology, hematology and other specialties, I saw that I liked Medicine a lot, in general. I really like the emergency part and, since there is no such specialty in Spain, the best way to access it is by doing Internal Medicine. Then I can do a master’s degree if I want to specialize more », he explains.

Patricia, for her part, wants to do Gynecology and Obstetrics. «Gynecology caught my attention throughout my career. What pulls me back a bit is the surgery part, but I guess it’s a matter of practice. The problem is that at the university they don’t train us in surgery, the practices are very medical. You go to the operating room from time to time and see what you can through the camera, but little else, “he says. Patricia explains that she is very interested in the part of breast neoplasia and breast cancer surgery, as well as the whole issue of obstetric violence. «I think there is a very important lack in this aspect. Sometimes women are infantilized during the process of pregnancy and childbirth and, even though I cannot change the world, I would like to take care of them as well as possible, “he says. However, he is afraid of the fact that gynecology vacancies in Barcelona are ending very soon. As a second option, he considers doing pediatrics.

Finally, Andrea wants to do Anesthesiology at the Vall d’Hebron Hospital or at the Bellvitge Hospital. «I am excited. I would have liked to have a normal job selection process with guarantees, but I am looking forward to starting work, “he says.

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