Management Report on a Request by 52 Neurosurgeons to the President of the Republic
As it is already known, 52 of those assisting to the Congress at Cartagena, have signed a statement for the President of the Republic, requesting his intervention so that more attention is paid to the residents of the different medical specialties, given their lack of protection in our country.
This appeal was sent to the Presidency and 15 days later there was a reply, in which the Ministry of Education, Health and Work was asked to take care of the situation. When the answer was received from the Ministry of Work, we asked for a hearing with the Chief of Work Rights, Dr. Bejarano. We assisted to the meeting together with Dr. Hernando Cifuentes. We presented the situation clearly and the civil worker showed an interest. For this, he asked me to study the state of residents all over Latin America. I was able to gather information in two weeks from friends in different countries. We found that Colombia is the only country of the continent that does not pay its residents. We examined the situation in the European Union, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, confirming that in those countries residents are treated as institutional personnel. Findings were submitted, but no answer was given. We will return if need be. No reply from the Minister of Education was given to the President’s requests.
During this time interval we called Dr. Benavides, President of ANIR, on several occasions. However, we were not able to create an interest in him, which worried us very much, given that he is member of the Great National Medical Board, which is an adequate setting for enforcing residents’ rights. Furthermore, we participated at a meeting at the Colombian Association of Specialties, but did not receive a positive echo.
We now attach the statement from the Ministry of Health, amongst other documents, which open the path for more formal studies of the situation, and a promise to study the problem in conjunction with the Ministry of Education.
Nevertheless, we are also exploring the possibility of taking the matter to the Congress of the Republic, in order to legislate, as it occurs in other countries, residency training.
We will inform as new events take place.
Jaime Fandiño Franky
Doctora Ángela María Caro Bohórquez
