Spain hires Latin American doctors without MIR residency
Spanish healthcare recruits Latin American physicians lacking the mandatory MIR specialization to address specialist shortages.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Thousands of Latin American doctors work in Spain without the MIR: solution or risk?
Spanish healthcare faces a paradox: while thousands of aspiring students are excluded from medical school due to extremely high entry grades, autonomous communities resort to hiring Latin American physicians whose specialties are not yet recognized. A measure that began as an exception during the pandemic has become normalized, and professional associations are starting to report the risks.
The hole in Primary Care
The clearest example is in Aragon: of nearly 300 family doctor positions offered outside Zaragoza, only 46 were filled. Faced with a lack of candidates, health managers have opted to hire doctors with foreign degrees whose specialties are not yet homologated. The Extremadura Health Service (SES) defends these hires as a lesser evil to guarantee care, but medical associations warn that the measure is becoming chronic.
A growing business for private universities
In the last decade, about a dozen new medical schools have peine in Spain, mostly private. The number of faculties per million inhabitants already matches that of South Korea. The consequence, according to critics, is a bubble of graduates that will push salaries down and foster precariousness. Meanwhile, Spanish doctors trained through the MIR complain about degrading working conditions, and many choose to emigrate.
Quality under suspicion
Testimonies from patients and professionals regarding the preparation of some imported doctors are recurrent: from communication problems to alleged training deficiencies. Although most hired professionals are competent, the relaxation of homologation controls generates distrust. RTVE itself reported the warning from Extremaduran medical associations: what was supposed to be a temporary solution is consolidating as standard practice.
The debate is on. On one hand, the need to fill positions in rural areas and deficit specialties. On the other, the risk of deteriorating care quality and discouraging the training of national doctors. As long as authorities do not increase university places or improve working conditions, the import of doctors without the MIR will remain the de facto solution. With all the risks it entails.
Related forum discussions
Spanish healthcare faces a paradox: while thousands of aspiring students are excluded from medical school due to extremely high entry grades, autonomous communities resort to hiring Latin American physicians whose specialties are not yet recognized. A measure that began as an exception during the pandemic has become normalized, and professional associations are starting to report the risks.
The hole in Primary Care
The clearest example is in Aragon: of nearly 300 family doctor positions offered outside Zaragoza, only 46 were filled. Faced with a lack of candidates, health managers have opted to hire doctors with foreign degrees whose specialties are not yet homologated. The Extremadura Health Service (SES) defends these hires as a lesser evil to guarantee care, but medical associations warn that the measure is becoming chronic.
A growing business for private universities
In the last decade, about a dozen new medical schools have peine in Spain, mostly private. The number of faculties per million inhabitants already matches that of South Korea. The consequence, according to critics, is a bubble of graduates that will push salaries down and foster precariousness. Meanwhile, Spanish doctors trained through the MIR complain about degrading working conditions, and many choose to emigrate.
Quality under suspicion
Testimonies from patients and professionals regarding the preparation of some imported doctors are recurrent: from communication problems to alleged training deficiencies. Although most hired professionals are competent, the relaxation of homologation controls generates distrust. RTVE itself reported the warning from Extremaduran medical associations: what was supposed to be a temporary solution is consolidating as standard practice.
The debate is on. On one hand, the need to fill positions in rural areas and deficit specialties. On the other, the risk of deteriorating care quality and discouraging the training of national doctors. As long as authorities do not increase university places or improve working conditions, the import of doctors without the MIR will remain the de facto solution. With all the risks it entails.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (153 replies).
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