shortage of health professionals It spreads throughout Spain, and becomes a serious problem in deprived areas of the region. But amidst this situation, there are also health workers who, for one reason or the other, decide to make a shift from the big city to the rural area. in this area, routing project was born as a “bridge” to help this transition. Antonio García, director of the initiative in Castilla y León, explains that most of the doctors he has helped so far are foreigners, from Latin America.
Over the past decade, there were 53,780 foreign workers in the health and social services sector in Spain, which has increased to 109,773. One of the people behind these shapes is Indira Rojas. The Venezuelan doctor arrived in Spain in 2021 with her two teenage children, after spending five years in Ecuador. asylum seeker, He settled in Catalonia through the process of title approval had already started, but the high cost of living prompted him to look for other options.
Medicine in rural Spain
He explains, “I came here to Spain as an asylum seeker. I requested it in Madrid. I spent three months in asylums and from there they sent me to Catalonia, where they gave me a place to live. Gave the apartment.” medical writing, “We stayed there for a few months but Housing in Catalonia is very expensive and they asked me many requirements for renting.” Rojas says, explaining that at the time he didn’t have much time for contributions or an indefinite contract.
The doctor found out about the Arrigo project from a friend who had already been successfully helped, and put him in touch with one of the people in charge of the initiative. rojas was destined new walls, a Palencia municipality of less than 2,000 inhabitants. “I came blindly, I didn’t know the city, I didn’t know anything,” he explains. “The beginning wasn’t easy, because I didn’t have an approved title yet. He was working as an assistant in a nursing home when he received information: he had been refused asylum on humanitarian grounds. “I am left without papers, still without clearance”says the expert, who admits that they were “difficult” months.
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“Once I got the title, many doors opened for me”
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However, after several years of waiting, it was approved in March 2023 and Got a job “instantly”, Currently, Rojas is a family doctor in Paredes de Nava and in February she will also start working in another nearby town. She describes her experience as a rural doctor as “very good”. “I’m doing what I like, what I find useful”He points out.
For Colombian doctor Oscar Andres, the experience became easier after arriving in Spain. He requested title recognition in 2019 and it was granted in 2022, after which he decided to migrate. “It’s a very nice and welcoming experience,” he says.Medicine is a little cold in the cities, On the other hand, in rural areas it is more about interaction and familiarity with the patient,” he adds.
He now works as a regional doctor in Villalobon, a town in Palencia with less than 2,000 inhabitants. “It has been a pleasant experience,” he says, highlighting “Continuity” of health care. He is in Spain. “You see a patient and you come to him with pathology all the time. In Latin America you see him once, then to another doctor, and then to another doctor, you may not see (the patient) again ,” he explains, adding that it’s a positive thing. For both doctor and patient.
routing project
Both doctors mention the help they received from the Arrigo Project, especially when it comes to finding a house to rent. “They are taking care of me in many aspects,” say both doctors. For his part, the director of the project in Castilla y León indicates that, although he cannot help with the process of titling and migration , they work with the company Migra Seguro to provide assistance to doctors in the field.
Furthermore, García highlighted that the Palencia office has a Fellowship of newly arrived doctors, “They are picked up from the train station, taken to their hotel and taken to open and register a bank account,” he told Medical Writing. In total, they have already managed to bring seven non-EU doctors to establish themselves in the province.
Although it may include statements, data, or notes from health institutions or professionals, the information contained in medical writing is edited and prepared by journalists. We advise the reader to consult a health care professional with any health related questions.