The shortage of doctors worries managements who see that a large number of retirements are approaching, and that there is no change of generations to relieve the burden. Before 2026, according to Report on procurement and needs for medical professionals 2021-2035 The Ministry of Health announced in January 2022, with data from June 2021, that there were a total of 28,769 medical specialists aged 60 or over in the national health system, which means that they will reach retirement age in the coming years.
However Andalusian Medical Union (SMA) points out that based on this report, there are specialties in which the number of residents who complete the MIR is much higher than the possible retirements in these years. There are cases where they exceed 300 per cent for those aged 60 or over in the national health system and close to 200 per cent for those aged 60 or over nationally. That is the case Digestive system, Thoracic surgery, Clinical neurophysiology Mr Medical oncology which exceeds 449.8 percent in the case of SNS and 319.9 percent at the national level.
The specialties that indicate that this excess is very close to or exceeds 200 percent for doctors aged 60 or more in the SNS and slightly less at the national level are: Angiology and vascular surgery, Cardiology, heart surgery, Oral and maxillofacial surgery, plastic surgery, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Hematology and chemotherapy, intensive treatment, Nuclear medicine, preventive medicine, nephrology, Neurosurgery, Neurology Mr Radiation oncology.
Family medicine will run out of spare parts after retirement
While these nineteen specialties are expected to have a larger number recently incorporated doctors from MIR As for retirement, others will notice a shortage of doctors. The large number of doctors retiring and those finally completing residency is not enough to replace that many retirement, To this we must add that many of those who are finally trained do not practice in Spain, either because they came to train and returned to their countries of origin (more than a thousand in each call) or because they do not find stability, professional practice conditions and fees that match their level of education, demand and responsibility.
Even if everyone who finishes stays working in Spain, it will not be enough to cover all pensions, e.g. Family medicine. In this specialty, there is a difference of more than 1500 specialists (-12.5%) in SNS. If we also take Private Health into account, the difference reaches more than 3700 (-25.5%).
During this time, it is estimated that a maximum of 42,902 Medical specialists MIR, but if we subtract the average of those who did not finish between 2016 and 2021, the expected number of those who may finally finish would be 40,206, which is 11,437 more than those aged 60 or over in SNS, but 408 less than those aged 60 or more if we include Private Health, estimating that they have the same percentage as SNS in this age group. But it should be borne in mind that many of these MIRs will largely join the ‘flight of white corners’, due to the disproportion between compensation and the activities, effort, dedication and responsibility of the doctors who make it up.
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