Abstract

VAZQUEZ-GARCIA, Juan Carlos et al. Pulmonary and critical care medicine as a single specialty. The mandatory response in the era of respiratory pandemics. Neumol. cir. torax [online]. 2020, vol.79, n.3, pp.134-140.  Epub Feb 28, 2022. ISSN 0028-3746.

Mexico experiences great challenges in public health and its health system. Demographic transition combines the coexistence of infectious and chronic-degenerative diseases. Respiratory diseases are some of the major public health problems and have been aggravated by the advent of respiratory pandemics: Influenza A H1N1 in 2009 and COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 during 2020. In this period, the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (INER), the main training center for specialized human resources in Mexico, like other centers for the specialty of pulmonary medicine, has undergone a profound transformation towards the healthcare integration of respiratory and critical care medicine. Nevertheless, the great lack of specialized human resources in this area has become more evident during the current epidemiological emergency. It confirms that the proposal to integrate pulmonary and critical care medicine into a single specialty may be one of the compelling and effective responses to match some of the greatest challenges of medicine in our country.

Keywords : COVID-19; medical education; human resources in health care; medical employment.