IntroductionThe selection of a medical specialty has been associated with multiple factors, such as personal preferences, academic exposure, motivational factors and sociodemographic factors, such as gender. The number of women in the medical field has increased in recent years. In Latin America, we have not found any studies that explore this relationship.ObjectiveTo determine whether there is an association between gender and the intention to choose a medical specialty in medical students from 11 countries in Latin America.MethodsSecondary analysis of the Collaborative Working Group for the Research of Human Resources for Health (Red-LIRHUS) data; a multi-country project of students in their first year and fifth year of study, from 63 medical schools in 11 Latin American countries. All students who referred intention to choose a certain medical specialty were considered as participants.ResultsOf the 11073 surveyed students, 9235 indicated the name of a specific specialty. The specialties chosen most often in the fifth year were General Surgery (13.0%), Pediatrics (11.0%), Internal Medicine (10.3%) and Obstetrics/Gynecology (9.0%). For women, the top choices were Pediatrics (15.8%), Obstetrics/Gynecology (11.0%), Cardiology (8.7%), General Surgery (8.6%), and Oncology (6.4%). In the adjusted analysis, the female gender was associated with the choice of Obstetrics/Gynecology (RP: 2.75; IC95%: 2.24–3.39); Pediatric Surgery (RP: 2.19; IC95%: 1.19–4.00), Dermatology (RP: 1.91; IC95%:1.24–2.93), Pediatrics (RP: 1.83; IC95%: 1.56–2.17), and Oncology (RP: 1.37; IC95%: 1.10–1.71).ConclusionsThere is an association between the female gender and the intention to choose Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pediatrics, Pediatric Surgery, Dermatology, and Oncology. We recommend conducting studies that consider other factors that can influence the choice of a medical specialty.

El impacto que ha originado la enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) en diferentes partes del mundo, alcanza en la actualidad 597, 072 personas contagiadas y 27,364 fallecidas según los últimos reportes. En ese contexto, en nuestro país, una zona de relevancia epidemiológica es la amazonia peruana, debido a la distribución de enfermedades endémicas como las enfermedades metaxénicas (Dengue, Malaria entre otras), en donde el problema se incrementa debido a que la infección por COVID-19 puede llevar a falsos positivos en las pruebas de cribado para Dengue. Conllevando de esa forma a un retraso en el diagnóstico de la infección por COVID-19 y una mayor diseminación del virus, debido a que en la mayor parte de los casos de Dengue no se presentan signos de alarma y el tratamiento es ambulatorio. Este artículo busca emitir una opinión sobre la necesidad del abordaje de casos de coinfección entre Dengue y Covid-19 en zonas endémicas.

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Inga-Berrospi F, Arosquipa Rodríguez C. Avances en el desarrollo de los recursos humanos en salud en el Perú y su importancia en la calidad de atención.

Objective: to determine the global offer of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in health and nursing, and to know the characteristics of its content, for continuing education in nursing professionals in Peru. Method: exploratory study was carried out on the websites: Coursera, edX, FutureLearn, XuetangX and Udacity, Class Central and MOOC List. The courses were classified according to the five nursing areas recognized by the Peruvian College of Nurses (Colegio de Enfermeros del Perú, CEP). From each course, data was collected on institution and country of origin, hours per week and total duration in weeks, audio and subtitle language. Results: a total of 654 courses in this modality are offered in health were found, covering the five areas contemplated by the Peruvian College of Nurses. Fourteen courses were specifically developed for nursing with an average duration of five weeks (3.2 hours per week of activities). Eleven came from Anglo-Saxon institutions, with content in English. Only two courses were offered in Spanish and one in Turkish. Conclusion: Massive Open Online Courses would be a useful tool for the continuing education of the Peruvian nurse given the wide offer, including some specifically for nurses, in the different areas of nursing. The content of the course is mostly in English. Expanding the range of languages or subtitles would facilitate the participation of a larger audience.

BackgroundLatin America is undergoing a human resource crisis in health care in terms of labor shortage, misdistribution and poor orientation to primary care. Workforce data are needed to inform the planning of long-term strategies to address this problem. This study aimed to evaluate the academic and motivational profile, as well as the professional expectations, of Latin American medical students.ResultsWe conducted an observational, cross-sectional, multi-country study evaluating medical students from 11 Spanish-speaking countries in 2011–2012. Motivations to study medicine, migration intentions, intent to enter postgraduate programs, and perceptions regarding primary care were evaluated via a self-administered questionnaire. Outcomes were measured with pilot-tested questions and previously validated scales. A total of 11,072 valid surveys from 63 medical schools were gathered and analyzed.ConclusionsThis study describes the profile and expectations of the future workforce being trained in Latin America. The obtained information will be useful for governments and universities in planning strategies to improve their current state of affairs regarding human resources for health care professions.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-017-2479-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Objetivo: describir la percepción de los médicos recién egresados de las facultades de Medicina Humana de Lima (Perú) sobre su internado. Métodos: Se llevó a cabo un estudio observacional, descriptivo y transversal. Se encuestó a médicos durante un curso, recolectando datos sobre el internado relacionados a bioseguridad, seguro médico, agresión, docencia, carga laboral, y carga administrativa. Resultados: en una población de 268 médicos, el 42,5% afirmó que se le ha entregado materiales de bioseguridad siempre que fuera necesario, el 35,8% que no contaron con seguro de salud, el 42,5% no haber tenido descanso postguardia en ninguna rotación, el 63,1% haber sufrido alguna vez durante su internado agresión verbal, el 21,6% acoso sexual, y 6,3% agresión física. Conclusión: según la percepción de los encuestados, se describen situaciones problemáticas durante el internado con respecto al abastecimiento de materiales de bioseguridad, el seguro de salud, los descansos postguardia, y la violencia.

Se encuestó a los médicos titulados por tesis de las siete escuelas de Medicina de Lima en el 2011 de las siete escuelas de Medicina de Lima para conocer las características del proceso de titulación por tesis, sus motivaciones y sus percepciones sobre dicho proceso. Se incluyó 98 tesistas (87% del total), 99% realizó tesis observacionales y el 35% realizó la tesis de manera individual (solo un tesista) en grupo de tres. La principal motivación fue que era bueno para su currículo (94%). En aquella universidad donde la tesis es obligatoria se empezó antes la elección del tema y el asesor. La percepción de mayor y menor dificultad en el proceso fue la realización de los trámites administrativos (53%) y seleccionar a su asesor (11%), respectivamente. Se deben revisar los procesos y tiempos administrativos para que no dificulten la realización de tesis, puesto que la nueva Ley Universitaria obliga a la elaboración de tesis para titularse.