2023-08-01 03:00:10
From Asturias, he came for three months and has already been in Ourense for 31 years: “I have always had the thing to return, but it will be when I retire”
01 Aug 2023. Updated at 11:47 a.m.
I didn’t want to be a doctor. Carmen Penín dreamed of studying Architecture, but then there was no single university district, so to go to Madrid, as she wanted, she had to register there. She saw a blank year ahead of her so, since all her friends —except one of hers, who did Nursing— were going to Medicine, decided to join them. She liked the race and she stayed. «At the end, the only option was the mir. So there was no work with the number of doctors we were », she says. She approved the first time. She wanted to specialize in Plastic Surgery, but when she had to choose, there were no more places. she finished in Pathological anatomy, of which he admits that he knew nothing, by discarding. “I did not dare to resign because passing was the fluke of the century, we were 22,000 for 1,900 places,” he says. In addition, he would make his residence in his native Asturias, which was what he wanted. She specialized in cytology and puncture, a job she performs at the Ourense Hospital Complex, where she has also been the head of the service since 2006.
—Head of a hospital service, how about staff in summer?
—We are few in summer and winter. We were ten and we are seven. There are several unfilled positions because we cannot find pathologists, and fewer who want to dedicate themselves to cytology and puncture. Those who come prefer to do biopsies or surgical pathology. The good thing is that the entire service is very committed and, despite the staff deficit, we maintain the agreed delays. In Ourense we have a good, modern service, with new facilities. And we are always trying to innovate.
—He is a specialist in ultrasound-directed puncture.
—I’m the only one who does it in Galicia, I took a course at the American school and now I’m trying to teach someone young. I wanted to start and for the squad to be renewed, but it has not been like that. We can’t get anyone to come to Ourense.
—They are one of the great unknowns in the world of medicine. How many times have you had to explain what he does?
—(Laughs). Even my mother asks me what exactly I do! It is an unknown specialty, but very important. We all are, some need the others. Medicine is a gear, no one can work individually. 80% of the operations and treatments that are carried out arise from a diagnosis of Pathological Anatomy. And with precision medicine at the oncology level, it is a fundamental service. In the lung it is not worth saying adenocarcinoma, which is like saying nothing. A biomolecular study must be done and from there, according to the biomarkers, the treatment is decided.
—He approved the mir the first time, but repeated.
—I applied as a second and third year resident, and I passed both. But he never gave me to do Plastic Surgery. I doubted whether to take Gynecology, but as I progressed in Pathological Anatomy I liked it more and I stayed. I am a fan of cytology and puncture.
—After finishing his residency, he came to Ourense. But he also had an offer from the Balearic Islands.
—The thing about the plane was throwing me back. And that it arrived from Avilés to Palma in an hour and a half and instead to Ourense it took eight (laughs). I came with the idea of leaving, thinking that they were going to hire me at the Cabueñes hospital. I came for three months and I’ve been here for 31 years.
—But in that time he would have a chance to leave.
—I made my life here, I had my children… They offered me the leadership in Oviedo twice, but I already had my life made here, the moment had passed. I’ve always had a thing for going back, but it will be when I retire. My daughter has returned, who is doing the residency in Pediatric Surgery in Asturias.
—When did you decide that you were fine in Ourense?
—The first year I was terrible. I arrived in August, it was very hot. One of the first days, when I got off work, it occurred to me to go for a walk and it was unbearable (laughs). I was used to the climate of Asturias and it was hard for me. It never rained here. I miss the rain.
Define yourself as a professional.
—I try to help and be affectionate and respectful with the patients. To be a good doctor you need to be human. Being a good technician is mandatory, but the human component is fundamental.
—When you are not in the hospital, what do you like to do?
-Lastly, rest. I like to read and go to the movies, also to go out with my friends. I am very “charrana”, as we say in Asturias and it means talkative. I like sports at times. I join the gym, I go for a while, then I quit…
“What are you reading?”
—I’m rereading Wuthering Heights. I saw a lousy movie that talked about him and I took him. There are books that I read from time to time. my favorite is one hundred years of solitude.
-Your song…
—Last ChristmasWhich brings back very happy memories. Every year for Christmas I put it on the telephone tone and I have it until March or April.
“A place where I’m happy?”
—Where my children are, I don’t care about the place. My family is my reference, it always has been.
Filed in:Ourense city CHUO Hospital of Cabueñes Oviedo
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