Featured Doctor

GARCÍA-GUTIÉRREZ GÓMEZ, Rocío

Spain - Family Doctor

What work you do now?

I am currently working in SUMMA-112, an out-of-hospital emergency service. I spend my shifts in an "ambulance" (rapid intervention vehicle -VIR- or mobile ICU), providing treatment to patients with critical problems in the province of Madrid. In addition, I am doing two shifts a month in the emergency department of a hospital in the Madrid region.
 

Tell us about your experience as a family doctor? 

I wanted to be a doctor for as far as I can remember. I had the opportunity to do the most beautiful speciality in the world between 2013 and 2017 in an incredibly well-prepared health centre with an outstanding human team from which I learned great values and skills to face my work. 

I tried to make the most of those years by subspecialize in emergency medicine too. In Spain, family doctors have the possibility to work in other fields in addition to Primary Care (emergencies, palliative care...) 

After residency, I started working in a health centre in Madrid city, but the lack of decent contracts edged me to work at the hospital emergencies department. 

However, I also work as a substitute in Primary Care with shorter contracts (up to two months). I do not want to miss the unique features of my speciality, such as longitudinality, patient follow-up, care for chronicity, family and community care, and holistic patient care.

What other relevant activities have you been involved in? 

I have been playing a very active role as part of the Vasco da Gama Movement (VdGM) since my second year of residence, organising our famous Madrid Conference Exchange in 2014. After that,  I got named Regional Exchange Coordinator) in Madrid.

Since the beginning, we tried to build a strong team and actively participate in conferences, forums and exchanges. It has been an exciting experience from which I have learned a lot. It also allowed me to meet amazing people (and friends). I leapt to the European level in September 2020 when I started in the Executive of VdGM in the Exchange Officer position. 

Also, since 2011 I have worked as a medical volunteer in the NGO Amigos de Calcutta in the Indian city of Calcutta, taking the reins of volunteering coordination since 2012 and becoming vice president from 2014 to 2019. Although I was not able to go to India last year due to the Covid19 pandemic, I am still engaged to the NGO as part of the executive board since June.

In recent years, I have also been part of "AP se mueve" (Primary Care is moving), a family doctor movement where we expose structural problems in family medicine in our region and seek solutions.

Last but not least, I am also part of the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (semFYC). I am also part of the WONCA Special Interest Group on Health Inequities, with multiples activities such as writing articles or giving talks and courses, both related to training and awareness. 

In the last years, we prepared two very successful online courses, one on international and traveller health and another on health inequities. I am currently coordinating the fourth edition of the online course on traveller health and preparing an extra online course related to migration and health. 

What are your main interests at work and in private? 

From a professional perspective, I would like to continue training and specializing in international health and health inequities. 
My experience as a doctor in India has been one of the things I enjoyed the most in my life. It has turned me into who I am today, and I would like to continue with this work to fight social and health inequalities, also from my country. 

I love teamwork and multidisciplinarity. I believe that, by sharing experiences and leaving the comfort zone,  we can give more of ourselves and think globally. The phrase of the Vasco da Gama Movement: "think globally, act locally", sums the way I like to work. The truth is that I am not looking for great projects in the future. I enjoy every moment and make the most of it. I hope to continue doing so in the coming years.

From a personal point of view, I want to spend quality time with my family and enjoy the growth and learning of my two-year-old son. I hope to know how to instil in him values such as respect, empathy, kindness, willingness or mutual collaboration, along with the passion for reading, travelling and playing sports. I hope that he becomes a good person and I hope he knows how to enjoy the small details of life.