the Argentines who work in the number 1 clinic in the world

The dream of every professional is to play in the big leagues. And for a doctor, the Mayo Clinic It’s like NASA for aerospace engineers. It is also located in the United States and is also wrapped in a certain mystique: For the sixth consecutive year it was chosen as the best hospital in the world.

The classification, awarded by the magazine Newsweekis based on the results of an international survey of more than 80,000 healthcare professionals and includes key performance metrics – such as patient safety and the quality of care -, among other parameters.

With these numbers, a ranking is prepared that, in this year’s edition, distinguishes 2,400 hospitals from 30 countries. The headquarters of Mayo Clinicin the city of Rochester, Minnesota, ranked first on the list.

In these facilities, known as Mayo Medical School, research is also carried out. The clinic is dedicated to medical practice, education and different scientific studies. The universe Mayo It is completed with hospitals and clinics in Jacksonville, Florida, and Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona, among other facilities.

In total, more than 5,700 doctors and researchers work, with a support staff of 80,000 people. Viva He made contact with three of those doctors, who were born in Temperley, province of Buenos Aires; in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Almagro; and in Córdoba capital. The three they are fulfilling a dream and they tell in first person how they achieved it and why their workplace is today the best on the planet.

Fernando Elli is head of Gastroenterological and Bariatric Surgery and director of the General Surgery residency program at Mayo Clinic de Jacksonville, Florida.

He was born and raised in the south of Greater Buenos Aires, in Temperley, and did all his schooling at the Manuel Belgrano School. He says that his vocation to be a doctor appeared early because his father was a surgeon and he remembers that he always accompanied him to his office. He knew the environment of an operating room from a young age and never had any doubts that he wanted to work there.

“I graduated as a doctor from the University of Salvador and then I specialized in general surgery at the Hospital de Clínicas de Buenos Aires, which I finished in 2001.”

After finishing his residency at the Clinics, with a clearly defined horizon towards surgery and with possibilities to try it, he headed to the United States.

“I continued my postgraduate studies in minimally invasive surgery and robotics at the University of Illinois in Chicago, where I trained and grew professionally for 15 years. Then I was hired by Mayo Clinic in 2015 to develop a bariatric surgery program and implement the robotic surgery in different gastrointestinal surgery procedures. Now I serve as head of Gastroenterological and Bariatric Surgery, and I also direct the General Surgery residency program,” he summarizes in a few lines what took him years of study, preparation and effort.

At that time he also took care of building his family, which today consists of Cintia, from Santa Fe, and two children: Olivia, 11, and Francisco, 9, who were born in the United States. “In our house we only speak Spanish, and we maintain all the Argentine culture”, remarks Elli.

And tell why your workplace is so valued. “The clinic’s motto is that the patient’s needs are always the number 1 priority. Based on that philosophy, care is focused exclusively on the patient, dedication is highly personalized and adapted to each individual. It has the latest technology in all its aspects, from buildings to diagnostic studies and surgical instruments. When a new patient arrives, In 24 to 48 hours all the necessary studies are carried out and the best possible treatment is defined. This mechanic is extremely efficient and effective. Doctors receive logistical support that is difficult to find, which makes my only job to focus on caring for people. Nurses and administrators take care of the rest,” he says.

And he highlights another characteristic of the place: “Any diagnostic or therapeutic conduct has as its sole purpose the benefit of the patient, there are no production bonuses or any other type of extra remuneration for doctors. The atmosphere is extremely collaborative between the different areas. And the climate is extremely cordial.”

Elli, from a distance, knows how to value and put into dimension the education she received in our country. “As an Argentinian, it is a personal pride to have come to work in Mayo Clinic. My training in Argentina was excellent and that is partly what allows me to work here. Argentina always had high quality medical education, many foreign students are trained in our faculties and hospitals. Unfortunately, our country is not exempt from the cyclical crises that affect society. I would return to the country happy, since the roots are never lost. I regularly go to Buenos Aires as a guest at different conferences and to visit my beloved Hospital de Clínicas,” she says.

As an expert in robotic surgery, he is part of the Robotic Surgery Committee of the Argentine Surgical Association, other responsibility which adds to his hectic schedule of multiple commitments.

“Robotic surgery is beginning in Argentina, despite economic limitations and logistics. My role is purely participatory and to advise when necessary,” he explains.

With a job at the best clinic in the world, it’s good to know what medical advances surprise you. “Without a doubt, gene therapy, anti-tumor vaccines and the application of Artificial Intelligence in different fields such as radiology and pathology They are great advances in medicine. Mayo Clinic invests millions of dollars in research into new diagnostic and therapeutic options, especially in the field of oncology,” he lists.

Luciana Funtowicz is a consultant in general internal medicine at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

In his case, his family left Argentina when he was just 4 years old. “We lived in Almagro, close to uncles and cousins. We went to England and came back to visit several times. I remember visiting the Leloir Institute and my mother’s thesis director. Those memories of seeing researchers in the laboratories marked me since I was little,” she recalls.

He grew up and was educated in England, and his family moved to Michigan when he was in high school and was already 14 years old. “It was a huge cultural difference and it took me a while to adapt. But the public schools in Michigan were also very good and that was very important. In fact, I finished medical school at the University of Michigan, and after visiting several university hospitals I decided to do my residency at Mayo Clinic. The attraction was in the extraordinary reputation of the placeand my brother had decided to move to Arizona, so I decided to choose Phoenix instead of, for example, Minnesota,” he says about how he ended up in the best clinic in the world.

Funtowicz’s cousin works at the Italian Hospital, also a center of excellence. “Argentina has a tradition of medicine and scientific research that goes back a long way. Health professionals find many challenges in the exercise of their profession that did not exist before. That is why international collaboration is so important,” he remarks.

And tell what it’s like to work in a prestigious place. “The close relationship between departments and coordination allows for a very high level of patient care. There is a kind of pride in the institution and a focus on the patient as a priority,” she reveals.

Funtowicz works in general internal medicine, and sees patients who come from other states and countries as far as Mayo Clinic to solve complex medical problems or for general examinations.

“Of course it is difficult to fit everything in with family life, but the clinic also gives priority to the well-being of its employees, another reason why people stay here for a long time, and even their entire working life. Personally, I must say that All my life experience helps me relate to the patientand. My family relationships help me understand each person’s situation, and how family influences health. I must say that it is also very useful to speak Spanish. It was very difficult to leave my grandparents, uncles and cousins ​​in Argentina, but I am very happy with my life here in Arizona. There is nothing I would like to change,” she assures.

Alejandro Rabinstein is a neurologist and professor of Neurology. He works in the Division of Neurocritical Care and Hospital Neurology of Mayo Clinic at the headquarters in Rochester, Minnesota.

“I was born in Córdoba capital (with great pride), I completed my medical studies and did my residency in Internal Medicine in Córdoba before moving to the United States to train in Neurology and eventually in cerebrovascular diseases and neurocritical care. My parents were doctors and I always thought of Medicine as one of my possible futures. But it wasn’t until well into my training during my degree that I recognized my passion for Neurology. Since then, my fascination with how the brain works and neurological pathologies has remained unchanged,” he comments on his beginnings.

Rabinstein works on a sensitive topic and recognizes the greatest advances in his area. “Without a doubt, the greatest advance in my specialty since I began my practice has been the treatment of acute stroke,” he says.

“In my case, I moved to the United States in 1996 with my wife and we have had two children in the United States. They both speak Spanish fluently and are proud of our roots. After completing her Neurology residency at the University of Miami, she completed a fellowship in neurocritical care at Mayo Clinic. I returned to the University of Miami as a specialist for three years, but I did not hesitate when I had the opportunity to return here in 2005. Since then this institution has allowed me to grow enormously on a professional level,” he says.

“I think that the recognition of Mayo Clinic It is deserved mainly because it has remained faithful to its basic principles, which are summarized in the aphorism: ‘The patient’s needs are always the first priority.’ Our medical practice is very extensive both in the number of specialists and in the diversity of their knowledge and expertise. Here it is always possible to find someone who can help me even in the most complicated cases” he says about the prestige of his workplace.