• On the 40th anniversary of the Family Doctor and Nurse Clinics, 26 shares the story of a doctor who has intertwined her life with the designs of this program.

Back in 1988, fresh out of university, with her pockets full of will and a desire to help, Dania Margarita Quiñones Rodríguez began her climb up the medical ladder. At that time, she did not imagine that her existence would be linked to primary care, to the hive of the community, where sensitivity is imperative.

He still remembers his social service at the Ramírez clinic in the municipality of Jobabo, the place that sealed his commitment to the Family Doctor and Nurse Program. The vocation that nurtured her there distinguishes her as a veteran in various health programs and with vulnerable populations.

Today, Dania Margarita is a second-degree specialist in General Comprehensive Medicine (MGI in Spanish), a profession full of experiences that have shown her how to reach out to the real needs of various communities in the province and nations such as Haiti and Venezuela.

It has been a long and rewarding journey," she emphasizes. I trained as a specialist at the Gustavo Aldereguía polyclinic, from there I was selected to be the head of a basic work group and worked in the Palancón area, then I held the position of deputy director of teaching, in charge of training residents in General Comprehensive Medicine.

"Then I was in charge of the Family Medicine department, specifically the Family Doctor and Nurse Practitioner Program, in the Provincial Health Directorate. At that time there was coverage in the urban area of the main municipality and Puerto Padre, while in the remaining territories, I started in the rural areas. In 1999, she started working in all urban and rural areas.

Her work allowed her to gain experience at the head of the provincial vice-directorate of Medical Assistance, attending primary care, hospitals, and repair programs for polyclinics and clinics, a period with national recognition, with a record infant mortality rate in Las Tunas of 3.8 per 1,000 births.

Dr. Dania lived through the experience of the earthquake and the recovery of the nation of Haiti while coordinating the group of collaborators in Port-au-Prince, she also shared her knowledge in Venezuela, and upon her return, she rejoined her community.

"We work with a lot of commitment and sensitivity. We were distinguished, the clinic, with the status of Friends of the Mother and Child and the Moral Collective, the latter ratified on another occasion for the satisfaction of the work in the community.

"I have been involved in the Family Doctor and Nurse Practitioner Program for 35 years, and I value direct patient care very much, both medically and socially. Although it is a job associated with the possession of many documents, when the work is organized, it can be done and represent a change for the population.

"THE FAMILY DOCTOR, A SOCIAL ENTITY"

"It is very difficult to dissociate oneself from responsibility. We are responsible for diagnosis, cure, and rehabilitation, but also for the hygiene situation and epidemiology, which affects us a lot due to the low perception of risk and the modification of lifestyles that cause decompensation in patients with chronic diseases.

"Care for the elderly is one of the most important programs. Today it is becoming more and more important as the demographic ageing is increasing and the generation of the sexagenarians is affected by family dependency in charge of childcare and household chores.

She radiates responsibility from her white coat. She carries in detail the use of Traditional Natural Medicine (TNM), its promotion, and its use. She has experiences that make her proud of her constant dedication together with a rehabilitation team, the pediatrician, the social worker, and the psychologist of the area, in the care of premature infants or infants diagnosed with severe cortical atrophy and tumors.

After working hours she is still a doctor, investigating why adolescents in her area do not continue their studies in pre-university education or the causes that may affect them emotionally, she has a circle of adolescents, to act together with the family and the preconception risk consultation for the prevention of pregnancy at an early age.

"We call for consultations at the beginning of adolescence so that we can explain to these boys and girls about their development, the growth of hair and breasts, the latter of which sometimes even causes scoliosis, and about oral hygiene, which is another problem at this stage.

With years of experience, Dr. Dania holds the highest teaching category, assistant professor, and teaches undergraduate and postgraduate classes, while she is completing a master's degree at the National School of Public Health, and is working towards a doctorate.

Dania asserts "The family doctor is a member of every family". She speaks with sensitivity, with words that are supported by an existence dedicated to primary care, from the commitment to always be there, in the neighborhood, where her help represents a guarantee, peace of mind, and quality of life.