Doctor Juan Carlos Meneu: The importance and meaning of being a doctor

It is well known that being a doctor is a vocation Juan Carlos Meneu It came from a very young age. His interest was aroused after the work that Dr. Hermedia had when he treated his mother's illness. “Since then I knew that I wanted to dedicate myself to medicine, more specifically to surgery. It is about giving back what we receive, being aware of what it means to approach a patient and help a family, or at least try. To feel useful, in short”.

Juan Carlos Meneu recognizes the importance of international training

Being a doctor goes far beyond curing people, the love of knowledge is one of the things that characterize a good doctor. Something essential. This spirit is one of the great characteristics of the Dr Meneu. He graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the Complutense University of Madrid. After passing the MIR exam, he entered the specialty of General Surgery doing his residency at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital (1994-1998). A year later he obtained his Ph.D.cum laude) with a thesis versed in liver transplantation.

In addition the Doctor Juan Carlos Meneu recognizes the importance of a doctor being trained in several countries to obtain a more complete training and acquire a global vision. In his years of study he passed through several European and American medical centers, including the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Weill Cornell Medical College (New York University), the Transplant Center (University of Minnesota), the Jackson Memorial Hospital (University of Miami), Healthcare Improvement, Hospital Paul Brousse, University of Minnesota Medical Center, Hospital Paul Brousse or IRCAD – Hôpitaux Universitaires, Jackson Memorial Hospital.

He currently works as Head of the General Surgery Service and the Digestive System of the Ruber Juan Bravo Hospital Complex and is the founder of the Oncocir medical center. He combines this facet with that of Professor of Surgery at the European University of Madrid. It is also, Director of the Organ Transplantation Master at the European University and member and principal investigator of the Applied Medical Research Group in Networking. “Being a professor and researcher helps me stay alert to new advances and not get stuck. Learning something new every day is one of the keys that define our work as doctors at Oncocir, whose motto is "Looking to the future". And without knowledge, there is no future

Taking care of the relationship with the patient is essential for a doctor

The doctor-patient relationship plays a very important role, especially in the medical sector and is essential for the provision of high-quality medical care in terms of diagnosis and treatment of disease. For him Doctor Juan Carlos Meneu “quality is the degree of approximation between what a patient expects and the care he receives”.

For this reason, when founding the Oncocir medical center, the Dr Meneu had a clear objective: to give its patients the best personalized and specialized care. "Patients are people and when they come to the consultation, they deal with feelings such as worry or anguish, which we must understand and manage." That is why empathy and assertiveness are essential characteristics for the practice of medicine and surgery. Something that patients certainly value.

Being a healthcare professional, and therefore a doctor, is one of the most fashionable professions today with the Covid 19 situation. But for experienced doctors like Juan Carlos Meneu, being a doctor is much more than just curing illnesses. 

“Being a doctor means wanting to help people who suffer from illnesses. And from the utmost respect for patients and their families, it is about accompanying them along with my team on a journey, sometimes very hard. It is a profession of service to others, which teaches you to be humble and is built on mutual trust. In a certain way, for me, being a doctor and surgeon is also a philosophy of life.

The passion with which Doctor Juan Carlos Meneu lives her profession is reflected in her work and has been recognized with important awards such as the National Prize for Medicine in 2021 in the category of General and Digestive Surgery for her more than 20 years of experience.