Antoni Trilla: "You can't stretch your arm further than your sleeve."

Dr. Antoni Trilla (Barcelona, ​​1956) discovered the health sciences at a very young age, helping his mother in the pharmacy. The experience helped him realize that he wouldn't be doing the same thing for a living. He studied medicine at the Hospital Clínic, specializing in internal medicine. In fact, his first job was practicing medicine at the same hospital: "If I were a soccer player, I'd like to start at La Masia and end up playing for Barça's first team." It's the same: "I studied at the UB and ended up being the head of the preventive medicine department at the same hospital." He is also involved in teaching: "For someone who loves teaching, being the dean is a source of pride; it's like playing at home with your colleagues."

Dr. Trilla emphasizes the importance of knowing how to communicate things to all patients and families: "Dealing with people is one of the most enriching aspects of the profession." And in his case, as a specialist in preventive medicine and public health, it is even more important: "We necessarily come into contact with the public, whether it's a school where there's been a case of tuberculosis and you have to talk to the parents, or a country with a pandemic and you have to give explanations."

In this sense, the country's most renowned epidemiologist affirms that addressing the COVID-19 pandemic has been the most important professional challenge: "We worked under a lot of pressure, the patients were seriously ill and we had to do things; we couldn't stand still until we knew everything." The crisis situation also affected his personal life, not only because of the media pressure and the health crisis in the hospital he was working in, but also because of physical exhaustion: "We started work at 6 in the morning, and until the right time came, you didn't go home. It could be at 6 in the afternoon, at 8, or at 8, or at 8 in the evening." "It's a type of job where you have to do your best every day," he says.

Trilla, who received the Josep Trueta Medal (2015) for his career in the field of public health, maintains that his is a "profession that is at the service of others": "I am a public servant. I have to do it well because I have the trust of the people, because public resources were used, and because public resources were used."

As for remuneration, he considers salaries acceptable but very much capable of improving: "This is a bit of a cheat, because when you do a job you like, you tend not to give it importance; because fortunately, you can solve and pay for the day-to-day things." But after six years of university, a MIR exam, and a few years of specialization, salaries should be higher: "Eleven years of pressure and a lot of study. If you want to be a good doctor, study and do continuing education. That, plus the responsibility we have. We should get paid more." "Compared to the rest of the regions, in Catalonia we can't complain. But we are one of the countries in Europe that pays professionals the least. Most of us work for the public or private sector, which means decent salaries, but not extraordinary remuneration either," he emphasizes.

Regarding personal finances, the author of several scientific articles states that he considers himself a saver: "The old-fashioned Catalan model. In other words, what our parents taught us. Never stretch your arm further than your sleeve. If you can pay for it, pay for it. If you can't, you wait." As for investments, he admits he lacks knowledge of how markets evolve: "You put yourself in the hands of professionals who tell you how to invest it." Thus, the best economic decision was to choose the bank where to deposit the money wisely: "You place your trust in them so they can choose where your savings go. You have to have the feeling that you can trust them, that they'll tell you things, and that they understand what you want." As for housing, he owns his apartment: "We paid for it with our savings; we didn't take out a mortgage. It's been quite a few years."

In the coming months, Trilla will retire and collect his pension. He'll try to maintain his private pension plan in case of any unforeseen events later on. And on a personal level, he's satisfied: "I'm happy to have made it this far, which is a long way. I've loved what I do all my life. I won't be an active doctor, but I'll continue trying to learn a lot, working in outreach and helping the university."