Mission: to train high-tech, high-touch healthcare professionals

LardecanesJoining certain institutions must be an honor, but it also makes you older. When she joined the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia in 2021, Montserrat Esquerda Aresté thought she might want to dye her hair white (she jokingly admits). And she'll probably end up doing just that: last month she was named a full member of the Spanish Medical-Surgical Academy. She's the only woman from Lleida, one of the few women with a chair... and, at 56, one of the youngest.

A doctor of medicine, specialist in pediatrics, with a degree in psychology and a master's degree in bioethics and law, this year she became the dean of the Blanquerna-URL Faculty of Health Sciences, after directing the Borja Institute of Bioethics for ten years. Despite her academic dedication, she is reluctant to leave her pediatric practice at San Juan de Dios Terres in Lleida, where she specializes in children and young people with complex and traumatic grief from a unit that is unique in the country. "Maintaining contact with patients and families gives meaning to what we do in the university setting," reflects the president of the Ethics Committee of the Council of Medical Associations of Catalonia.

Born in Llardecans (Segrià), she practically lives on the high-speed train between Lleida and Barcelona. An avid reader, she never wastes her commute.The Tempestalids, by G. Gospodinov;The deliberating animal, by Diago Gracia, one of the leading figures in Spanish bioethics, and the essay by philosopher Ferran SàezThe happy reckless oneThese are some of her acquisitions for Sant Jordi.

As dean, one of her challenges is the training of professionalshigh tech-high touch: that meet the highest technical standards, but also a humanistic and ethical sensitivity, that is, with relational skills, empathy, listening, and commitment to society. Her new book, which will be published next year, will focus precisely on how to achieve this balance. "We shouldn't be afraid that AI will transform medicine, because it has already been profoundly transformed," she notes. She defends the use of artificial intelligence to free professionals from more bureaucratic tasks, such as preparing reports. "It can help us a lot so we can dedicate more time to support and listening."

When asked about the high volume of euthanasia requests in Catalonia (almost one a day), Montserrat Esquerda believes that the debate on a good death should be refocused, as assisted death "is not the death desired by '97." On the contrary, she considers a law that guarantees access to palliative care for everyone approaching the end of life and their families essential, "a right that now depends on the postal code." In this regard, according to her, Catalonia is much better off than other regions in the country, but there is still a long way to go. "This is where we must push so that people can die well."