In the operating room, a clenched hand that says it all

Apr 16, 2026
En el quirófano, una mano apretada que lo dice todo
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@chief.doctor · Santiago NavaGeneral practitioner · Private and home consultations

Who he is and what he does

Santiago Nava is a general practitioner. He sees patients in his office, but also goes to where patients cannot come – to homes with elderly people who cannot move, bedridden individuals, families who simply need someone to come to them.

In addition to consultations, he shares medical content on social media: interesting facts, useful daily tips, things that don't always come up in consultations but that everyone should know. Not to teach like an institution – but to make medicine accessible to people in a simple and practical way.

And there's more: he's about to start a master's degree. The details, he says, he cannot yet reveal. He only gives one hint: he has a year to get in athletic shape before he can lead by example.

Why he chose this path

The honest answer is that medicine was not his first choice. Santiago wanted to study arts – dance, music, singing are passions he holds deeply. His father, may he rest in peace, had studied at the University of Fine Arts in Cuernavaca, and he wanted to follow that same path. They didn't allow him to.

It was his mother who guided him towards medicine. At first, he humorously admits, what he saw was the promise of economic stability. But that quickly changed.

During his degree, he spent a considerable time in pre-hospital care at the Red Cross – and that changed everything. Being in front of real patients prematurely, in situations of true urgency, awakened something he didn't expect: a genuine love for this work.

"Today, I don't regret it at all. It may not have been my first choice, but it was one of the best decisions I could have made in my life."

What he believes about medicine

For Santiago, the greatest satisfaction of being a doctor is not in the diagnosis or the procedure. It's in the moment when a patient who arrived limited, affected in their family, social, or work life, is discharged and gets their life back.

But there's something he clearly emphasizes: the doctor doesn't achieve that alone.

Recovery is a joint effort. The doctor provides the tools, the knowledge, the support. But if the patient doesn't discipline themselves, doesn't stick to the treatment, doesn't change the habits that led them there – the result won't come. Medicine, for him, is an alliance.

"We both were able to bring about that improvement. I gave him the necessary tools, and he stuck to the treatment. That's how we achieved it together."

The moment he won't forget

He arrived in a wheelchair, his foot in black bags. The first thing he said was: "Doctor, I've come to have my leg amputated."

He was a diabetic patient with advanced diabetic foot. He cared for horses and had tried to treat himself with traditional methods, convinced that if he could heal his animals' wounds, he could heal his own. By the time he arrived, the necrosis had reached midway up his shin. There was no other option.

In the operating room, due to an oversight, the curtain fell. The patient saw his leg being removed. He squeezed his arm tightly. He looked into his eyes with tears.

Santiago didn't forget him. After that moment, he was more attentive than ever to his progress – out of responsibility, he says, though he doesn't rule out that it was also a sense of moral guilt. The patient recovered, was discharged, and left deeply grateful for how he had been treated.

That silent squeeze in the operating room taught him something no medical book can fully explain: the real weight of what it means to be there for someone in the worst moment of their life.

Where he's headed and what he tells newcomers

In ten years, Santiago sees himself leading a medical team – but with a different approach than what predominates today in Mexico. Here, he says, curative medicine is primarily practiced. What he wants to build is preventive medicine: anticipating illnesses, avoiding complications, accompanying patients before they reach their limit.

For those who want to follow in his footsteps, he doesn't sugarcoat the reality: medicine demands sacrifices. Family, social, economic, emotional. But he also has absolute certainty.

"At the end of the road, seeing your patients progress and improve pays for all those sacrifices. Success is not at odds with happiness."

And to his future self, he has a short, direct message, full of confidence:

"Don't doubt what you're doing. Don't lose sight of the goal. I trust you."

General medicine Preventive health Vocation IMSS Real stories

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