Complete guide to MIR medical residency
Everything you need to know to understand and prepare for your medical residency in Spain
The MIR (Médico Interno Residente) is the specialist medical training system in Spain. It's a competitive process that determines where and in which specialty you'll train for the next 4-5 years of your professional life.
What is the MIR?
The MIR is the access system to specialized health training in Spain. It consists of a national exam that determines your position in a ranking, and based on that position you choose hospital and specialty.
The selection process
The MIR process has several phases you should know:
1. Registration
Online application on the Ministry of Health website. You need a validated medical degree.
2. MIR Exam
Multiple choice test of 200-225 questions plus reserve. Held in January or February.
3. Score publication
The scale combines exam score (90%) and academic record (10%).
4. Position selection
In order of score, each candidate chooses hospital and specialty in a face-to-face or online event.
5. Start
Beginning of residency in May-June of the same year.
Specialties and duration
There are more than 50 medical specialties, each with different duration:
4 years of residency
- •Family and Community Medicine
- •Pediatrics
- •Psychiatry
- •Internal Medicine
- •Anesthesiology
- •Dermatology
- •And many more...
5 years of residency
- •General Surgery
- •Traumatology
- •Cardiology
- •Neurology
- •Oncology
- •Urology
- •And other surgical...
Working conditions
As a resident you'll have an employment contract with the health system:
Base salary
Approximately €1,100-1,400 net/month (varies by autonomous community)
Shifts
Between 4-7 monthly 24-hour shifts, paid separately (~€100-150/shift)
Vacation
22-30 working days per year according to agreement
Training
Rotations through different services, clinical sessions, courses and possibility of external rotations
The day-to-day reality
Beyond the official data, the real experience as a resident includes:
- →Work days that frequently exceed official hours
- →Intense learning curve, especially the first year (R1)
- →Increasing responsibility as you progress
- →Work-life balance that depends a lot on the hospital and service
- →Relationships with attendings and other residents that shape your experience
- →Possibility of burnout if conditions aren't taken care of
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