Admission to a nursing home is the first step in caring for the health of Argentines.

In the context of the suspicious results of the Single Exam for Medical Residencies, the Minister of Health of the Nation, Mario Lugones, stated that "admission to a residency is the first step to safeguarding the health of Argentinians".

The official pointed this out after his department determined who must retake the exam and when it will take place.

"We validated what is appropriate: effort, training, and merit. After evaluating academic consistency, it was confirmed who will have to retake the exam and who will not," Lugones continued.

"Behind every shift, every diagnosis, and every emergency, there is a person who needs to be well cared for", he concluded in a post on X.

Statement from the Ministry of Health of the Nation regarding residency admissions

It should be noted that this Friday it was officially announced that 127 entrants will not have to retake the test administered last July 1, while 141 applicants will have to attend a new evaluation stage next August 7.

The statement details that the Committee of Experts, formed to analyze the highest scores of the exam, validated the grades of 127 entrants, mostly graduates of Argentine universities. According to the health department, the decision was made after confirming "the academic consistency between exam performance, the average during the degree program, individual academic trajectories, and the institutional background of the university of origin, including its international recognition".

In contrast, the Ministry decided that 141 candidates, almost all of whom are foreigners, must retake the exam, which will be conducted in written and in-person format. The measure, they state, seeks to "guarantee equity, transparency, and meritocracy in access to medical residencies in the public system".

The controversy erupted after anomalies were detected in the distribution of scores: a large number of candidates exceeded 86 points, a figure well above historical averages. Many of them were graduates of foreign universities, especially from Ecuador and Colombia, which raised suspicions that the exam may have been leaked or even sold, something that was ultimately proven.

The Ministry emphasized that the initiative is part of a special procedure to "validate the highest scores" and responds to the need to "defend a fair selection system".

"The Ministry of Health of the Nation will not reward cheating or look the other way. A fair selection system will be defended, one that recognizes the real effort of those who chose to train with honesty", the statement affirms.

In addition, it was recalled that the measure was adopted despite the decision of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the Province of Buenos Aires not to support the national proposal, which included the consideration of objective variables such as institutional academic background and the international recognition of the universities of origin.

The department led by Mario Lugones emphasized that all applicants involved will be notified by email through the National Directorate of Quality and Health Talent Development. "It is time for the effort of our doctors to be given its due place", the statement concludes.