Carolina Moreno Licea

Age: 29 years old

Gender: Female

I am a 29-year-old general surgery resident originally from Michoacán, Mexico. I completed my undergraduate medical education at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, and from the time of my internship I came to the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INCMNSZ), which became a defining stage in my professional development.

It was at the INCMNSZ where I truly fell in love with surgery. Being exposed to the management of highly complex surgical cases and to surgeons who practice academic, evidence-based surgery profoundly shaped my vision of what I want to become as a surgeon. Seeing how multidisciplinary teams approach challenging clinical scenarios and how surgical decisions are grounded in rigorous scientific analysis motivated me to commit fully to a surgical career with a strong academic foundation.

Throughout my training, I have developed a particular interest in gastrointestinal surgery, hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, and abdominal transplantation. These fields represent, to me, the perfect combination of technical complexity, multidisciplinary collaboration, and meaningful impact on patient survival and quality of life.

I also have a strong interest in research and medical education, as I believe that high-quality scientific production and effective teaching are essential to advancing surgical practice and training future generations of surgeons.

My long-term dream is to bring surgery to regions of Mexico with limited access to specialized surgical care, and to develop structured strategies aimed at preventing bile duct injury, improving patient safety and surgical outcomes nationwide. I also aspire to acquire advanced surgical skills through training in a high-level program, in order to gain stronger tools that will allow me to collaborate more effectively within my professional environment.