Apoyo en la actualización del plan de gestión integral de residuos generados en la atención en salud de la Clínica del Occidente de Bogotá

Abstract

The comprehensive management of hospital waste is one of the most significant environmental and institutional challenges in the healthcare sector. For this reason, the internship at Clínica del Occidente in Bogotá is of strategic importance, as it focuses on updating the Comprehensive Management Plan for Healthcare Waste, in response to the requirements established by Resolution 591 of 2024. Inadequate management of this waste poses a critical risk to both public health and the environment, fully justifying the need for technical and regulatory intervention in institutional processes. Through a qualitative approach that integrated a review of the existing plan's documentation, the identification of gaps in relation to the new regulations, and field inspections, updated proposals were developed that strengthened the institution's legal and environmental compliance. This experience demonstrates that the articulation between academic training and professional practice in real environmental management contexts not only enriches the profile of the professional in training, but also generates concrete and verifiable impacts in health sector institutions, thus consolidating environmental responsibility as a cross-cutting and indispensable axis of modern hospital management