22 Jul 21 US MDs Graduate from Cuba’s Latin American Medical School
Havana, July 21, 2015 – The 21 new US MDs who received their diplomas today brings to 136 the number of US graduates of Havana’s Latin American Medical School. They successfully complete six years of study on scholarships provided by the Cuban government. “This amounts to a $40-million-dollar investment in US health care by Cuba,” said Dr. Peter Bourne, MEDICC Board Chair. The Medical University of Havana ceremonies also graduated 948 Cubans and over 350 physicians from 33 countries.
The curriculum at ELAM—the world’s largest socially-accountable medical school—includes basic and clinical sciences in classrooms and hospitals, but mainly in community healthcare settings. Since its founding in 1999, ELAM has graduated nearly 25,000 doctors from over 80 countries, most of its students from low-income families in medically underserved areas. They graduate debt-free, and many decide to serve in the public sector in primary healthcare specialties.
In his commencement address, Medical University of Havana Rector Jorge González challenged medical education worldwide to turn away from training doctors for private gain, and instead train them for public service, to face down the world’s health problems and make care accessible.
Medicine as a public service is just the approach that drew many US graduates to ELAM. “When I learned about Cuba’s health system—free, universal, and with a focus on public and global health—I knew this is where I wanted to study,” Dr. Veronica Flake of Philadelphia told MEDICC. “I came to ELAM because I believe health is a human right, and so does Cuba,” said Dr. Tia Naquel Tucker of Sulphur, Louisiana. “What we need in the USA, especially where I come from, are public health programs.”
Given the shortage of primary care doctors in the United States and the recent diplomatic thaw between the two countries, all eyes are on these Cuban-trained doctors to put their education, experience and social values to the test.
Dr. Veronica Flake: “When I learned about Cuba’s health system…I knew this is where I wanted to study.”
Rachel True, Director of MEDICC Programs, notes: “Today, 90% of these Cuban-trained US residents and practicing physicians are working in primary care specialties and 65% in a Health Professional Shortage Area or Medically Underserved Areas.” She said MEDICC’s MD Pipeline to Community Service streamlines entry of US ELAM graduates into the US health system and offers fellowships to defray cost of the US Medical Licensing Examinations. “Over 80% of US ELAM students and graduates are supported by our Program,” said True and “95% of graduates in our programs are in residencies or already practicing.”
US students can pursue medical degrees in Cuba thanks to an exception in the US embargo authorized several years ago by then Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Dr. Gigi Simmons: “I’m bilingual, so that will help me reach even more patients.”
This week, thousands more Cuban physicians are graduating at provincial medical schools throughout the country, nearly all entering two-year family medicine residencies in the fall, before opting for second specialties. They will join some 80,000 Cuban physicians who staff the public health system, with over 25,000 now serving in 67 countries. More international graduates also receive their diplomas at these ceremonies, bringing to nearly 40,000 the number of foreign medical graduates Cuba has trained since 1963.
To learn more about the Latin American Medical School’s mission, history, curriculum and student body, see the TEDMED talk “How Did Cuba Train 23,000 Doctors for the World?” by MEDICC Review Executive Editor, Gail Reed. Visit MEDICC’s MD Pipeline to Community Service to learn more about MEDICC’s programs to support the US students and graduates, and contact IFCO if you are interested in applying for a scholarship to study at ELAM.
Photos: E Añé