“Doctors ready to work there where they are needed in the farthest
places worldwide where nobody is ready to go, that’s the doctor that
will be formed in this school” Fidel Castro Ruz
On day 3 of our Cuban adventure, we were taken to the Latin American School of Medicine in
the western sector of Havana. Here we were greeted by an American
student of the school. When asked how in the world she ended up in Cuba
going to medical school, she responded by saying that school was free!
Yes, you read this correctly free of charge. In fact the students here
receive a monthly stipend to live off of for outside activities. Books,
tuition, housing and basic food expenses are all covered by the Cuban
government. In fact there are 116 American students at various levels of
the training program there in Cuba.
The basis of the school was a way for Cuba to contribute to
underserved third world countries around the world. Students are invited
from all nations to attend. Currently 96 nations are represented at
this medical school. None of the medical students here are Cuban. These
are all other nationalities. The schools program is identical to the
Cuban medical schools. The residency training does take place at Cuban
hospitals and clinics around the country.
Is
there an obligation to the Cuban government for allowing a physician to
be trained here? The answer is no. The Doctors are allowed to return to
their home countries or other country they desire to serve in. We did
inquire as to if any of the doctors remained in Cuba? Again the answer
was no, there was not a current shortage of physicians in the country at
this time. The whole concept of this program seemed is geared to
providing physicians to countries where healthcare is limited or
non-existent.
The program was formed in 1998 after hurricanes George and Mitch
devastated many South American and Caribbean countries. In a response,
Cuba sent many health care brigades to assist these ailing nations. As a
result the school was formed to train the physicians of these countries
for free. The program has since grown in size and notoriety. The
program is 6 years in length provided the student passes each rotation.
After completion, based on availability and need, a physician may stay
on in Cuba to train into a specific specialty. Note: in Cuba the numbers
of physicians in each specialty area is based on the need for that area
of expertise.
Requirements for admission are as follows:
High School Diploma
18-25 years of age
Good social standing
No physical or mental limitations that would hinder performance in this profession
For more information the schools website can be found by google search Latin American School of Medicine.
Please feel free to comment or ask questions on this or any other topics regarding the Cuban Delegacy.