Eight Americans graduate from free Cuban medical school

[wisconsindoctor]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-25-cuba_N.htm#uslPageReturn

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[midn]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-25-cuba_N.htm#uslPageReturn

That is all.

 

[Free2B]

That is so cool. I wish them the best of luck

 

[Kthanksbye]

Please just stop. For the love of god, just get some real facts about Cuba.

 

[Old Grunt]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-25-cuba_N.htm#uslPageReturn

I read about this program a year ago in a paper. It certainly sounded like, though the schooling was free, it was tough. Academically tough and physically tough. As in living off of rice and beans and frequently studying under candlelight because the power was off.

Good for them. They were dedicated to being a doctor and were willing to sacrifice to get there.

 

[UVABranch]

I thought you also have to commit X # of years to work in Cuba after graduating for it to be free...

 

[coffeebythelake]

I read about this program a year ago in a paper. It certainly sounded like, though the schooling was free, it was tough. Academically tough and physically tough. As in living off of rice and beans and frequently studying under candlelight because the power was off.

Good for them. They were dedicated to being a doctor and were willing to sacrifice to get there.

Come on, it doesn't seem like a sacrifice at all. If they offered free tuition in exchange for eating rice and beans and studying under candlelight, I think most people would take it.

 

[IceMan0824]

U.S. authorities have suggested that it is unclear whether Americans who receive Cuban medical training can meet licensing requirements in the United States. The graduates will have to pass two exams to apply for residency at American hospitals, then eventually pass a third.

From what I gathered from this article, these students haven't taken any of the three USMLE test nor have they actually secured a US residency spot. Sounds like a long journey ahead of them.


Plus, the article is 145days old.

 

[Old Grunt]

Come on, it doesn't seem like a sacrifice at all. If they offered free tuition in exchange for eating rice and beans and studying under candlelight, I think most people would take it.

Then why didn't you do it?

 

[Old Grunt]

From what I gathered from this article, these students haven't taken any of the three USMLE test nor have they actually secured a US residency spot. Sounds like a long journey ahead of them.


Plus, the article is 145days old.

In the other article I had read, the did take the first two steps. I remember because one of them was having trouble passing.

 

[shevie]

Come on, it doesn't seem like a sacrifice at all. If they offered free tuition in exchange for eating rice and beans and studying under candlelight, I think most people would take it.

maybe im not "most," but um, speaking for myself, definitely not. You couldnt pay me to do it either, come to think of it.
Easy to get into - thats nice. No amcas pressure, etc, also a major plus.

but just cuz its free? Im not gonna go live in some 3rd world country w/ no electricity just for free tuition.

 

[Jolie South]

Come on, it doesn't seem like a sacrifice at all. If they offered free tuition in exchange for eating rice and beans and studying under candlelight, I think most people would take it.

I didn't get free tuition and I ate rice and beans under candle light for 2 years.

 

[Old Grunt]

I didn't get free tuition and I ate rice and beans under candle light for 2 years.

Sucker!

 

[brsboarder]

I actually know someone who is currently a 2nd year student there. Its actually a 6 year program. She is taking her step one very soon, and I think it is a fantastic thing. She does more clinical work then one would ever get to do in the United States, and is working in an incredibly challenging environment. Most people who enter the program are non-traditional students, and I believe that they will all be excellent physicians.

 

[Disinence2]

I actually know someone who is currently a 2nd year student there. Its actually a 6 year program. She is taking her step one very soon, and I think it is a fantastic thing. She does more clinical work then one would ever get to do in the United States, and is working in an incredibly challenging environment. Most people who enter the program are non-traditional students, and I believe that they will all be excellent physicians.

Really? I don't even think ALL american graduates will be excellent physicians.

Lets face it, these graduates are going to have a hard time when applying for residency, and very little chance of going into any specialty even remotely considered competitive.

 

[45408]

""I will be heading back to the United States with a great advantage over the American students who have stayed there," said Wing Wu, from Minneapolis, Minnesota."


Yeah, I highly doubt that, in more than one way.

 

[yuji13]

Really? I don't even think ALL american graduates will be excellent physicians.

Lets face it, these graduates are going to have a hard time when applying for residency, and very little chance of going into any specialty even remotely considered competitive.

I went to a talk by someone who graduated from this school, and she was saying that the premise for Cuban medicine on a transnational scale is that it has always given back to other nations around it that had less sound medical infrastructures. As I understand it, the reason that they let Americans go here is that there were black leaders from the South who told Fidel Castro that some of their regions had, for example, higher rates of infanticide than countries in Central America...which prompted the school to allow Americans who were going to work in underserved communities in the US to apply.

Especially regarding that the health care system of Cuba is based around primary care, I think that it's not really a concern for most of these applicants that they won't be accepted into competitive specialties, just because their experience will have been shaped by their medical school years in a setting that heavily emphasizes primary care. The woman who talked to us herself actually used to work at a needle exchange center for drug users, and she was saying that she would do a lot of things that weren't allowed, as she had no medical training, and medical school was never an option for her if it wasn't free.

So it really sounds like a great place for people who are looking for that kind of thing, imho. I really hope that they will go on to do great things in their communities!!

 

[phomp]

having worked with cuban medical students in the clinical setting (in america...) i would argue that they will come back to the US much more adept in physical exam skills as they are taught to be less reliant on laboratory tests. so in some ways, yes, they will have some advantage over the lot of us...

 

[Drogba]

I went to a talk by someone who graduated from this school, and she was saying that the premise for Cuban medicine on a transnational scale is that it has always given back to other nations around it that had less sound medical infrastructures. As I understand it, the reason that they let Americans go here is that there were black leaders from the South who told Fidel Castro that some of their regions had, for example, higher rates of infanticide than countries in Central America...which prompted the school to allow Americans who were going to work in underserved communities in the US to apply.

Especially regarding that the health care system of Cuba is based around primary care, I think that it's not really a concern for most of these applicants that they won't be accepted into competitive specialties, just because their experience will have been shaped by their medical school years in a setting that heavily emphasizes primary care. The woman who talked to us herself actually used to work at a needle exchange center for drug users, and she was saying that she would do a lot of things that weren't allowed, as she had no medical training, and medical school was never an option for her if it wasn't free.

So it really sounds like a great place for people who are looking for that kind of thing, imho. I really hope that they will go on to do great things in their communities!!

That and make the US look like a bunch of jackasses. Little, embargoed Cuba education our future doctor. Pretty good publicity. If anything it highlights the important issues of the high cost of medical education.

 

[Old Grunt]

That and make the US look like a bunch of jackasses. Little, embargoed Cuba education our future doctor. Pretty good publicity. If anything it highlights the important issues of the high cost of medical education.

I am sure that was, to a degree, part of Castro's motivation as well. That's not the student's fault though. I wouldn't expect anyone to pass up on their professional career because it might annoy certain segments of our society.

 

[Blitzburgh92]

I knew some people who entered this program. All of them droppped out within a couple of years. I have not been able to talk to any of them recently, but my brother knows one of them well and he told me he couldn't get any straight answers out of him when asking any pointed questions about this program. But as far as allowing Americans into the program, Castro did this to give us the giant middle finger.

 

[Drogba]

I am sure that was, to a degree, part of Castro's motivation as well. That's not the student's fault though. I wouldn't expect anyone to pass up on their professional career because it might annoy certain segments of our society.

Of coures not, if they determined this was a prudent professional move. I was simply responding to the idea that Cuba was so saddened by some strange health statistic (infanticide? is that really a public health concern here?) that they decided to do something about it by educating americans.

 

[hermit]

If they offered free tuition in exchange for eating rice and beans and studying under candlelight, I think most people would take it.

Um, no.

 

[imperfection]

I actually know someone who is currently a 2nd year student there. Its actually a 6 year program. She is taking her step one very soon, and I think it is a fantastic thing. She does more clinical work then one would ever get to do in the United States, and is working in an incredibly challenging environment. Most people who enter the program are non-traditional students, and I believe that they will all be excellent physicians.

I'm currently applying and its great to hear she finds it to be more clinical. That is the impression I have gotten from what I have read but it is nice to hear it from a student. Does she have anything else to say about the program? I'd be really interested to hear if you have the time to share!

 

[HumidBeing]

You are addressing a question to someone who posted nearly a year ago. There is a strong chance that they are no longer following this thread, and are unlikely to reply.

 

[Depakote]

I'm currently applying and its great to hear she finds it to be more clinical. That is the impression I have gotten from what I have read but it is nice to hear it from a student. Does she have anything else to say about the program? I'd be really interested to hear if you have the time to share!

Dude, spend some time pulling your GPA up before going to Cuba of all places for school.

There are plenty of carib schools that do a decent job of matching students into residencies in countries who aren't being sanctioned by the US. Try St. Georges or Ross or DO... have you even given US Allo schools a shot?

Don't go for a crazy gimmick plan when you've got Plan A and then some solid plan B's that you haven't tried yet.

 

[imperfection]

Dude, spend some time pulling your GPA up before going to Cuba of all places for school.

There are plenty of carib schools that do a decent job of matching students into residencies in countries who aren't being sanctioned by the US. Try St. Georges or Ross or DO... have you even given US Allo schools a shot?

Don't go for a crazy gimmick plan when you've got Plan A and then some solid plan B's that you haven't tried yet.

I ain't looking at Cuba because I can't get into a US school. I'm currently looking at a joint UCBerkely UCSF MD and Masters of Humanities program as my second favorite option and my advisor thinks I'll make it fine. I'm looking at Cuba because I am honestly interested in the program there. Cuba teaches non-reductionist, integrated, preventative medicine with a focus on working without high tech gadgetry. It's exciting and inovative and far more in line with what I am looking for in a med school than I am likely to find in the US. I don't need to bring up my GPA, it would be hard to do so since I am pretty much a straight A student (missing a good bit of school last year due to mono is the main reason my GPA is only a 3.8).

Sorry for the slight rant, I just seem to get the 'you must be too dumb to make it in the US' response a good bit when I mention Cuba from those who don't know me or the program and it is getting a little repetetive.

 

[imperfection]

You are addressing a question to someone who posted nearly a year ago. There is a strong chance that they are no longer following this thread, and are unlikely to reply.

I know, it's more of a fingers crossed thing than anything else. May as well try...

 

[Depakote]

I ain't looking at Cuba because I can't get into a US school. I'm currently looking at a joint UCBerkely UCSF MD and Masters of Humanities program as my second favorite option and my advisor thinks I'll make it fine. I'm looking at Cuba because I am honestly interested in the program there. Cuba teaches non-reductionist, integrated, preventative medicine with a focus on working without high tech gadgetry. It's exciting and inovative and far more in line with what I am looking for in a med school than I am likely to find in the US. I don't need to bring up my GPA, it would be hard to do so since I am pretty much a straight A student (missing a good bit of school last year due to mono is the main reason my GPA is only a 3.8).

Sorry for the slight rant, I just seem to get the 'you must be too dumb to make it in the US' response a good bit when I mention Cuba from those who don't know me or the program and it is getting a little repetetive.

Apologies for the misconception, but I will clarify. You should attend medical school in the country in which you wish to practice medicine. If that country is Cuba, then great. But, as a Foreign Medical Graduate, especially from a country that has strained diplomatic relations with the US, I believe you will have significant issues with residency placement and licensure in the US.

 

[imperfection]

Apologies for the misconception, but I will clarify. You should attend medical school in the country in which you wish to practice medicine. If that country is Cuba, then great. But, as a Foreign Medical Graduate, especially from a country that has strained diplomatic relations with the US, I believe you will have significant issues with residency placement and licensure in the US.

*Nods* Yes, it is definitely a worry. However, I am not too attached to practicing in the US. I probably don't want to be stuck practicing in Cuba my whole life but I would definitely like to practice internationally. Since I have a UK passport (and a US one) I could also get licensed and get my first few years of experience there. That might also open up more doors for getting certified in the US if I like. Ultimately I am interested in practicing in underserved communities, either through a group like Medecins Sans Frontiers or independently somewhere in the US. So, we'll see how it plays out! I appreciate the advise though, it really is something I am taking very seriously into account at the moment. As far as overseas medical degrees go Cuban ones are probably the last ones the US is going to accept.