The Latin American School of Medical Sciences

[Darksmurf]

Has anyone else seen this story in the NYtimes about The Latin American School of Medical Sciences and what do ya'll think?

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[notdeadyet]

Has anyone else seen this story in the NYtimes about The Latin American School of Medical Sciences and what do ya'll think?

Attend with the understanding that if an ailing Castro dies, there is a very real chance the school could close the next day...

 

[Darksmurf]

Attend with the understanding that if an ailing Castro dies, there is a very real chance the school could close the next day...

Raul will keep the memory alive, I think. I'm curious whether or not those who attend school there and return to practice medicine in the US are as qualified. Of course, if they pass the boards and do alright, who cares, right? Do they do their residencies in the US (even though the US government tried to shut them out of the school anyway)?

And if they US gov't did send out a call for all the Americans to come home, do you think there is anyone in the US who would be willing to jeopardize their American passports for the chance to go to school there? For free, mind you.

 

[baylormed]

Raul will keep the memory alive, I think. I'm curious whether or not those who attend school there and return to practice medicine in the US are as qualified. Of course, if they pass the boards and do alright, who cares, right? Do they do their residencies in the US (even though the US government tried to shut them out of the school anyway)?

And if they US gov't did send out a call for all the Americans to come home, do you think there is anyone in the US who would be willing to jeopardize their American passports for the chance to go to school there? For free, mind you.

Having grown up in a foreign country, I have respect for foreign medical schools, and truly believe that they can produce good doctors, with good knowledge and good clinical skills.

I also know that the quality of the training (not the actual result) is definitely substandard as compared to that in the US, mainly because other countries do not have as many monetary resources to equip laboratories and classrooms.

Also, other countries usually do not provide the students with the research opportunities that US medical schools do, nor do they attract the caliber of professors that we have here (they are not necessarily bad professors, but I doubt you'll find a Nobel prize teaching there). Their teaching hospitals often do not have the resources to give the students the opportunity to observe the newest procedures and surgeries.

Again, I think the doctors they produce are good doctors, especially those for primary care. However, you are still missing out on all the extra research and learning opportunities/resources that an American medical school would offer you.

 

[Darksmurf]

Having grown up in a foreign country, I have respect for foreign medical schools, and truly believe that they can produce good doctors, with good knowledge and good clinical skills.

It really depends on what foreign country, right? I mean, many Western European countries have research money, facilities, and well-regarded professors.

Also, other countries usually do not provide the students with the research opportunities that US medical schools do, nor do they attract the caliber of professors that we have here (they are not necessarily bad professors, but I doubt you'll find a Nobel prize teaching there). Their teaching hospitals often do not have the resources to give the students the opportunity to observe the newest procedures and surgeries.

Now this is interesting. Would these professors have turned out much more qualified, perhaps even earning a Nobel or two, had they been trained under different circumstances themselves?

 

[baylormed]

It really depends on what foreign country, right? I mean, many Western European countries have research money, facilities, and well-regarded professors.

Now this is interesting. Would these professors have turned out much more qualified, perhaps even earning a Nobel or two, had they been trained under different circumstances themselves?

I lived in what you Americans would call a third-world developing country. Contrary to popular belief, there were several well respected schools of medicine there. However, emphasis on research isn't as heavy in other countries as it is in the US or in European countries.

The second point you make is interesting. I truly believe that many of these professors are, intellectually, on the same level as Nobel prize winners, but their circumstances in life (country they were born in, poverty, you name it) might not have allowed them to obtain the same level of education and therefore the opportunities to win a Nobel prize. And on the other hand, having a Nobel prize does not necessarily make someone a good teacher. There are two sides to everything, I guess.

 

[LizzyM]

Cuba provides a type of HMO care for its people: every district (neighborhood/community) has a clinic with a primary care provider (physician) and a public health nurse. The two are responsible for the health of their jurisdiction - if infant mortality or other indicators of poor health rises in the district the doctor is disciplined or penalized. Every person has access to primary care. The primary care doc can provide referrals for more sophisticated care but the emphasis is on prevention and early detection while things can still be handled by a primary care provider.

I would expect that primary care rotations would be good while exposure to high tech equipment (from Europe or Asia as nothing is imported from the US) is far more limited. I would expect that the physical diagnosis skills, like the Cubans' skill at auto repair, are well honed in that necessity requires it.

 

[Darksmurf]

I lived in what you Americans would call a third-world developing country.

Actually, it was a Frenchman, Alfred Sauvy, who coined the term 'third world.'

We Americans prefer 'developing country.'

 

[baylormed]

Actually, it was a Frenchman, Alfred Sauvy, who coined the term 'third world.'

We Americans prefer 'developing country.'

Hehe, I love political correctness.

 

[Darksmurf]

Hehe, I love political correctness.

It's actually much more than political correctness. I am usually politically incorrect.

When Alfred Sauvy coined the term Third World, it was in reference to the First and Second World. The First World were those countries actively on the side of the US during the Cold War, such as the NATO affiliates. The Second World was the USSR and its Communist affiliates. Third World countries were those that didn't fall into either category, and were generally underdeveloped comparatively speaking. Since the Cold War ended and the majority of Communist regimes fell (with the notable exceptions of China and Vietnam), the 'Third World' has really lost its original meaning, as has the First World.
These terms are obselete, not politically incorrect. Thus, we say 'developing' or 'undeveloped' and not 'Third World.'

 

[Projectx]

Someone came to my school offering scholarships to this school (or a school like it) but their statistics are not that great. Basically they have only had about 1 doctor thus far come back to the U.S. after completing the program and he has still not gotten into a residency. (Unsure if this is the same school)

 

[Darksmurf]

Someone came to my school offering scholarships to this school (or a school like it) but their statistics are not that great. Basically they have only had about 1 doctor thus far come back to the U.S. after completing the program and he has still not gotten into a residency. (Unsure if this is the same school)

If Che doesn't know, who does?