[NYTr] Argentina Recognizes Medical Degrees of Doctors Trained in Cuba

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

[A more detailed report on the Argentine recognition of the ELAM
degrees, from MEDICC's Fall issue, follows PL's news story. -NYTr]

Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Argentine Doctors Graduated in Cuba Welcomed Home in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Oct 22 (Prensa Latina) Six Argentinean young doctors,
graduated in Cuba, were welcomed in the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires,
on Monday, with the commitment of keeping their professional ethics to
serve the Argentinean people.

"You studied in the ELAM, Latin American School of Medicine, in Cuba,
after a rigorous selection in your country to become doctors of
solidarity," said Jose Mayo, second chief of the Cuban diplomatic
mission to Argentina, in the welcoming ceremony organized by that
locality's Association of Relatives of Students in Cuba.

Andres Asencio, president of the Association, was grateful to the
people and government of Cuba for the chance their children had to
study and share solidarity in Cuba.

Susana Georgueti, Public Administration secretary in Ensenada, was at
the activity together with representatives of social and solidarity
organizations.

tac ocs

PL-33

MEDICC Fall, 2007 issue 
http://www.medicc.org/publications/cuba_health_reports/016.php


Cuban Medical Degrees Recognized by Argentina

By Gloria Giraldo, MPH
with Conner Gorry

July 3, 2007--Argentina’s government announced its decision June 22 to
honor medical degrees from Cuba, affecting over one thousand
Argentinean graduates and current students at Havana’s Latin American
Medical School (ELAM), and other Cuban higher education institutions.

The agreement was the result of years of bilateral consultations and
analysis of the ELAM curriculum, which Argentinean authorities
concluded was comparable to their domestic medical school course of
study. Both governments also recognized the decision as a positive step
for Latin American regional integration. Argentina is a pioneer in
recognizing the ELAM degree, along with most countries of the
English-speaking Caribbean, the Dominican Republic, and the United
States.[2]  

Argentinean students at the Havana ELAM campus said they were relieved
to hear the news, bringing them one step closer to medical practice.
But they also noted that jobs are still scarce in Argentina’s health
sector. Taking a break from studying for final exams, first-year
student Anastasia Regalado, from the province of Santiago del Estero
told Cuba Health Reports: “this issue dominated our agenda at the first
congress of Argentinean medical students in Cuba, earlier this year.
The recognition of our degree opens many doors for us.” 

The students said the decision has immediate implications for them, as
they gear up to donate one week of their summer break to conduct health
assessments and education campaigns in their home provinces. They note
that recognition of the quality of their education should make
communities and local health institutions more receptive to
incorporating their skills.    

ELAM students are given full, six-year scholarships by the Cuban 
government in return for a non-binding commitment to practice medicine
in underserved communities; over 10,000 students from around the world
-- the overwhelming majority from the Global South -- have taken Cuba
up on the offer. Despite ELAM’s trailblazing strategy for alleviating
the global crisis in human resources for health, these new doctors, like
any around the world, are worried about finding a job after graduation.
Eugenia Amarelle, from Argentina’s Jujuy Province, says “recognizing
the degree is a major step. It increases our chances of finding work
when we return; but even doctors graduating from Argentinean schools
are having a tough time finding jobs.” 

Daniela Paez, from Santa Fe, also sees the new agreement as a major
step in “a journey that will help me and other students here reach our
goal of providing medical care in areas of greatest need, particularly
in the northern and southern provinces.” Indeed, geographic disparities
in access to health services are a serious problem in Argentina, as in
many countries. According to the Pan American Health Organization
(PAHO), distribution of health professionals varies greatly in the
country, from one doctor for every 132 inhabitants in the most
developed provinces, to one for every 500 inhabitants in the most
remote, underserved areas.[3] 

This imbalance is partly because “there is no integral health program,
reflecting a lack of planning and equitable distribution of resources,”
a MERCOSUR report found. Despite this, “it is possible to extend health
services to the entire population,” if all sectors involved in
population health were integrated, the report concluded.[4] And this
includes the country’s new doctors.

“The challenge now is to motivate these young health professionals to
return to their communities [and] also for the health system to create
viable, sustainable primary and preventive care programs,” says Daniel
Gutierrez Rainer, Director of Student Affairs and Professor of Nursing
and Medicine at Adventist University in Entre Ríos province. “Cuba’s
health strategies and curricula are needs-based and these students will
enrich the Argentinean system with this approach.” 

Other countries which have yet to recognize the ELAM degrees -- despite
continued pressure from graduates, health policy advocates, and
underserved populations -- include Brazil and Honduras.

Notes & References

1. There are currently students from 29 countries studying on full
scholarships at the Latin American Medical School. 

2. The nearly 100 US students studying at the Latin American Medical
School -- as with any foreign medical graduates wishing to practice in
the USA-- must pass the US Medical Licensing Exams (USMLEs or the
“boards”), the standardized tests for new MDs; several ELAM-educated
doctors have done so already. 

3. Pan American Health Organization. Salud de las Américas 2002.
Washington, DC. 

4. Miras-Calvo N. Araujo M. Klein V. Una Aproximación al Sistema de
Salud en Argentina. Foro de Investigación: Envejecimiento de la
población en el MERCOSUR. 2001 Nov: Curritiba, Brazil.

For more information:

Latin American Medical School Official Site
http://www.elacm.sld.cu/

Latin American Medical School Overview & Data
http://www.saludthefilm.net/ns/elam.html

Application to the Latin American Medical School for US students is
coordinated by the Interreligious Foundation for Community
Organization/Pastors for Peace, a humanitarian group based in New York. 
http://www.ifconews.org/MedicalSchool/main.htm