FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
How is health care organised in Cuba?
There are four levels: consultorios staffed by family doctors and nurses which are for most patients the first point of contact and which have a strong public health role; policlinicos where family doctors and specialists provide ambulatory care; general hospitals for higher tech, in-patient care; and tertiary units providing highly specialist services. For more information, go to Healthcare in Cuba - further information. The article entitled Cuban Health System on the MEDICC website http://www.medicc.org is particularly useful.
How is medical teaching organised in Cuba?
All medical faculties except the Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina (Latin American School of Medicine, ELAM), are under the Ministry of Health (MINSAP) and follow the same course. The education of doctors, nurses, dentists and allied health professionals is the responsibility of the faculties of medicine at each hospital. The faculties are grouped geographically under four Higher Institutes of Medical Sciences. Teaching takes place in the institutes or faculties and in the hospitals and polyclinics. Distance learning is well developed in Cuba, and students attached to rural polyclinics have access to educational programmes via laptops and are mentored by an educational supervisor. For more information on medical education in Cuba go to Healthcare in Cuba - further information and look particularly at the MEDICC website http://www.medicc.org.
How important is it to be able to speak Spanish?
Teaching is in Spanish and you will usually be part of a group of local students. Most doctors and some students speak some English, and it may be possible for you to be paired with an English-speaking student (e.g. from South Africa) but you should expect to have to learn largely in Spanish. And if you don’t have any Spanish, you will not be able to talk to patients!
Will I be mixing with local medical students?
Yes. Normally you will be integrated with the local students. These come not just from Cuba, but also from elsewhere in Latin America, and from Africa and Asia as well.
I want to travel and see more of Cuba. How easy is this?
All the institutes and faculties which host elective students want visitors to see and enjoy their country. Public transport in Cuba is limited, so the faculties usually organise transport at weekends to beaches, tourist destinations etc. If you have time for a holiday in Cuba you will be able to arrange this when you are there using the long distance coaches or even the train. Keen cyclists might like to take a bike (Havana is currently the only city with bike hire facilities). Motorbikes can be hired. Car hire is costly but convenient and the roads outside Havana are uncrowded - just beware of the horses!
My family come from the Indian subcontinent. How will Cubans react to me?
Equality, including racial equality, was one of the Revolution’s goals, and Cuba is genuinely and refreshingly a much more racially equal society than most. A number of students from Pakistan study medicine in Cuba, so in teaching hospitals people are quite used to meeting staff from Asia. In general ordinary people may be curious but are most unlikely to be hostile. Cuba had a small immigrant population from China, now almost completely mixed with the majority’s Hispanic/African blood.
