Luis Fernando Salazar came to the Isla de la Juventud, the largest island off of Cuba, over a year ago. He left relatives and friends behind in his beloved Bolivia to come to Cuba to study Medicine. Saying farewell to his homeland and arriving to an unknown country with worries over his course load made him pretty nervous at first. Even so, he did not hesitated to commit to the six years it will take to finish his career; determined only to return to Cochabamba donned in a white doctors coat.

"Back home I worked during the day and went to night school, but studies were too expensive for me and my parents. Bolivian friends who have graduated here told me about the doctors training program. Now, one of my most important objectives is to become general physician. I know Bolivia and other Latin American countries need doctors very badly, and its up to us to satisfy this demand."

A WELL ROOTED PROGRAM ALREADY BEARING FRUIT

Luis Fernando is one of the more than 1,600 young students now studying Medicine on the Cuban island of Isla de la Juventud, as part of the New Medical Training Program created in the framework of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA). Coming from Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Guatemala, Colombia and East Timor, students occupy five medical faculties, scattered all over this municipality.

After finishing pre-medicine course, where they receive classes in Spanish, Math, Chemistry, History and other basic subjects, the students begin their career. This years syllabus has incorporated new changes and students now study Human Morpho-physiology, a subject that is part of the basic sciences of the first years of the medical career, along with Social Medicine, which familiarizes them with primary healthcare.

Students are assigned a family in the nearby community, to which they offer their services four hours a week, together with a professor. More than a requirement of the program, these visits are satisfying for these students, who, far away from their loved ones, enjoy in these houses a family atmosphere.

Anita and Gabriel wait for Luis Fernando every Wednesday, the day he regularly visits their family. He has the duty and pleasure of looking after his "grandma and grandpa," as he affectionately calls the 81 and 62-year-old couple. "They need my services and they are very happy when they see me. Im always monitoring their blood pressure and giving them periodic checkups."

Cuban doctors throughout the country consider teaching as part of their internationalist missions. Their experience is a fundamental pillar in the training of new professionals, in whom they foster values like humanism and solidarity. "Cuban professors are very good. We see them as our parents, and to say goodbye to them is very hard," says Luis Fernando.

THE NEW SCHOOL

The Jose Maceo Grajales Faculty of Medical Sciences was one of the first to be created on the Isla de la Juventud. With some 408 young students from Bolivia, East Timor, Colombia and Venezuela, it concluded the first academic year with a 100 percent graduation. At present, its in the process of being turned into a faculty and a policlinic where, besides acting as a school, will offer medical services to patients, including ultrasounds, electrocardiograms and dentistry.

"This place has become a home for these kids," says Dr. Yamarys Hernandez Alonso, the centers vice dean and a teacher. "Here they have a Monday through Saturday school schedule. On weekends, they usually participate in recreational activities and practice sports. They have all the material resources they need to study; a computer for every two students, digital bibliographies and a Web site where they can update themselves on whats going on in their respective countries."

Students are frequently found studying in classrooms, halls, or sitting in the shade of a tree. "On Mondays, we have oral, written and practical tests, by way of which we are tested on the subjects given during the week", comments Luis Fernando.

Dormitories impress visitors for their cleanliness and unique decorations. There are eight students per bedroom, each of which has 4 bunks. Telephones, TVs and other comforts are found in their study room. The faculty also offers them simple services including a shoemaker, tailor, hairdresser, barber, manicurist and post office. Visitors are also impressed by the sculpture of Che Guevara the students made with stones.

Thus, between study and other activities, days go by at the Jose Maceo Grajales.

The presence of these soon-to-be doctors on the streets of Gerona or other remote towns on the island is normal for locals, who still remember how during the 1980s, for the first time the island welcomed more than 20,000 foreign students from 37 nations.

Source: Granma