Congress Considers Offer to Send American Students to Cuban Medical Schools

Under a program that could begin this spring, as many as 500 low-income minority American students would be able to attend medical school in Cuba free-of-charge, the AP/Orange County Register reports. The proposal was "hatched" in Havana last year at a meeting between Fidel Castro and members of the Congressional Black Caucus during which Castro said he would offer slots for study if the congressmen filled them. Medical training, texts, uniforms, meals and housing would be provided for free under the six-year program, which would be administered by the caucus. In addition, Spanish lessons would be provided for students who need them. Half of the chosen students would be black and, under eligibility requirements for all potential students, each would have to be between the ages of 18 and 25, possess a high school diploma and successfully complete academic and physical examinations. Blacks and Hispanics are underrepresented in American medical schools, according to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last fall; although both ethnic groups each constitute approximately 12% of the overall U.S. population, only 7.9% of those entering medical school in 1999 were black, and only 6.9% were Hispanic.

Proposal Faces Criticism
While the State Department has said it "sees no legal problem" with the program, "plenty of questions" remain for lawmakers who seek to nominate students, including whether Cuban medical credentials will be recognized in the United States. Cuban physicians fleeing to the United States have encountered difficulties in obtaining licenses to practice. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) expressed hope that American students trained in Cuba "would be treated like any other [foreign] doctors" and would not be "denied [licenses] because of politics." And Luis Fernandez, a secretary for the Cuban Interests Section, Cuba's diplomatic presence in Washington, said he hoped the program could create a "concrete" relationship between the two countries. However, some lawmakers remain skeptical about the proposal. A spokesperson for Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) called the program a "propaganda ploy by the dictatorship" (Shepard, AP/Orange County Register, 2/18).

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