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I don't if the Cuban taxi license acquisition process is hard but I've heard they can make much more money catering to the tourists than a working as a doctor t

by pkaye 5y ago

I don't if the Cuban taxi license acquisition process is hard but I've heard they can make much more money catering to the tourists than a working as a doctor there.

eesmith 5y ago
Yes. And there's likely all sort of interesting comparisons there, like how taxi services in Cuba make their money from foreign tourists, the relative comparison of "medical deserts" in the two countries, the type of people willing to go deeply into debt for a US MD, vs. a state-funded MD in Cuba, and the types of medicine they go into (eg, primary care vs. specialist care; urban or rich vs. rural or poor patients). I tried searching Google Scholar, but the topic is vast and my time little. I thought https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12960-020-0450-9 https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10... ("Medical training for universal health coverage: a review of Cuba–South Africa collaboration") was an interesting read: > Doctors play an essential leadership role in achieving UHC, but in most countries, their training is orientated towards curative, high technology sub-specialisation in medicine and surgery. The financial and academic barriers to admission to medical school tend to favour the selection of students from privileged backgrounds, leading to young doctors who have limited direct experience of the health needs of poor rural and under-served urban communities, with few choosing to serve these communities ... > RSA’s long heritage of British medical education traditions and academic excellence, selection of the brightest students and its strong emphasis on specialisation have not helped in developing primary health care. .. > Cuba adopted an entirely different approach to medical education with the emphasis on primary health care, an interdisciplinary approach, a strong community participation, an internationalist focus, and a health workforce of sufficient size and skills to meet population needs. Much of the training is in rural polyclinics as part of a primary care team, giving students a community and primary care orientation for a large part of their training. Moreover, their values are different: solidarity with poor and disadvantaged communities, and a willingness to serve in a variety of challenging settings [17]. Importantly, Cuba has achieved impressive improvements in population health, aided by these innovations [18].

by pkaye 5y ago

I don't if the Cuban taxi license acquisition process is hard but I've heard they can make much more money catering to the tourists than a working as a doctor there.

eesmith 5y ago

Yes. And there's likely all sort of interesting comparisons there, like how taxi services in Cuba make their money from foreign tourists, the relative comparison of "medical deserts" in the two countries, the type of people willing to go deeply into debt for a US MD, vs. a state-funded MD in Cuba, and the types of medicine they go into (eg, primary care vs. specialist care; urban or rich vs. rural or poor patients). I tried searching Google Scholar, but the topic is vast and my time little. I thought https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12960-020-0450-9 https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10... ("Medical training for universal health coverage: a review of Cuba–South Africa collaboration") was an interesting read: > Doctors play an essential leadership role in achieving UHC, but in most countries, their training is orientated towards curative, high technology sub-specialisation in medicine and surgery. The financial and academic barriers to admission to medical school tend to favour the selection of students from privileged backgrounds, leading to young doctors who have limited direct experience of the health needs of poor rural and under-served urban communities, with few choosing to serve these communities ... > RSA’s long heritage of British medical education traditions and academic excellence, selection of the brightest students and its strong emphasis on specialisation have not helped in developing primary health care. .. > Cuba adopted an entirely different approach to medical education with the emphasis on primary health care, an interdisciplinary approach, a strong community participation, an internationalist focus, and a health workforce of sufficient size and skills to meet population needs. Much of the training is in rural polyclinics as part of a primary care team, giving students a community and primary care orientation for a large part of their training. Moreover, their values are different: solidarity with poor and disadvantaged communities, and a willingness to serve in a variety of challenging settings [17]. Importantly, Cuba has achieved impressive improvements in population health, aided by these innovations [18].