Gorry C

Language: English
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Page: 7-11
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Call them intrepid trailblazers or just plain stubborn: over 200 US students, mainly from under-represented minorities and low-income families, decided they would become the doctors needed by their communities, and that Cuba’s Latin American Medical School (ELAM) would prepare them for the job.
In doing so, they accepted a host of challenges, not the least of which was studying in a country lauded for its population health indicators, but vilified for decades by their home government. Under President George W. Bush, even their enrollment required intercession from then Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Congressional Black Caucus, whose members represent districts with some of the poorest health indicators in the United States. Once they were accepted by ELAM, with its own hefty academic requirements, it was unclear if they could cope with living in Cuba, a poor country with limited resources. And then came the challenge of passing the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), required of all US medical students to secure residency placements.