INSPIRING: Peekskill woman travels to Cuba to become doctor
- From: periodistalibre@xxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:18:20 -0700
LOWER HUDSON ONLINE -
By STACY A. ANDERSON | THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: August 27, 2007)
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About 100 Americans, 18 of which are first-year students, will head to
Cuba
to attend the Latin American School of Medicine. The school has about
12,000
students from more than 20 countries enrolled each year. Most students
are
from Latin America and Africa, the IFCO says.
IFCO/Pastors for Peace c/o The Latin American School of Medicine 418 W.
145
St., Manhattan 212-926-5757
www.ifconews.org
Contact: The Rev. Lucius Walker
Sitembile Sales has known since her days as a student at Peekskill
High
School that she wanted to become a doctor.
A chance to work in a teen clinic during her senior year made the
difference, Sales says. Through a course offered at her school called
Peekskill Internship Experience for Seniors, Sales spent one day a
week
working in a Bronx clinic with a pediatrician, who was of Puerto Rican
descent.
"It sparked an interest immediately," Sales says. "(The pediatrician)
had a
strong effect on the youth she worked with. She treated the teens with
utmost respect."
Sales, 27, will enter her fourth year of medical training this fall at
the
Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, Cuba. After completing
her
schooling, she says, "I want to work in an under-served community with
people of color, specifically black and Latinos."
After graduating from Peekskill High, Sales attended Xavier University
in
New Orleans, known for having one of the highest number of graduating
black
students accepted into medical school.
While Sales was a junior majoring in chemistry/pre-medical studies,
her parents attended a lecture by Fidel Castro at Riverside Church on
Manhattan's Upper West Side. Castro spoke about a new medical
initiative he
was opening to American students. He offered 500 full medical
scholarships
for students to attend the Latin American School of Medicine. All
room,
board, books and other expenses would be covered, with students only
promising to practice medicine in an underserved community after the
program. Sales' parents called to tell her about the opportunity after
attending the speech.
"I always had a fascination with Cuba," said Sales, who became
familiar with
the island nation after her older sister studied dance there a few
years
earlier.
Sales applied through the Harlem-based Interreligious Foundation for
Community Organization, which helps students from the United States
apply,
and entered medical school in the fall of 2002.
Students are given a diagnostic test once they arrive in Cuba to
determine
their understanding of Spanish and medicine. The six-year program
takes an
additional year for some, like Sales, who have to learn Spanish
fluently.
Sales spent her first year learning the language and retaking classes
she
took at Xavier in Spanish.
"That was rough," Sales says. "You have to reprogram your mind. You
want to
express yourself but haven't built up the vocabulary yet."
During Sales' second year, she began her medical study or what she
calls
"the standard book year," taking biology, physical fitness,
laboratories,
lectures and other courses at the main campus of the school, a former
Cuban
naval academy.
Sales also spent time working in a "consultorio," or local doctor's
office
that treats about 150 to 200 people from the immediate community.
Wearing
the school's regular uniform of white tops and navy bottoms, she
administered routine checkups, which included taking vital signs and
giving
various injections.
During the third year of medical training, students are sent to work
at
hospitals throughout the country. American students stay in Havana and
work
at the Salvador Allende Hospital.
Sales said she returned to school after a six-week summer break to an
experience she considers her "rude awakening to medicine." Sales and
other
students returned to Cuba during the dengue epidemic. Dengue is spread
by
mosquitoes and causes high fever, bleeding, high blood pressure and
sweating, Sales says.
Sales says frenzied patients often called her and her classmates
"doctora,"
since they wore the hospital uniform and doctor robes.
"Everything had been theoretical and now it was totally practical,"
Sales
says.
Students worked night shifts every three days until the epidemic
subsided a
few weeks later. Students continued to work at the hospital, giving
physicals and maintaining health records - "doing everything, except
prescribing medicine," Sales says, to improve their diagnostic skills.
Last year, Sales' medical training focused on internal medicine, where
students were assigned about four regular patients to care for at a
time.
Students completed daily "rounds," where the class and professor
walked to
each new patient's bed and discussed their ailment and proper
treatment.
"We had to plead our case," Sales says. "It stresses the diagnostic
skills."
Sales says the skill of quickly diagnosing a patient instead of
waiting for
lab results helps when working in under-served communities that have
less
sophisticated medical equipment and in disaster areas that have been
hit by
a hurricane or earthquake.
"We rely a lot on physical tests," Sales says, with teachers often
asking
students to describe what they saw.
"We learn how to offer service when your resources are minimal. You
can't
rely on technology, you can't rely on machines. You have to rely on
practical skills."
While Sales isn't saving time studying medicine in Cuba, she is saving
herself about $250,000 since she has received a full scholarship.
Medical
school in the United States takes about four years to complete. In
Cuba and
elsewhere, medical studies begin earlier and extend longer. Even
attending
school six days a week doesn't bother Sales.
Sales says she admires the country's philosophy of free health care
and
education for all its citizens.
"It's not an elimination process. They work with students to move them
to
the next level," Sales says.
She adds that her experience abroad has helped her better manage her
time
and interest.
"It's helped to mature me. I've challenged myself and stepped out of
my
comfort zone. It's totally broken down and ordered my life. ... I keep
in
contact with my family and get exercise," says Sales, who tries to e-
her family once a week.
Sales also enjoys interacting with students from around the world.
"I'm with students from 23 countries and we exchange ideas on health-
care
policies," says Sales, who debates about "any and everything" from
relationships to the latest U.S. news with her friends.
"You meet people from other countries and it helps you to have an
appreciation."
Sales tries to take in the Cuban music and culture, visiting the
beaches and
botanical gardens on Sundays and other free moments.
"I love the live music," she says. "Cubans have preserved a lot of the
African folklore and dances."
Sales says she also likes the way Cubans view life.
"Cubans are a very festive people. They know how to enjoy themselves
and
live. I've learned how to enjoy life. You have to embrace your
happiness and
enjoy life more."
After medical school, Sales will have to pass the three-step U.S.
Medical
Licensing Exam to practice in this country. Sales would like to return
to
New York or the Mississippi Delta region to aid areas affected by
Hurricane
Katrina and other rural areas. Wherever Sales may move to practice
medicine,
she'll never forget her days working in the youth clinic.
"You have to know the impact your profession has," she says. "You have
to
give back to those in need."
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