O*'t -Do?

Ba.n O*'t -Do? co' pha?i thi ca'i U.S. Medical Licensing Exam o/?
btw, ne^'u co' bie^'t ma^'y o^ng former docs thi` cho ho. bie^'t!

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MDC heals careers by retraining foreign doctors

Hundreds of foreign medical professionals descended on Miami
DadeCollege to learn about a new retraining initiative.

Posted on Thu, Oct. 04,
BY MONICA HATCHER mhatcher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
PATRICK FARRELL/MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Surgical assistant Luis Sanchez fills out paperwork prior to Miami
DadeCollege's Foreign Physical Alternative Certification Program. Like
thousands of foreign medical professionals in South Florida, the
formerOB/GYN from Cuba faced enormous challenges that kept him from
gettingback into the healthcare field. Among them: a language barrier,
having to support a family and passing difficult board exams to get
licensed. After ten years of working humble jobs, the former doctor
said he wasfed up wasting his talents. It may be too late to practice
medicine again, he thought, but not too late to do something else.
When he was 53, Mesa-Payan enrolled in a one-year program at Miami
Dade College to become a nurse. His only regret is that he didn't do
it sooner. Mesa-Payan shared his story Tuesday night with hundreds of
foreign doctors, nurses and medical technicians gathered at Miami Dade
Collegeto learn more about a new initiative that aims to fast-track
them back into lucrative medical careers. ''Everybody who is here is
open-minded enough to realize that becoming a doctor is not the only
alternative that we have,'' Mesa-Payan said, speaking on a panel of
professionals who have made comebacks in medicine. Since the U.S
government announced last year that it would begin expediting asylum
petitions of defecting Cuban medical personnel, MDC has seen an influx
of students seeking certification in the healthcare professions. The
surge has prompted the school to expand its offerings. (Several years
ago, Florida International University also chartered a program that
helps foreign-educated doctors become registered nurses.) ''Suddenly,
we are dealing with much larger numbers -- not only from Cuba but
other countries,'' said Kathie Sigler, president of the MDC medical
campus. This year alone, more than 300 former health professionals
signed up for the college's REVEST program, which provides free
English language and vocational training for refugees and other
immigrants. While the school has always worked with foreign health
professionals --nearly a quarter of the students graduating as
physician assistants, and almost an eighth of its nursing graduates,
have had training abroad --Sigler said MDC is in the process of making
room for more foreign-trained students. ''For some programs, we have
had to go to accrediting associations to ask for additional slots,''
she explained, ``In order to become a nurse, for example, you have to
have a certain number of clinical hours with a hospital faculty. All
of the schools and universities negotiate with hospitals about how
many placements they can have.''

She also said the college will now offer courses helping foreign
doctors prepare for the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam -- one step in a
rigorous, costly process leading to licensure as a doctor. The school
also negotiated additional funding for REVEST to cover tuition and
fees for several shorter-term programs training students to become
phlebotomists and pharmacy techs, among other fields. And students
will now have a one-stop center where they can have their English
language skills assessed, their foreign transcripts evaluated and get
academic counseling. That all sounded good to Chanel Estrada, a Cuban-
trained doctor working as a registered nurse. But Estrada, who
practiced medicine for just a year before coming to Miami, wants
another shot at being a doctor.``I've dedictated too many years when I
was younger to give it up. So, for me now, it's like a goal in my life
I haven't accomplished.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/259753.html

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