Cuban-trained Guyanese doctors are health sector’s primary focus

Aug 14, 2013 News

By Zena Henry
The ultimate vision behind the training of hundreds of Cuban-educated Guyanese doctors, is to gradually replace serving foreign specialists with a competent, dependable and well-trained army of medical professionals, according to Health Minister Bheri Ramsaran.

Vanessa Singh and Timothy Imanuel Morgan

The Minister told Kaieteur News in an interview last Saturday at the International Conference Centre that there is a large contingent of foreign specialists, predominantly Cubans, who help man the health system in providing a higher level of medical service. At the same time, the country is producing doctors who are confident and skilled enough to provide this said service to their countrymen, the Minister said.
Additionally, the Cubans are helping Guyanese to do just that. Apart from the overseas training, the Minister pointed out that they are now considering post-graduation programmes.
As a result of considerations by the Health Ministry and the government, Ramsarran said he was able to meet with the Cuban Minister of Health, who vowed to assist in after-graduation training programmes which would guide the students and aid them in settling into the new profession, while identifying a specific area of expertise. Only recently, a high-powered Cuban team arrived in Guyana to assist in crafting the post-graduate programmes.
“As they grow, they will be deployed in further fields, to bring more services, to more people, more times in more places,” the Minister posited.
In the meantime, while plans for the graduates are being finalized, they say they are eager to get into the field. Some say they dreamed of the day when they would graduate in their desired field, while others emphasized on being able to help people.
During the seven hard training years spent away from family and friends in Cuba, it was tough, according to Best Graduating Student and Valedictorian, Timothy Imanuel Morgan, who said,”… but the Cubans are extremely friendly people, who were willing to share their culture and knowledge. Now that we are home, we as a group are one of the largest returning, and we are motivated and have the will to serve.” “We are ready and willing to serve Guyana and the health sector in a comprehensive manner,” Morgan asserted.
Twenty-five-year-old Vanessa Singh of La Grange, West Bank Demerara,

Health Minister Bheri Ramsaran speaks with some of the graduates

said she is also eager to be of service to her fellow citizens. She was especially passionate about this since sadly, while away studying, she lost both her parents to illness. Singh explained that it was difficult to concentrate and to go on, but the support of her peers and the Cuban professors gave her courage.
Deoram Kajram, 25, of Adventure on the Essequibo Coast and Lionel Henry, 26, of New Amsterdam, Berbice were more than ecstatic about their graduation. They both highlighted the difficulty associated with learning Cuba’s native tongue of Spanish. They said students have to take the first year off to familiarize themselves with the language and later become as fluent as possible since the whole curriculum is taught in Spanish.
Externally, Guyanese students teamed up, they noted.
“A lot of church-going did the trick,” Henry reflected. The students had formed their own religious body. He said he played the drums while other students preached, sang and played other instruments. They also passed the time with cricket games and Spanish-speaking competitions.
Mingling with the Cubans was a mind-blowing experience, Kajram said. They helped students cope with the pressure and made the language easier to grasp.
Head of the Guyana-based Cuban Medical Brigade, Manuel Osorio, told

Leinel Henry and Deoram Kajram pose for a picture.

Kaieteur News that the Guyanese students are very receptive to the medical programmes. The Spanish speaking director said through a translator that the students are open and willing to learn.
“They will make fine doctors,” he said.