密歇根新闻广播 底特律人在古巴圆了医生梦

When you think of Cuban exports, you probably think, cigars, sugar, and rum. But Cuba exports something of much greater value to third-world countries: doctors. Cuba has trained 23,000 foreign physicians for free at the Latin American School of Medicine near Havana.

In 2001, Cuba opened the school to Americans.

While in Cuba, we met one such American, Samantha Moore of Detroit, in her final year of medical school.

Medical school is no picnic—whether you're in Cuba or the U.S.

The day we met, it was nearly 90 degrees, and Moore had just finished a more than 24-hour shift on her surgery rotation¹. Yet she appeared cheerful and full of energy.

"There were so many cases last night for surgery alone, so we got swamped," Moore says as she both laughs and sighs. "I was in an operation at 5:00 a.m. this morning. Una appendicites." (Appendicitis in English.)

She takes us on a tour of the main hospital, which seems dated but not that different from U.S. hospitals—except many of the hallways and courtyards are open air. Many other buildings on the sprawling² campus are a bit shabby. Some are being reconstructed.

Moore rates her education in Cuba highly. Her textbooks are the same as those in American medical schools. She has a lot of interaction with patients. In her fourth year, her class went door-to-door for several weeks, teaching Havana residents how to protect themselves from dengue and the Zika virus.

She's assisted in many procedures as well.

"I've got to see hip³ surgeries, knee surgeries...and I can cast you, I know how to do the casting and everything. It's one of my favorites."

When I look surprised, she says, "It is! I like putting people in casts!" and laughs.

U.S. medical school was out of reach—so the dream was deferred⁴

We sit under the shade of gigantic trees on the campus and I ask Moore to tell me her life story.

Her path to medical school wasn't linear. She got a bachelor's degree in math and computer science at the University of Detroit Mercy, and a masters in computer science at Lawrence Tech. She worked.

"It wasn't that I didn't want to go to medical school," says Moore. "I couldn't afford to go to medical school."

Then, one day, she got a call from her dad, with news. "You can become a doctor if you want to," he said.

Moore's father had read about the Latin American School of Medicine in the Michigan Chronicle. He urged her to apply, and he kept urging her, until she did. "You'll be bilingual," he argued, "and you'll be a doctor. You have nothing to lose and—it's free!"

With the average medical school debt in the U.S. about $180,000 dollars, free had a good ring to it. She applied⁵, was accepted in the program, and, seven years later, seems to have no regrets.

Not everything in Cuba's health care system is rosy⁶

Moore says the big weakness with Cuba's government-run health care system is financial. There's not enough money to pay doctors, for medicine, for buildings, for tests. That's not surprising, given the Cuban government's limited budget.

And Moore says the U.S. embargo⁷ doesn't help. If a hospital in Cuba acquires a U.S.-made MRI or other machine, and it breaks down, it can mean long waits for patients who need tests.

"They eventually find the parts, but it's not something they can fix right away," notes Moore. "Where in the U.S., 'Oh, we need this part, we can special order it, and have it there in the afternoon or the very next day.'"

What's next for Moore

The main goal of the Latin American School of Medicine is training primary care physicians to serve impoverished⁸ and underserved people in their home countries.

Moore would like to be a family physician, but says the paperwork and staffing required to run such a practice in the U.S. is daunting⁹; perhaps she'll specialize in internal medicine and work in a clinic or hospital.

"I would like it to do it in Michigan. I really would like to stay in Michigan."

She'll graduate in June. Cuba's top leader Raul Castro is expected to attend the graduation ceremony.

Like all doctors in the U.S., Moore will have to run the gauntlet of passing her exams when she returns to her native country—and then go through the nail-biting process of being matched with a hospital for her residency years.

Meanwhile, medical students from Michigan State University found much to admire and criticize—when they saw Cuba's approach to health care first-hand. We'll have that story later as part of our series, Pure Cuba: Opportunities for Michigan.

1 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

2 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

3 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

4 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

6 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

7 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

8 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。