Medical Education Cooperation With Cuba

MEDICAL EDUCATION COOPERATION WITH CUBA (MEDICC) PROMOTES COOPERATION AMONG THE US, CUBAN AND GLOBAL HEALTH COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES AND EQUITY, OFFERING THE CUBAN EXPERIENCE TO INFORM GLOBAL DEBATE, POLICIES, AND PRACTICE.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS FOR HEALTH EQUITY (CPHE): -WRITING MATERIALS AND RECRUITING CPHE LEADERS FOR THE HEALTH EQUITY NARRATIVE PROJECT.-CONTINUING MINI-GRANTS FOR YOUTH PROJECTS IN MILWAUKEE AND NAVAJO NATION CPHES.-ORGANIZING ZOOM MEETINGS WITH CPHE PARTICIPANTS.-SPONSORING AND COORDINATING 2 MEMBERS OF BRONX CPHE TO ATTEND A WEEK-LONG SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE/FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IMMERSION WORKSHOP IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, SPONSORED BY SOUL FIRE FARM, AN AFRO-INDIGENOUS CENTERED COMMUNITY FARM COMMITTED TO UPROOTING RACISM AND SEEDING SOVEREIGNTY IN THE FOOD SYSTEM.-RESEARCHING VIRTUAL YOUTH TRAININGS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

MEDICC REVIEW: -EDITING AND PRODUCTION OF THE JANUARY, APRIL AND JULY-OCTOBER ISSUES. SEE WWW.MEDICCREVIEW.ORG.-GENERATION OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING. -COMPLETION OF FIRST PHASE OF RECONSTITUTING THE EDITORIAL BOARD. SECOND PHASE SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY YEAR'S END.-SPONSORING A DELEGATION OF VACCINE EXPERTS TO CUBA.

GATEWAYS TRAVEL PROGRAM: THE MEDICC GATEWAYS PROGRAM CONTINUED TO BE ON HOLD IN 2021 DUE TO THE GLOBAL COVID PANDEMIC AND ITS IMPACT ON CUBA, THE US, AND INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL. WITH CUBA OPENING ITS INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AGAIN ON NOVEMBER 15, 2021, THE PROGRAM WILL RESUME WITH GROUPS IN EARLY 2022.

MD PIPELINE TO COMMUNITY SERVICE: -MNISI SCHOLARSHIP - MEDICC FUNDED THE 32 STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADS WHO SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS FOR THE MNISI SCHOLARSHIP, WHICH COVERS SOME EXAM FEES AND EXAM PREP MATERIALS FOR 3RD-6TH YEAR STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADUATES. THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS WAS DOWN FROM PREVIOUS YEARS, INCLUDING 2020, DUE TO EXTREME UNCERTAINITY. GRADUATES WHO HAVE NOT YET PASSED STEP EXAMS WERE PRIORITZED WIH THE HIGHEST AWARD AMOUNTS, WHILE THE YOUNGER STUDENTS AND LATE APPLICANTS RECEIVED LOWER AMOUNTS. THE APPROACH OF THE PROGRAM IN 2021 HAS BEEN TO REGARD THE AWARDS AS A NON-COMPETIVE DISTRIBUTION OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES; TO EXTEND MAXIMUM FLEXIBITIY TO AWARDEES (ALLOWING RE-ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO DIFFERENT ITEMS AS CONDITIONS CHANGE); AND TO SUPPORT STUDENTS AND GRADUATES TO THE GREATEST DEGREE POSSIBLE IN MEETING THEIR EXAM REQUIREMENTS.- COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS SUMMER ROTATIONS - IN SUMMER 2021, SIX STUDENTS WERE PLACED IN SUMMER ROTATIONS THROUGH MEDICC, WHICH IS DOUBLE THE NUMBER IN 2020. SEVERAL OF THE OPPORTUNITIES WERE SELF-ARRANGED, BUT VETTED AND APPROVED BY MEDICC. AGAIN, COVID-RELATED UNCERTAINITY REDUCED THE NUMBERS OF APPLICATIONS AND AVAILABLE SITES FROM PREVIOUS YEARS. -PATHWAYS TO RESIDENCY - TO THE PROGRAM'S KNOWLEDGE, ONLY TWO US ELAM GRADUATES MATCHED IN 2021, DESPITE STRONG PROGRAM INTEREST IN SEVERAL OTHERS. THIS SITUATION WAS PART OF A LARGER CRISIS PROVOKED BY ECFMG'S CANCELLATION OF THE STEP 2CS EXAM IN JANUARY 2021 (AFTER ITS SUSPENSION IN 2020). STEP 2CS HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A "PATHWAYS" SYSTEM OF VARIOUS OPTIONS FOR FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADS TO DEMONSTRATE CLINICAL COMPETENCY. IN LATE 2020 AND EARLY 2021, A SMALL GROUP OF US ELAM GRADUATES ATTEMPTED TO CERTIFY VIA "PATHWAY 1," "LICENSED TO PRACTICE MEDICINE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY." ULTIMATELY, ECFMG REJECTED THEIR APPLICATIONS DELAYING THEIR PROGRESS BY ANOTHER YEAR. A CURRENT GROUP OF 8-12 ELAM GRADUATES WISH TO QUALIFY FOR THE 2022 MATCH VIA "PATHWAY 6," WHICH REQUIRES A SET OF PROCTORED MINI CLINICAL EXAMS. GRADUATES AND IFCO ASKED MEDICC TO HELP LOCATE EVALUATORS FOR THESE EXAMS, AS PHYSICIANS ARE ALREADY OVERBURDENED IN GENERAL AT THIS TIME. FORTUNATUELY, AT SOME EVALUATORS WERE IDENTIFIED, AND SOME GRADUATES HAVE CERTIFIED OR WILL CERTIFY WITH ECFMG VIA PATHWAY 6.IN ANOTHER ASPECT OF MEDICC'S PATHWAYS TO RESIDENCY PROGRAM, MEDICC SUPPORTED CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE FOR STUDENTS AND RECENT GRADS ATTENDING AAFP (VIRTUAL - 4), FMEC (IN PERSON - 1), AND FMX (VIRTUAL - 1).