Like many students, Tavarez planned on delaying her application to medical school in order to work for a few years and save up some money for the costs of a post-graduate education. "I was going to teach for a couple of years," said Tavarez. "I thought that if I couldn't afford to help my community through medicine, then I would be able to do it through education."
Fortunately, Tavarez, a Puerto Rican from the Bronx, found an opportunity to study medicine immediately after graduation on a full scholarship. Along with 18 other U.S. students, Tavarez is currently attending the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana, Cuba.
ELAM (after its Spanish acronym) offers a six-year medical school program. Since 1999, the Cuban government has been offering full scholarships, covering tuition, room and board, textbooks and a small stipend for personal expenses, to qualified students from the neediest communities in Latin America and Africa. President Fidel Castro extended the invitation in 2001 to U.S. students from low-income communities who would not otherwise be able to afford medical school. Students participating in the program must express a deep-seated commitment to practicing medicine in medically under-served communities after graduating from the program.
The program is 12 semesters long and classes are taught entirely in Spanish but intensive Spanish classes and premed courses in Spanish are offered for those students who need them. Students study on the ELAM campus in Havana during the first two years, which consist of basic medical sciences with some internship opportunities in neighborhood clinics. After that, non-U.S. students go to another of Cuba's 21 medical schools located throughout the island, while American students remain in Havana. During the third year of study, students incorporate medical internships in local hospital wards into their regular coursework and laboratory studies. The final year consists of practica in internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology and general medicine.
The Cuban medical school's program closely corresponds with how medicine is taught in the U.S. in terms of subject matter. According to Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), the group that handles recruitment for the program in the U.S., the two styles differ in that the ELAM program "emphasizes cooperative rather than competitive learning, smaller class sizes, frequent oral exams and intensive tutoring." The program is also based on intensive advising, designed to help every student succeed.
For Tavarez, this new approach came as a refreshing change, especially after experiencing, what she called, cut-throat competitiveness in the sciences for four years.
"Here everything is very competitive and more of a 'sink or swim' environment whereas at ELAM, students are encouraged to help each other so that everyone passes," she said. "I believe a lot of students that I have studied with at Amherst have lost focus of what medicine is about. Coming from a lower working-class background, my goal was to always serve those communities."
Prior to applying, Tavarez spoke with several doctors about the medical care in Cuba and about the ELAM school specifically. All of them gave it a positive recommendation. "They said it was one of the best schools to attend because of the quality of education I would be receiving there," she said.
Because of its ties to the Cuban government, and due to the political tensions between it and the United States, the ELAM program is not without controversy. In spite of this, many healthcare professionals and experts in the medical field in the United States praise the quality of medical care in Cuba and the reputation of ELAM.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, "since 1959 Cuba has invested heavily in health care and now has twice as many physicians per capita as the United States and health indicators are at par with those in the most developed nations."
Besides the quality education and the full scholarship, the concept of a medical school directed at people who want to help underserved populations immediately sparked Tavarez's interest and prompted her to do further research.
As a student at the College, Tavarez spent summers and Interterms volunteering with organizations and hospitals that catered to underserved communities in her hometown, the Bronx.
"There is a missionary aspect of the program that seemed to appeal to Tachira, as she felt she could really make a difference through this program in ways she would never be able to from traditional U.S. medical schools," said Professor of Chemistry Pat O'Hara. She went on to comment on the "compatibility between this incredible young woman and this very ambitious program."
"The fact that the other American students that are going to Cuba with me are also going into medical fields to help underserved communities in the future is very encouraging and exciting," said Tavarez, on the eve of her departure to Havana.
Hopefully, more College alums while join Tavarez in the coming years. Dean Carolyn Basset, Health Profession Advisor in the Career Center, recommends that students interested in studying outside of the U.S. pay particular attention to United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) pass rates and residency placements.
"I have had fewer than three conversations about the Latin American School of Medicine with premeds [at Amherst]," said Bassett. "But it could be an attractive option for students and alumni who speak Spanish, are committed to the mission of service at LASM, are interested in studying outside the U.S., and are seeking alternative ways to finance their medical education."
Tavarez left for Havana on Aug. 26, and plans to come back to the States every summer while studying in Cuba. After graduation, she plans to apply for residencies in the Bronx.