Cold War History Part II [Health][august 2006]

While Raul Castro was busy with his police forces in picking up antennas and trying to keep Cuba In Line, I have decided to reveal one of the goings on by Bush and Company [as well as Official Washington].

Before commenting on this Bush Gaffe [which has become a lifestyle], I have to tell the Readers of this Blog a Reality. When A Physician or Nurse graduates from a Foreign Country and wants to practice Medicine in America, they must go through a battery of examinations which are harder that for Domestic Graduates. They then have to go through a more grueling training program and wait many years before receiving a license to practice their profession.

In USA Federal Law, An International Medical Graduate is ANYONE REGARDLESS OF CITIZENSHIP [INCLUDING US CITIZENSHIP] who graduated from a Non US Medical School.

Having prepared the basis, I will start the story.
After Bush took the Oath of Office to begin his "Presidency", he inaugurated a series of far reaching reforms [2001]. One of these reforms were to have US Citizens who want to become Physicians go and study Medicine in Cuba.

Once the Medical Students finish their education in Cuba, they are sent to rural areas of America [Where Physicians who have to pass these grueling exams go] WITHOUT THE NEED TO PASS THE GRUELING EXAMINATIONS, OR GOING THROUGH A GRUELING TRAINING PROGRAM AND WITH AN AUTOMATIC GRANTING OF LICENSES.
This is a slap in the face to those who try to do things the legitimate way even though the system places obstacles. This is still actually the law in America. It has nothing to do with demand or supply of Physicians.

Many in the Profession have retired [from Medicine] as an act of protest against this injustice. Patients have been divided. Some were in favor while others were against [because some patients prefer to be attended by those who went through a Training Program and Grueling Examinations]. Regardless, this reform still stands.

There was another reform [2001] in this in which the Medical Profession could "dress down" with jeans, sandals in order to establish contact with the "patients". The Majority of Patients did not like it and the ones that did thought of their Health Care Providers as something "from a Beauty Contest".

Others that did not like the reform were thinking that Street Clothes and Hospital Bacteria do not mix with the possibility of contaminating people outside of the Health Care Milieu.
Regardless, there were patients that liked it because it was a way of "establishing contact with people

The Last Reform [2001] was to cut some of the pensions for Nurses and increase their working hours. The Nurses started going on strike and wearing Black Ribbons to protest against Bush's Policies toward Nurses [which was revoked leaving the first two reforms intact].

I WANTED TO UPDATE THIS HISTORY LESSON PART II BY SAYING THAT THERE IS A WEBSITE CALLED BARRIO AFUERA IN WHICH THE REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN PROMISING FREEBIES TO CUBAN PHYSICIANS IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES WHO DESERT CASTRO.