Caracas, Venezuela.–”Which of you want to go study medicine in Cuba?” they asked in a premedical classroom in Venezuela. Rosa Elena Ramos raised her hand without even thinking. It was the year 2008 and the Bolivarian land and the Antillean Island already felt a family closeness.
Everyone in the South American nation knew stories of Cubans saving lives, restoring vision, walking, and mobility to atrophied and neglected limbs.
They also knew of the affectionate conversation, of the kind treatment after fatigue, of climbing the steep hills, of the children brought in the middle of the street, of the consultations after hours when the illness worsened.
Rosa wanted to be like them: a very Latin American version of superheroes. «After three months I did the tests and, two days later, she was already flying to Cuba, in a group of 20 students.
“It was a great opportunity,” he says, “I felt like I was a little bird whose cage was opened and it flew away. “I learned many things, especially to be very independent, and I learned about other cultures, since we were young people from 69 countries.”
His first experience was at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) where, in addition to receiving the subjects, he was involved in numerous projects and belonged to the FEU.
«We were always on the move. We created the Stealing Smiles Foundation, for children with cancer. In this endeavor we have the support of the Venezuelan Embassy.
“After two and a half years at ELAM, I went on to study at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Matanzas, where I received unique, totally humanitarian training, which brings us into direct contact with the patient.” This is far from the way in which Health services are offered in this country, in the private sector.
«I experienced medical care in Venezuela before and after the brotherhood with Cuba. And it has been a radical change. “We still have a lot to learn and raise awareness among professionals in training.”
After five years on the Island, Rosa Elena Ramos graduated in the specialty of Family Medicine, and for seven years has been carrying out the commendable task of directing the Pinto Salinas 2 Comprehensive Community Health Area, in the El Recreo parish.
«Each of the advice that our Cuban teachers gave us has made those of us who trained under their tutelage remain in these spaces of attention to the communities, and that we transmit our knowledge to the young people who will one day assume the tasks that we are carrying out today.
«“Go private,” my colleagues tell me. And I answer them no, because that was not the vision of the two Commanders. They wanted to bring Health to all corners of Venezuela. I was formed in that ideal, and I remain in it.
Love is paid with love. This doctor knows it well, insisting that “working together” with the collaborators of the Greater Antilles, “in an integrated manner, as a single voice, is the guarantee of the quality service” that they offer to the people.
«I have a lot to thank Cuba, and not only for training me as a doctor, but also as a human being. “I ask for great blessings for that town.”
