No qualifying exam for Cubans

The Health Ministry yesterday said Cubans are not required to do the Caribbean Association of Medical Councils (CAMC) exam as the Medical Board of TT has registered graduates of Cuban Medical Schools and graduates of medical schools in foreign countries.

In a media release, the Health Ministry said there is no legal requirement for the CAMC exam. “In order to register doctors to practise, all that is required is a proper assessment of the doctors’ training, qualifications, experience and competence and this has been the procedure in this country for the last 40 years,” the release stated. However, an official of the Council of the Medical Board said those graduates referred to were Trinidadians who study in Cuba. Other foreigners registered would have been graduates from the list of schools recognised by the Medical Board.

He said as pre-requisites for registering the Cubans, the Ministry was asked to certify that the Cubans could communicate in English and that their schools were recognised. Many schools on the local listing are those accredited by the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council (GMC). “The universities of Cuba were never approved in the past,” the official said. He said two years ago, the Medical Board modified the list of schools and added those which it believed were recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, the WHO has said it is not an accreditation centre. The official said the listing is a “medical school directory and not an accreditation list like the GMC.”