Osteopathic Students Provide Medical Outreach in Cuba

Elaine M. Wallace, D.O.,dean of NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM), recently accompanied 16 students to Santa Clara, Cuba, for a weeklong internship in collaboration with the Universidad of Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara. This marked the first time medical students from the U.S. were allowed to visit the Cuban school.

KPCOM students had the opportunity to work alongside Cuban faculty members, residents, and medical students in three different teaching hospitals and assist with cases associated with pediatrics, internal medicine, OB-GYN, dermatology, ear, nose, and throat, and ophthalmology.

They also had a chance to work directly with patients, assist with births and eye surgeries, participate in hospital rounds, and attend lectures. The experience was an extremely fulfilling one that allowed the students to truly immerse themselves in the Cuban culture.