Trained but unable to work
Cuba-educated doctor’s qualifications not recognised in Malaysia
PETALING JAYA: Dr Sasha Joanne Gomez, who was in a pioneer batch of locals offered scholarships to pursue medicine in Cuba in 2007, will have no role to heal the sick in Malaysia.
The Caribbean nation has made many efforts to get its medical qualifications recognised here, but things have remained stagnant despite Public Service Department officials having visited Havana in 2006 to evaluate four medical universities.
Dr Gomez, 30, was told she would have to undertake another course in Malaysia costing RM40,000 before she could be considered to practise here.
Although aware of the pitfalls of studying in the communist country, she was impressed by its well-developed medical industry.
“Recently, they developed lung cancer vaccine and treatment for vitiligo (a skin condition characterised by patches of skin losing its pigment).
“Their infant mortality rate is also very low,” said Dr Gomez, who earned her degree at the Universidad de Carlos J. Finlay in Camaguey, Cuba’s third largest city.
As the course was conducted in Spanish, she had to take a year-long Spanish course to prepare ahead.
“In the preparatory course, I was taught basic Spanish for six months and then pre-medical subjects such as biochemistry, mathematics and biology in Spanish for the next six months,” she said.
Despite having to adjust to the local cuisine and culture, she persevered and even found the love of her life in the form of Guyanan Dr Ramesh Rambharose, her coursemate.
With Malaysia offering no solace, Dr Gomez took up an offer to work as a doctor in Guyana, a country on the northern mainland of South America.
The couple tied the knot in a church wedding in Shah Alam on Saturday. Among those who witnessed the ceremony was Cuban Ambassador to Malaysia Ibete Fernandez Hernandez.
Dr Gomez, who will return to Guyana where Dr Ramesh is serving a two-year government bond, said she hoped to specialise in paediat- rics and return to Malaysia in the future.
Dr Ramesh hopes to specialise in general surgery.
“We intend to study for our specialisation in the United States for three to four years,” Dr Gomez said.
In her speech at the wedding reception, Hernandez said she considered the couple “a part and parcel of Cuba”.
“Thank you for believing in Cuba and for staking your future with us. You were surrounded by love in Cuba, and will always continue to be loved by us,” she said.
The envoy said the aim of the medical scholarship scheme was to train Malaysians for them to return and serve their country.