Chained Doctors

Chained Doctors
FRANCISCO ALMAGRO | Miami | 11 Dic 2015 - 8:35 pm.

It might have been two young female doctors, interviewed in Costa Rica
and part of the human flood flowing towards the US, who placed the
issue in the spotlight. One of them, a young specialist, mentioned her
"exceptional performance," as if her academic excellence exempted her
from having to meet certain obligations towards those who paid for her
career and specialization. Exceptional performance and the Talent Plan
mean that doctors can directly go on to specialize after graduation,
become residents and, after a few years, specialists in branch of medicine.

We have no idea how many doctors and medical personnel are among those
Cubans stranded in Central America, but there can't be many, and there
could have been many more if the Cuban government had not
"coincidentally" published, on November 30, a statement reiterating its
Decree 306, governing temporary leave for health professionals for
personal reasons.

In all honesty, we must point out that the decree contains no new
regulations. There was something similar to it years ago, which meant
significant and unnecessary suffering for Cuban doctors and health
professionals. In those days it was a regulation that few were able to
see, and much less discuss, and one that usually separated families and
doctors for more than five years.

Those were days of increased medical cooperation abroad, above all in
Venezuela, with the Misión Barrio Adentro. In order for the regime to
maintain thousands of doctors, hundreds of health workers were prevented
from leaving. Many had family members in the US calling for them, or had
won the Interests Section's lottery.

As the years passed many in these families had to emigrate, but the
doctors remained, with all the consequences that this entailed. The
response from officials was always the same, issued without a drop of
compassion: the Ministry has not approved your release. "Release." What
an appropriate word. But that sacrifice back in Cuba did not keep
hundreds, perhaps even thousands of doctors from those missions in
Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia from becoming emigrants, or, as
the regime calls them: "deserters." The best revenge: deserting.

In the interest of a balanced look at things, it must be said that if
you live in Havana and Santiago de Cuba, and you take your child to the
emergency room, and there's no cardiologist, or pediatric surgeon, or
critical care physician present to save his life, you might very well
agree with the Cuban government's regulation. Medicine is one of the
most expensive fields of study all around the world. A medical
specialization increases one's debt, and years are required to acquire
the expertise necessary to handle severe heart disease, complicated
surgeries, or patients connected to life support machines. It is a debt
that must be paid. But that debt should not be eternal, or grant the
lender a blank check. Before receiving their first class in Anatomy or
Physiology, future doctors should know how much their studies and
training are going to cost them, and how they are to pay it back. This
is only fair, nothing more and nothing less than simple civic ethics and
professionalism.

The historical plight of Cuban doctors is that things are almost never
transparent, and rarely in their favor. This is what happens with their
international missions, car and housing allowances, and job assignment
locations once one has completed his service period. It works something
like this: a decree is issued, and the bureaucrats decide when, how and
where it is enacted. A decree, by the way, is not a law, because it has
not been endorsed by the people or their representatives.

This is where the Hippocratic Oath falls apart. The Oath depends on the
wills of nameless bureaucrats, the Government's policy commitments, and
the egos of those who use their power to turn backpacks full of
medication into boxes of bullets. The "chained physician" is trapped in
an ethical dilemma: he feels entitled to break them, but, at the same
time, it pains him to shirk the duty he accepted.

It turns out that Medicine, like Sports, is at odds with politicization.
Medicine cannot be a business, nor can it be a political weapon, lest it
lose its essence. Those who practice it in this way are degraded to the
point that they do harm instead of curing. Humans are born with the
intrinsic freedom to make decisions about their lives. And that right is
not granted by any government, much less some civil servant. Nothing and
no one can violate this principle without ultimately facing the
consequences of their misdeed.

Thus, it is the Government's responsibility to ensure that its
professional and technical human resources are able to make their own
decisions, free of any political, ideological and even economic
pressure, for when those who see to our health are confused, weary and
poorly paid, their services reflect this lamentable state. Physicians
also have the obligation to ensure that children, the elderly and
pregnant women receive proper assistance, without excuses of any kind.
In return our doctors and medical professionals do not deserve bags of
food, or liters of gas, or reservations at the beach, but rather our
respect for their dignity and recognition of their right, human and
unassailable, to emigrate upon the fulfillment of their obligations
towards society.

Source: Chained Doctors | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1449862554_18763.html