about us

The objective of our association is to provide support to a group of promising young health professionals – the US students and graduates of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM, for its initials in Spanish) – who  are ideally suited to be leaders in the struggle to eliminate health disparities. 

ELAM was founded in 1999 as Cuba’s response to the devastation of Hurricanes Mitch and Georges, with the idea that improving basic health care infrastructure in poor communities could save as many lives every year as were lost in those hurricanes. ELAM has offered comprehensive medical training to students from more than 100 nations – including the US. In exchange for full scholarships, ELAM students are committed to return to their home countries to provide medical services in those same underserved communities. Their clinical training focuses on primary and preventive care, proactive health promotion, community health, epidemiology, disaster medicine, and global health, in addition to extensive hands-on training in all the traditional medical specialties. They graduate as fully bilingual physicians (having received their medical education in Spanish), outstanding for their attunement to low-resource communities, their cultural competence, and their commitment to confront health disparities. These young doctors have the potential to become significant change agents to enhance and transform our healthcare system – but they face numerous challenges when they return to the United States. 

More than half of the 198 graduates to date have already been awarded residencies in the US.  They have had notable successes – a 90+% “match” rate and numerous appointments to Chief Resident, faculty positions, and post-doctoral fellowships.  Post-residency, they are practicing and teaching in underserved communities. We are proud of them – and we also want to provide support to the other graduates, who are focused on passing their US Medical Licensing Exams (USMLEs). One major challenge is that ELAM students who most closely identify with the communities in greatest need of their services are also the ones most likely to have difficulty with the USMLEs. They face hurdles associated with the socioeconomic, educational, cultural, and language factors known to affect performance on standardized tests. (Just registering for the three required exams costs $3500+.) One of our main objectives is to provide specific targeted support for test prep. We are launching a series of specialized workshops, both for students at ELAM and graduates up north. We are also raising funds to help supply question banks, practice tests, review books, prep courses, tutoring, travel, lodging, etc. All our efforts are to help ensure the success of these exceptional young MDs in achieving full licensure to practice in the underserved US communities where their unique medical training is most needed. 

We also want to provide students and graduates with the community organizing and leadership training, networking, and professional development that will strengthen them in their roles as progressive practitioners and change agents. The integrated community-based model in which they were trained does not always translate easily into the prevailing US health care system.  Therefore, we are connecting them with US professionals who share their goals and perspectives and working to build alliances with US healthcare institutions.  

Our work encompasses: direct support to students and graduates; organizing professional development workshops and advising; and providing technical assistance to the US graduates in the process of validating credentials and applying for residency.  

We welcome your support in helping us - to reach out to family and friends - to network with health professionals in your community - and to raise funds to help support the ELAM graduates and students. Please contact us at 201 212 1825 or uselampa@gmail.com