Dr. Bita Amani Discusses the CDU MPH students’ trip to Cuba( continued)
exposure; that can really study a system that sees life expectancies and statistics around different health conditions that are parallel to the United States, if not even better, yet obviously spending so much less on it? That’ s been taking us to Cuba since our first delegation that went in 2018. We took another delegation in 2019, and our third official trip with students was in 2020.
That was in March, and as you’ re well aware, the pandemic was declared in early March. So that delegation was cut short by a couple of days. This will be the first time we’ re taking the students since that 2020 trip. We had sent a community delegation there between the CDU student trips. This was a delegation of community practitioners who were specifically focused on Black maternal health. They were a group of practitioners from Oakland, as well as LA and I think San Diego, and we sent them back in 2019. We’ ve done a number of things to be able to increase people’ s access and exposure to studying over there. And the MPH students, for context, are a mix: a nurse or we’ ve had students who are now doctors, pharmacists, faculty, EMTs, social workers, and community health workers. Our program is comprised of a very wide range of professionals. When we go on this trip it is quite great to see a ton of different expertise come together, but from the leveling up the field, everyone here is now trying to study and learn about another system.
What does the day-to-day work for the students visiting Cuba look like?
The day to day over there looks like lectures by faculty from their school of public health site visits. Every site visit also includes a set of lectures, as well as an opportunity to physically tour. There is time during the week for reflection and asking more clarifying questions of the professors. In total, students get the 80 hours of instruction. In order for the faculty to feel secure that the students have been learning, all along
the at the end of the of the program, the students are supposed to present back to both the faculty as well as their classmates, what they’ ve learned. What the building blocks are, how the system is structured. These are the principles, these are the priority populations. This is how data is collected. The idea is that when the students leave there, they are prepared. I like to joke that Dr. Carlyle loves that about the trip and so did the previous Provost under which this was created.
They love the fact that they know the students are over there studying because they come back and they talk about,‘ Oh my God was so much work’. We’ re over there learning but the reason they’ re studying is because they have to. They have to deliver on it. We take it very seriously, so the experience will be great. I can’ t wait for you to interview the students who have gone and also give access to the ones who weren’ t previously, and hear about that educational experience.
We have so many great things going on. You know, I’ m really happy that you’ re making the effort. Who is participating representing CDU? What Cuban representatives will you be working with?
This year, the delegation is comprised of the 14 students that are either currently enrolled in the
CDU College of Medicine | PG. 23