Havana Medical School Sees First Grads

I think the grads would have to take medical boards, maybe do some work in American hospitals, pass around a few Cuban cigars.

I believe the Cubans are less enthusiastic about Castro and his propaganda than are some Americans in the media.

My point is that I hope the new graduate is required to pass a test to get his or her license to practice medicine. I would expect any country to do that, whether it was the government or a self regulating industry association. Otherwise how would anybody know that they are a real doctor that got a proper education.

You must be from fantasyland.

Harvard Medical School total costs per year are $55610.00 average, and under worst case scenario, without family support or grants, that means that with a 6% student loan, the total debt load will be approximately $244,000. (accrued interest included).

Upon graduation, postgraduate residency training can take anywhere from 3 to 12 additional years with salaries in the $35,000 per year range for most residencies.

If loan re-payment starts immediately upon graduation from medical school, payments of $1463.00 per month (30 year loan @6%) is almost impossible, as that eats up 50% of your gross salary, before taxes. If you are able to defer payment until you finish your residency (lets say you decide to become a pediatrician and residency takes 3 years) you will then owe $291,000 before you start to pay on it.

The average starting salary of a pediatrician is $130,000, and the average income for a practicing pediatrician is about $135,500 with a range of 60K to 140K. Let's say our hypothetical pediatrician is an average guy (or girl) an starts with a salary of $130k/year (before taxes) and at this point he starts to pay back his loan of $291,000 which on a 30 year amortization will be $1745/mo for 360 months ($626,000 over life of loan). If this guy is single and dosesn't yet own a house, he will probably pay $28,600 in Federal income taxes, $6885 for FICA and Medicare, and maybe $8000 for state income tax. This will leave him with about $92K after taxes. His student loan now becomes about 23% of his disposable budget, leaving him with about $71,000 that might qualify him to purchase a home in the $200,000-$250,000 range. So it is not as easy as one might think to pay back a huge student loan.

Specialist salaries, while higher than primary care, take longer to achieve with residencies that can take up to 7 years or more. All this time, the interest clock is ticking and the student loan gets larger and larger.