The Cuban maxillofacial surgeon Raudel Simon He had to restart his medical career when he arrived in Quebec in 2013 and realized that the emigrant’s path to stability and well-being is not easy at all.
In statements to the Revista Spanish-speakingwhich reviews the life of Hispanics in Canada, the doctor said that in Cuba he had a job offer that would position him as one of the best in his specialty, but the situation on the island and salary limitations led him to rethink his professional future .
He states that before emigrating, he discussed with his teachers the fact that he would not be able to guarantee the minimum necessary for his family with the salary that was proposed to him for the position.
After this, he decided to start a immigration process to Canada, and left his wife and son on the island.
“I really started my life from scratch. I had to learn French and take different jobs to survive,” Simon explained.
After almost eight years of living in that country, he decided to enroll in Medicine School and restart your career.
In 2021 he was accepted to the University of Sherbrooke, where he is currently studying through the Saguenay Medicine Program.
Although the chances of being accepted were between 60 and 70%, he says that he decided to take a risk and was accepted as a student.
Currently the doctor, a native of Havana, lives in Gatineau, a city in southwestern Quebec.
His family had to wait four years to join him in Canada.
The crisis of Health system in Cuba It has worsened even more since 2013, when Simón left.
In 2022 alone more than 12,000 doctors on the island left the Public Health Systemin a context where the widespread and alarming crisis in the health system has forced many doctors to give up their profession.
The figures released by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) for the Public Health and Social Assistance sectors for the aforementioned year indicated that the decrease in personnel has been generalized in the Health area and the number of inhabitants that now correspond has increased. to each doctor.
At the end of 2022, there were 94,066 doctors on the island, while in 2021 there were 106,131, about 12,065 fewer.
