Kingston, Jamaica, 18 November 2020. The Ambassador of Cuba to Jamaica, Mrs. Inés Fors Fernández, met via videoconference this Wednesday morning with Dr. Tomlin Paul, Dean at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of the West Indies (UWI) at Mona Campus, Jamaica, to evaluate options for cooperation in the field of dentistry between the Jamaican higher education institution and its Cuban counterparts.
Among the preliminary options outlined are the exchange of Cuban specialists with the faculty attached to the School's program and elective internships for Cuban students in the University hospital, as well as the provision of dental care services to Jamaican communities.
The Head of the Cuban Medical Mission in Jamaica, Dr. José Armando Arronte Villamarín; Ricardo Calvo, PhD, Counsellor at the Embassy of Cuba in Jamaica; Dr. Winston de La Haye, Vice Dean for International Relations of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, and Dr. Thaon Jones, Programme Director for the Faculty’s Dentistry Programme, also participated in the videoconference.
The Mona School of Dentistry was founded in 2010 to train future dentists with high ethical and professional standards. It has a small pool of full-time academic staff that is complemented by a larger pool of part-time, adjunct and visiting faculty who facilitate lectures and lab sessions using face-to-face and virtual / online modalities. The program lasts five years and combines small group teaching with the use of modern information and communication technologies, training using simulation techniques, and clinical practice.