Abstract

Introduction: The contemporary social development requires the presence of specialists to ensure the quality of health services.

Objective: To characterize the system of care and specialty medical training in intensive care medicine and emergency in Cuba.

Methods: A historical research was conducted; the analytic-synthetic, historical and logical, and system approach modeling methods were used. Opinions of key informants and previous research concentrated. It was held a socio-demographic and influence of the specialty in the Cuban national health system study.

Results: Cuba has a health behavior of developed countries. There are 17 mobile medical emergency centers, 120 municipal intensive areas and 109 hospital intensive care rooms with 1906 beds. There are 3286 specialists and residents working on stage specialty, which have increased in the last decade. There have been two ways of training specialists, with two output profiles: adult and pediatric, incorporating emergency profile is necessary. The role played by the Cuban Society of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, and the system of care specialty in Cuba is expressed.

Conclusion: A continuous and progressive patient care with emergencies or emergencies, severe or critical, passing through the healthcare network and where there is always a specialist who combines the knowledge and skills of intensive medicine emergency medicine and emergencies is provided. It is necessary to update the curriculum by increasing the occupational profile and work scenarios.