Dr. Glen Ronald Tamayo Valdéz, a Cuban physician from Holguín, has found himself working as a cashier at a private company after being sidelined from his medical profession, which he is eager to continue practicing.
"I was forced to choose: between traveling and living, between being a doctor and eating," Tamayo expressed in a Facebook post, where he detailed the reasons behind seeking alternative employment.
Many are taken aback when they see him behind the cash register and inquire if he has abandoned medicine for good. His answer is clear: "I haven't left anything."
One significant barrier, according to Tamayo, is the job placement he would receive within the public Health system. He explained that he would have to commute daily to a municipality located several kilometers from his home, even though a hospital facing a shortage of specialists is just 500 meters away.
This distance renders transportation costs unmanageable with his salary. "Why should I spend 5,000 pesos on daily transportation when I only make 10,000 a month?" he questioned.
"Is it necessary to have a second job to work in Health?" he added.
Tamayo remains willing to return to his medical duties. "I want to work in Health. I'd start tomorrow if they called me. But I need to eat," he stated.
The doctor also expressed his frustration over trading the hospital for a private company. "I will continue as a cashier, imagining I'm in an emergency room, signing out of habit with the company's stamp, and treating everyone who comes my way with care," he wrote.
"Missing what I was, what I am, and what I will always be. Because no one can take that away from me," he concluded.
Tamayo's story emerges just two months after Cuba once again adjusted the salaries for healthcare workers.
The Resolution 17/2026 set a new salary scale for doctors and other Health workers effective from July, with payments starting in August. For instance, it established a base salary of 7,045 CUP monthly for a non-specialized or newly graduated doctor and 8,880 CUP for a second-degree specialist, excluding additional payments for on-call duties, night shifts, years of service, or other conditions.
Nonetheless, reports from professionals claiming these earnings are insufficient to sustain themselves have persisted throughout 2026.
In May, Liliana Isabel Salazar Villariño, a specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine, revealed she had stopped practicing because her income couldn't support her child. She noted that even after taking on more than five on-call shifts a month, her salary never reached 10,000 pesos.
Earlier, another doctor disclosed needing 13,050 pesos for basic groceries that didn't even cover all her monthly needs and acknowledged working in the private sector to supplement her income.
In August, Dr. Daniel Del Toro González, a specialist at the Pediatric Hospital in Las Tunas, highlighted the issue by pointing out that his base salary wasn't enough to simultaneously buy a package of chicken, oil, and a carton of eggs.
Challenges Facing Cuban Healthcare Professionals
Why did Dr. Tamayo choose to work as a cashier?
Dr. Tamayo opted to work as a cashier because the transportation costs to his assigned medical post were too high compared to his salary, making it unsustainable.
What are the new salary scales for Cuban doctors?
The new salary scales set by Resolution 17/2026 offer a base salary of 7,045 CUP for non-specialized or newly graduated doctors and 8,880 CUP for second-degree specialists, excluding additional payments for various duties.
How have Cuban doctors responded to the salary changes?
Many Cuban doctors have expressed that the salary changes are still inadequate to meet their living expenses, leading some to seek additional work outside the healthcare system.