Advice for a Dr thinking about a job in the Caymans please!

Hi Everyone,

I'm a UK hospital Dr that has been offered a job in the Caymans public
hospital. I know almost nothing about the Caymans apart from it being
a british colony, a tax haven, in the caribbean, population of 43,000
and was hit by hurricane Ivan last year.

To help me decide whether to take up the job offer I would be very
grateful for some honest advice and answers to any of the following
questions.

1. i heard that many senior drs had quit the health service after the
hurricane - is this true, and why did they leave?

2. i've heard the Caymans has a serious problem in recruiting and
retaining hospital Dr's - considering the carribean
lifestyle/weather/tax free salary this seems surprising - why is
this??

3. what is the standard of healthcare like in the Caymans?


4. What is the cost of living like in the Caymans eg what is the
- average salary
- average monthly rental cost for an average furnished 3 bedroom
house/flat near the hospital
- average cost of a restaurant meal in a family restaurant

5. Is there a very great shortage of long-term rental accomodation
after the hurricane?

6. Is it possible to get calling cards which allow cheap international
phone calls to the UK? - how much does it cost per minute to call the
UK?

7. what sort of leisure activities are there available for residents
who do not like sunbathing/water sports?

8. How common is island fever? - i imagine life would get very boring
very quickly on a small island - is this wrong?

9. What are the forecasts/predictions regarding the likelihood of
further serious hurricanes in the short/medium-term future?

10. What is life generally like for UK expats in the Caymans (good and
bad stuff please)?

Thanks for any advice you can give me

Sam

I live in Florida Chrissy and we are very attuned to what the so called
experts say about hurricanes. The forecast center in Ft. Collins gave
this dire warning prior to the start of the last hurricane season and
wow were they right. They said because of the location of the Bermuda
high for the next decade to batten down the hatches. I hope the hell
they are wrong because last summer was nerve wracking. I didn't get a
direct hit from any of the storms, but we were side swiped twice.

"The good Lord willing and the creek don't rise I'll be seeing you agin
real soon".

No this center is located in Ft. Collins, CO. I live on the gulf coast,
where does your friend work?

"Chrissy Cruiser" <doublebreasted@mail.com> wrote in message
news:1riuzmua9766l.gbtgh7zuax8x.dlg@40tude.net...
> On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 10:27:08 -0500, Bob Smith wrote:
>
> > No this center is located in Ft. Collins, CO. I live on the gulf
coast,
> > where does your friend work?
>
> Lives In N. Florida, works the panhandle to New Orleans. Last year
when
> Ivan hit that area, they were stacked up so deep on the escape
routes, that
> everything came to a near standstill. They couldn't locate much less
evac
> seniors, those without transportation, hospitals, etc. Now, the news
folks
> are starting to ask questions for this year and they are scrambling,
> dodging, weaving.....repeat.

The fellow in Ft Collins is a professor at the university there, not a
NWS employee.

My cousins, aged in their early 80s, got caught in the evacuation of
New Orleans. They never got very far from town - certainly not to
their son in Baton Rouge.

Yes, the Panhandle of Florida to the Texas coast is magnet for
hurricanes. Regarding the Miami Hurricane Center I believe they are more
trackers of existing storms rather than predictors of future storm. The
Ft. Collins operation is the reverse.