Medical Schools in the Caribbean

If you tell yourself that you want to be a medical				In the Caribbean island of Saba in the Netherlands
student and establish that as your goal, it narrows				Antilles, the Saba University School of Medicine offers
down your choice among all the available options				a thorough curriculum in medical education, patterned
offered by institutions of higher education. Not only is				from leading medical schools in the US. Just like the
this decision admirable, it also allows us to see that				above-mentioned schools, Saba is accredited by the
despite the number of medical-profession hopefuls, a				Medical Board of California, New York State Board of
lot more still want to become a member of this noble				Medicine, and Florida Department of Education's
and respected profession. However, the desire to				Commission for Independent Education. The med
practice medicine though may be considered as the				school also fosters a dynamic conglomeration of
ultimate ambition for some, is only the first step. You				demographically diverse student population. The med
have to come down with the reality that studying for a				school is also passionate in maintaining its small
specialty takes time, and would take a lot more during				student-faculty ratio to preserve the level of the quality
clinical training, certification, and licensing before you can				of medical program it offers.
eventually practice and call yourself a doctor.				St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada
Moreover, you have to be financially prepared once				has a number of affiliate teaching hospitals and clinical
you are decided to spend the rest of your days				centers in the US and UK where the students can
practicing the profession you always dreamed of. But				engage in a more advanced clinical training when the
foremost among these challenges is making the right				curriculum progresses into the final stage of the
decision on knowing what medical school to get into.				medical program, which is approved in New York, New
Getting an M.D. degree is not the final goal of every				Jersey, California, Texas, and Florida.
medical student as this can be secured anywhere. The				Currently, the school has an exclusive contract with
decisive factor is attaining a residency where you				the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation to
could practice your profession. It is imperative that you				provide training slots for the students of St. George.
choose your medical school wisely since getting into a				This affiliation secures the advanced training of medical
med school that is not widely accredited and certified				students that is required in the curriculum of the school.
means having fewer slots for residency.				Here is a list of other medical schools found in the
One of the options to secure a residency is to get into				Caribbean:o American Global University School of
a good med school in the Caribbean and then move				Medicine (Belize)o American International School of
on to the US to practice medicine. Caribbean boasts a				Medicine (Guyana)o American University of Antigua
good number of medical schools that offer quality and				(Antigua)o American University of the Caribbean (St.
reliable educational programs in the field of medicine.				Maarten)o Central American Health Sciences
A note to be considered, this article does not attempt				University (Belize)o Grace University School of
to provide a full-blown guide to the med schools in the				Medicine (Belize)o International University of the Health
Caribbean but only highlights some of the				Sciences (St. Kitts)o Medical University of the
top-performing schools and what they offer so that				Americas (Nevis)o Ross University School of Medicine
you, our reader, will gain information regarding the				(Dominica)o Saba University School of Medicine
services, program, and nature of the institutions in the				(Saba)o Saint Theresa's Medical University (St. Kitts)o
region.				Spartan Health Sciences University (St. Lucia)o St.
MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN THE CARIBBEAN				George's University School of Medicine (Grenada)o St.
The American University of the Caribbean School of				James School of Medicine (Bonaire)o St. Martinus
Medicine (AUC), located in Saint Maarten in the				(Curacao)o St. Mary's School of Medicine (St. Lucia)o
Netherlands Antilles, is one of the med schools				Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara School of
recognized by the US Department of Education as				Medicine (Mexico)o Universidad Iberoamericana (Santo
having similar academic standards as the US med				Domingo)o University of Health Sciences (Antigua)o
schools belonging to the Liaison Committee on Medical				University of Medicine and Health Sciences (St. Kitts)o
Education (LCME), the organization that accredits				University of Sint Eustasius Medical School (St.
schools of medicine in the US. More than that, AUC is				Eustasius)o Windsor University School of Medicine (St.
approved by the Medical Board of California, Texas				Kitts)
Medical Board, New York State Board of Medicine,				Getting into a Caribbean medical school presents a
and Florida Department of Education's Commission for				number of advantages. Cost-wise, the tuition is more
Independent Education. This is really impressive since				reasonable. But you may have to put things into
the states of New York, New Jersey, Florida, and				perspective since part of the educational cost involves
California demand a stringent accreditation process.				travel expense and insurance. In addition, there are
Because of this, American citizens registered in AUC				three application periods per year. Lastly, many of the
are qualified for student loans.				schools in the Caribbean models their curriculum from
Two years of basic medical sciences and two years				US medical schools, allowing greater chances of
of clinical training at associated hospitals in the US and				accreditation should med students decide to obtain
UK comprise the medical education curriculum of AUC.				residencies in the US.
An accelerated program is also available which can be				In the other end of the spectrum, reality check states
taken in only 38 months. Upon completion of the				that not all of the Caribbean med schools are
program, you have to get registered in Educational				accredited in the US. Furthermore, the medium of
Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG),				instruction of some schools is Spanish, that's why
pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination				learning how to speak the language is a requirement
(USMLE), and then obtain a residency in the US.				prior to acceptance to the medical school.
The Ross University School of Medicine offers a				All things considered, simply saying that you will paint a
4-year medical program in Dominica, after which				portrait is obviously different from actually doing it.
advanced clinical medicine and clinical training may be				Having the best brush and using the most expensive
accomplished in the country or in the US (Michigan, or				paint accounts to nothing if no action to start painting
Miami, Florida). Just like AUC, Ross is accredited in				begins. Needless to say, the initiative to start painting is
New York, New Jersey, California, and Florida. In this				evidently not the same as finishing the task. So
manner, medical students in Ross are authorized to				whatever choice you make, be willing to face the
get a residency in American Hospitals. The continuous				challenges, surpass all obstacles, and emerge
expansion and growth of the school and its affiliates				victorious. Medical school is tough, that is a given. But
quantifies its appeal among prospective medical				you can be tougher. Just keep in mind; it's not the brush
students. Not to mention the high number of				or the paint that makes a painting great... it's the painter!
residencies it places among US hospitals.

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Medical Schools in the Caribbean