St. George's University
St. George’s University School of Medicine was established by an act of Grenada's parliament on July 23, 1976. Classes in the school of medicine began January 17, 1977. In 1993, the University added graduate and undergraduate programs. In 1996, it was granted a charter for the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Graduate Studies. In 1997, undergraduate courses in international business, life sciences, medical sciences, pre-medical and pre-veterinary medicine were added. The School of Veterinary Medicine was established in 1999.
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St. George's University
Medical education at St. George's University begins on the island of Grenada and is completed with clinical training primarily conducted in clinical centers and affiliated teaching hospitals in the United States and the United Kingdom. The School of Medicine is listed with the World Health Organization[1], as well as the ECFMG IMED/FAIMER database[2], and is fully recognized and approved by the government of Grenada to confer the degree of Doctor of Medicine upon students who fulfill the school's admissions requirements and complete the prescribed curriculum.
In 1996, the US Department of Education reviewed the standards of medical education in 30 countries for the purpose of student loans. Grenada was one of four countries approved during the initial review; the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada being the other three. Other countries have subsequently been approved. The medical program has been approved by the states of New York[3], New Jersey, California[4], Florida and Texas[5] for clinical training of St. George's students in clinical centers and affiliated hospitals[6]. The school additionally has affiliation agreements with hospitals in other states and in the United Kingdom[6]. The school has been site-visited and approved for limited registration status by the General Medical Council of Great Britain. St. George's University graduates have been licensed to practice medicine in at least 35 countries, as well as in all 50 states in the United States. As with all educational institutions, periodic reviews of the appropriate agencies determine continuation of such approvals.
On July 27 2007, St. George's University was selected as the exclusive international medical school to utilize the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation system for training its third and fourth year medical students. Under the terms of the agreement and over the course of the intended 10 years of the contract, St. George’s University will pay HHC an estimated $100 million, and will be guaranteed a minimum of 600 training positions. This is the largest single affiliation agreement for the clinical training of SGU’s clinical students in the University’s history. Most notably, students of other foreign medical schools are now ineligible to participate in any clinical training at any of the HHC hospitals.[7]
Medical curriculum
The Medical Sciences training program is delivered over four calendar years. During the first two years, which cover the basic sciences, students study on St. George's University campus in Grenada. During the last two years, which cover the clinical sciences, students move on to study at the university's clinical centers and affiliated hospitals in the United States and the United Kingdom.[6]
The following subjects are taught in each term:
Year 1: Basic Sciences
- Term 1: Gross and Developmental Anatomy, Histology, Biochemistry, Clinical Skills (Bioethics)
- Term 2: Neuroscience, Genetics, Immunology, Physiology, Community and Preventive Medicine, Parasitology
Year 2: Basic Sciences
- Term 3: Behavioral Science, Jurisprudence and Medical Ethics, Biostatistics and Epidemiology (6 week interim term)
- Term 4: Microbiology, Advanced Clinical Skills, Pathology, Medical Nutrition
- Term 5: Pathophysiology I, Pharmacology I, Advanced Clinical Skills
- Term 6: Pathophysiology II, Pharmacology II, Advanced Clinical Skills
The first two years of Medical Sciences study concentrate on the traditional basic sciences disciplines. Laboratory experiences are an integral part of these first two years, along with small group discussions designed for problem-based learning and early integration of basic science into the clinical experience. The basic science courses use didactic lectures, laboratory instruction, supplemental instruction, case-based learning, question-based reviews, small-group tutorials, peer teaching and computer-assisted instruction. The School encourages students to find their way of learning and provides many tools to assist. This includes the availability of all lectures that can be streamed from the University Portal, Angel, choice of recommended textbooks for class, recommendations for review books for classes as well as boards, and supplemental study material such as question banks, practice quizzes and mock exams.
The School's curriculum emphasizes the international aspects of medical education by providing students with opportunities to visit local hospitals and clinics on the island of Grenada. Student participation in community health research projects is also encouraged. Ongoing activities organized and run by St. George's University students include regular Diabetes Clinics, AMSA Health Fairs for rural Grenada, Fundraisers for Grenadian orphanages and Blood drives for the local Red Cross and General Hospital of Grenada.
The school operates a separate Department of Educational Services (DES), which provides tutoring, in-depth analysis, exam-taking skills workshops and review sessions for each subject on a weekly basis. Each department also has a set of selectives that can be undertaken during pre-clinical years, to enhance the understanding of a particular subject, gain certifications or get more experience. Selectives range from regional, plastination and radiological selectives in Anatomy to certifications in Cardiovascular, pediatric or international trauma life support. The certifications are recognized in the United States and the worldwide. The school has a set of active student organizations operating under the student government, providing extra-curricular as well as academic and research opportunities. Some of these include:
- Student Government Association (SGA)
- Clinical Research Society (CRS)
- American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Muslim Students Association (MSA)
- Orphanage Student Association (OSA)
- Indian Cultural Students Association (ICSA)
- Women in Medicine (WIM)
- Surgery Club
- Emergency Medicine Club
- Neuroscience Club
- Pediatrics Club
Students must sit the Basic Science Comprehensive Examination (BSCE) I at the end of their first academic year and the BSCE II near the completion of the basic sciences.
The St. George's University approach to clinical sciences education provides students with the opportunity to learn medicine at hospitals in the United States and the United Kingdom. Some of these hospitals have been designated by the University as "clinical centers". A clinical center is a hospital or group of hospitals able to provide at least four of the five core rotations, train 80-100 students at all times, and additionally offer subinternships, primary care and elective rotations. These clinical centers allow students to complete all of their clinical training at one site if they wish.
There is also a premedical program which leads into the MD medical program at St. George's University (SGU). It is held in SGU itself and is called Foundations in Medicine. Another program is held Northumbria University in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. It is an alternative option for students who want to complete their first year of SGU's MD curriculum abroad. The program has been dubbed the Global Scholars Program. [8]
Veterinary medicine
SGU also has a School of Veterinary Medicine. Three years of core curriculum in the form of lectures and labs are completed in Grenada, and the fourth clinical year is completed in the US or UK at American Veterinary Medical Association-accredited veterinary schools. Students apply to these schools in their third year and are accepted based on academics and professionalism.
The veterinary teaching hospital has been renovated since Hurricane Ivan struck the island in 2004. It now contains eight surgery tables and is equipped to handle emergency situations and critical care patients.
Student Government Association
The students of St. George's University are represented by the Student Government Association (SGA) as well as the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA). The associations are active not only on-campus, but also in the local Grenadian community donating hundreds of student work hours per term and tens of thousands of dollars per year to local causes.
History
The reason given by the U.S. Administration of Ronald Reagan to justify the October 1983 invasion of Grenada was to rescue American medical students at St. George’s University from the danger posed to them by the violent coup that had overthrown Grenada’s Prime Minister Maurice Bishop[9][10]. Bishop, a number of members of his government and several dozen civilians were killed in the coup and the island had been placed under a 24-hour curfew[11]. During the days immediately after the coup, the only independent information coming out of Grenada was from a ham radio operated by a St. George’s student[12][13]. In his memoir, President Reagan recounted the return to the U.S. of the St. George’s students as an event that affected him deeply. “I was among many in our country whose eyes got a little misty when I watched their arrival in the United States on television and saw some of them lean down and kiss American soil the moment that they stepped off the airplanes that brought them home."[14]
References and notes
- ↑ "World Directory of Medical Schools: Grenada". Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
- ↑ "International Medical Education Directory". Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
- ↑ New York State Office of the Professions. "NYS Medicine Application Forms / Schools allowed to do more than 12 weeks of Clinical Clerkships in NYS". Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
- ↑ Medical Board of California. "Medical Schools Recognized by the Medical Board of California". Retrieved on 2008-06-17.
- ↑ Texas Medical Board. "Schools Whose Graduates Do Not Have To Prove Substantial Equivalence Of Their Education". Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Affiliated Hospitals and Clinical Centers". Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
- ↑ NYC’s Health and Hospital Corporation and St. George’s University Agreement
- ↑ Campus & Facilities - Northumbria, UK - St. George’s University
- ↑ "Less Strategic Now, Grenada Is to Lose American Embassy". Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
- ↑ "Jonetown". Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
- ↑ "Remembering Reagan's Invasion of Grenada". Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
- ↑ "Getting Back to Normal". Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
- ↑ http://www.gihberkeley.org/naprosyn.html naprosyn ptwq http://www.gihberkeley.org/hoodia.html hoodia 8O http://www.foodieindenial.com/voltaren.html voltaren =OOO
- ↑ "Lebanon, Beirut and Grenada". Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
