The Higher Education Review

Studying medicine is one of the most expensive education streams in the world where the average cost to completionin the United States is more than 200 thousand USD. In most cases, this large price tag becomes a principal determining factor in whether a student chooses this profession or not. This is particularly true for students who may not have significant disposable incomes. As far as the Caribbean is concerned, most accredited medical schools in the region charge prices that are at par with the United States, if not more.

However, Saint James School of Medicine is on a mission to change that. Since its inception in 1999, the college has served the singular purpose of providing medical education at affordable prices, and even now, the cost to get a medical degree is less than 100 thousand dollars. In fact, it is one of the few accredited medical schools in the Caribbean whose total cost is less than US$ 100,000.

The institution was established by Dr. Kallol Guha after spending well over two decades teaching in some of the leading Caribbean medical colleges and saw firsthand how exorbitant tuition charges affected the students. It was in 1999 that he finally decided to act on the problem of affordability and came up with the Saint James School of Medicine. Unlike the other Caribbean medical schools, Saint James is family owned and is not beholden to shareholders or corporate investors, so you know the school is working in the best interest of the students. "Whereas the other institutions are only for profit and are controlled by complex management who look at it only as a business, this institute hand

holds each and every student right from getting a student visa until being a licensed physician. All this is done taking under consideration the eligibility of the candidate only irrespective of financial differences", mentions Dan Cuckovic, Head of Marketing, Saint James School of Medicine.

Operational Excellence
There are several advantages that a candidate can avail if they choose Saint James School of Medicine. The first being the international exposure. Students and teachers from different ethnic backgrounds gather together at the college and the students are exposed to various cultures right from the start. The current faculty of the college come from varied geographies that include India, the Philippines, US, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela and it has students coming from the same geographies as well.

The college follows the curriculum outlined by the World Federation of Medical Education and is accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Colleges of Medicine. This ensures that the processes and curriculum followed by the college is of the highest international standard to maximize the success of the student. Saint James is also one of the oldest Caribbean schools with hundreds of alumni currently working in the US and Canada. This is a feat very few schools can boast about.

The College also has a collaboration with the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Centre of Integrative Medicine(AWCIM) where deserving students can earn a distinction in Integrative Medicine. Integrative Medicine is healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between practitioner and patient, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapies.

It respects the age-old learnings that we have accumulated as a race and looks at them through the lens of science.

It focuses on getting the body to heal itself with less dependence on pharmaceutical drugs.The AWCIM collaborates with over 115 residency programs in the United States. Achieving a distinction track in Integrative Medicine will allow students to better position themselves for the residency programs that AWCIM collaborates with. In other words, this distinction will increase the chances of matching into a residency program whether it is associated with AWCIM or otherwise.

Completing a degree in medicine allows students several options that students may not be aware of. With a degree from Saint James, students can effectively practice in scores of countries including US, Canada, the UK, the entire CARICOM region including Jamaica and Trinidad, as well as India (Saint James is on the MCI/NMI List). "With two campuses at hand, right after they come out of the college, they become licensed physicians for the specific islands they are graduating from.

From then on, after finishing residency, they are eligible to be licensed in more than 23 Caribbean countries that include Jamaica, Trinidad and other regions like the UK, US and several others", mentions Dan. The college has been successful in creating hundreds of practising physicians in the US and Canada hopes to create a lot more in the near future.

Great Scholarship Opportunities Since Dr. Guha's primary mission was to provide quality medical education to deserving students, irrespective of financial standing, the college offers very good scholarship opportunities. The institute has provided scholarships including full tuition, as well as scores of 20 to 30 percent of tuition depending upon the deservingness and eligibility of the candidate. With the student-first policy, the college always wants to incorporate true learning in all its students and turn them into better healers.