The American University of Integrative Sciences, School of Medicine (AUIS, formerly the University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine), founded in 1999, is a private, for-profit medical school with campuses located in Barbados. The University also has an administrative office located in Tucker, Georgia of the United States. AUIS follows a US medical curriculum and confers upon its graduates the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. AUIS has finalized the addition of a sub-curriculum in NIH evidence-based medicine in Integrative Medicine that offers additional strategies for promoting disease prevention and health. Classes are taught in English.
History
Island of Sint Eustatius
The American University of Integrative Sciences School of Medicine (formerly the University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine (USESOM)) was founded in 1999 on the island of Sint Eustatius by a group of medical school educators and administrators, and began instruction on September 1, 1999. The founders obtained the support for a medical school from the people and government of the island of Sint Eustatius (commonly referred to as 'Statia'). Subsequently, the University was awarded a Charter, which was signed by the Minister of Education, the Minister of Health, and the Governor of Sint Eustatius on April 21, 1999, and Statia began to share another commonality with its neighboring and regional islands that of hosting a Caribbean medical school.
New Ownership and Administration, Move to Barbados
The school under the new ownership and management of Atlanta Georgia based, International Educational Management Resources LLC, led by CEO Milo Pinckney and University president Dr. Renu Agnihotri, set up new administration and operations on the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten in September 2013, and obtained a charter from Sint Maarten in January 2014. It soon received its business license from the Sint Maarten government. In September 2014 the university secured authorization from the Sint Maarten Ministry of Education to change its name to "American University of Integrated Sciences, Sint Maarten School of Medicine" and began operating under its new name better reflecting its incorporation of the teaching of alternative medicine practices into its existing US-curriculum-based programs. This initiated the final phase of the new ownership and transfer of the university charter to Sint Maarten. In May of 2016 the University began negotiations with country of Barbados as a possible location for a new campus. The administration was welcomed due to its international recognition in several areas including education, real estate and technology. In November 2016 the University was awarded a charter by the Ministry of Education, and opened its campus in May 2017.
Curriculum
Premedical Program
AUIS plans to introduce a Med Prep program beginning in the Fall 2017 semester which will enable students to complete their first 60 prerequisite credit hours with the university before moving into their Basic Sciences program.
Doctor of Medicine Program
The MD program at AUIS is divided into eleven total semesters, consisting of three semesters per year. Semesters 1-5 (20 months) are basic sciences semesters that are completed at the university's Barbados campus and incorporate Introduction to Clinical Medicine coursework throughout all 5 semesters. The remaining six semesters (24 months) are clinical rotations, composed of core and elective rotations, which primarily take place in hospitals in the United States. AUIS, focuses on a curriculum which includes traditional Western Medicine and a subcurriculum in evidence-based Integrative Medicine. Students learn allopathic medicine (MD) and additional strategies for promoting disease prevention and health.
Residency Placements and Training Appointments
Graduates from the American University of Integrated Sciences have successfully secured residency placements in the United States as well as Canada. Graduates have gained residency appointments in the fields of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, Neurosurgery, Dermatology, Radiology, Surgery, Pathology, Anesthesiology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Neurology in the states of Alabama, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin as well as many other locations across the United States and Canada.
Student Life and Services
Student Government Association (SGA), Alumni Association, American Medical Student Association (AMSA), Asian Students’ Association (ASA), Canadian Medical Student Association, Emergency Medical Club, Christian Club, Muslim Students™ Association (MSA), Mentorship Program, Medical Research Group.
Accreditations & Licensure
AUIS was chartered in and recognized by the government of the Netherlands Antilles (now known as the Caribbean Netherlands) on April 21, 1999. The same applies for the island of Barbados in 2017.
On May 27, 1999 the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) confirmed the eligibility of graduates from the American University of Integrative Sciences to register for the United States Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE). Successful students are eligible to sit for the USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK/CS, and Step 3.
The school is chartered on the island of Sint Maarten as of 2014, and is actively completing the application for accreditation by the Accreditation Commission of Colleges of Medicine (ACCM) by January 2015.
The university is listed in the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research FAIMER International Medical Education Directory (IMED) and in the AVICENNA Directory for medicine.
AUIS graduates are able to enter a residency or fellowship program in the United States that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
Graduates of AUIS also qualify to sit for the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating and Qualifying Exams (MCCEE and MCCQE Part I and II) and graduates who wish to practice medicine in the U.K. can sit for the General Medical Council’s Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board test.
The American University of Integrative Sciences is listed by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) in its Directory of Medical Schools as of 2000.
See also
- Medical school
- International medical graduate
- List of medical schools in the Caribbean
References
External links
- Official website