American University of the Caribbean
Encyclopedia
The American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) is an international, for-profit, U.S. curriculum-based medical school
with a main basic science campus
in Sint Maarten, and is based in Coral Gables, Florida
. Owned by DeVry (along with Ross University School of Medicine
) since 2011, AUC is fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine (ACCM), meets the requirements of the federally guaranteed student loan
program, and is therefore approved for participation in the Federal Family Education Loan Program
(FFELP) and other federal financial aid programs. The United States Department of Education
has determined that the commission’s accreditation standards are comparable to those applicable to U.S. medical schools.
Founded by American educator Dr. Paul Tien
in 1978, the main campus of the American University of the Caribbean was originally located on the island of Montserrat
, but was forced to move to its present location in Sint Maarten after the eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano.
in Cincinnati, Ohio
. The first class, with 107 students, started on August 14, 1978.
, where a new campus of 17 buildings was built. AUC began conducting classes at its new campus in Montserrat in January 1980.
On September 17, 1989, Hurricane Hugo
hit the island, severely damaging the campus. Students and faculty were evacuated.
, where classes started again on October 17, 1989.
volcano
on Montserrat erupted on July 18, 1995, rendering much of the island uninhabitable, including the entire city of Plymouth. Students and faculty were evacuated, and the campus was buried under volcanic ash.
and 280 students were sent to a temporary location in St. Maarten, at the time part of the Netherlands Antilles
. However, on September 5, 1995, Hurricane Luis
hit St. Maarten, destroyed much of its infrastructure
, and delayed the opening of the St. Maarten operation by three weeks. In September 1996, AUC transferred all students and faculty in Belize to its temporary facilities on St. Maarten.
side of St. Martin and construction of a permanent campus began in July 1996. The new campus opened on May 1, 1998. AUC's new campus consists of teaching and learning facilities featuring classrooms and laboratories, an imaging anatomy
lab, a microbiology
lab, and a medical library
.
, The United Kingdom, or Ireland
. Both the required core rotations (Internal Medicine
, Surgery
, Pediatrics
, OB/GYN, and Psychiatry
) and elective rotations in any specialty may be taken at one or several different clinical sites. After a total of four years of training, students are awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine
(M.D.).
AUC is accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Colleges of Medicine
(ACCM), an independent organization based in Ireland that accredits medical schools on behalf of several governments, including the governments of Sint Maarten and the Netherlands Antilles.
Some states have their own approval processes for medical schools, all of which have approved AUC. These include California
and Texas
. In addition, New York
and Florida
have approved AUC to allow medical students to do clinical rotations in their states.
AUC graduates may apply to the General Medical Council
of the United Kingdom for registration (residency training) in the UK without prejudice. The only stipulation associated with AUC graduates are for students who, "... transferred to the American University of the Caribbean following a period of study at another medical school."
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
with a main basic science campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
in Sint Maarten, and is based in Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
. Owned by DeVry (along with Ross University School of Medicine
Ross University School of Medicine
Ross University School of Medicine is a private Caribbean medical school with campuses in Picard, Dominica, and Grand Bahama. A majority of the students who attend the school are from the United States and Canada. The admissions process is less stringent than that of U.S. medical schools; Ross...
) since 2011, AUC is fully accredited by the Accreditation Commission on Colleges of Medicine (ACCM), meets the requirements of the federally guaranteed student loan
Student loan
A student loan is designed to help students pay for university tuition, books, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in education...
program, and is therefore approved for participation in the Federal Family Education Loan Program
Federal Family Education Loan Program
The Federal Family Education Loan Program was the second largest of the U.S. higher education loan programs . The FFEL was initiated by the Higher Education Act of 1965 and was funded through a public/private partnership administered at the state and local level...
(FFELP) and other federal financial aid programs. The United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
has determined that the commission’s accreditation standards are comparable to those applicable to U.S. medical schools.
History
Paul Tien
Paul Shu-Pei Tien, Ph.D. is an American educator who was born in Tianjin, China and grew up in Taiwan. He came to the United States to pursue graduate education in electrical engineering, and later became a professor of electrical engineering in Ohio. In January 1978, Dr...
in 1978, the main campus of the American University of the Caribbean was originally located on the island of Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
, but was forced to move to its present location in Sint Maarten after the eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano.
Cincinnati, Ohio
While a medical campus was being constructed on Montserrat, AUC started conducting classes under its Montserrat charter in a rented space on the campus of the College of Mount St. JosephCollege of Mount St. Joseph
The College of Mount St. Joseph is a private, Catholic, co-educational college located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Also known as “the Mount,” the College was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of Charity and educates students through interdisciplinary liberal arts and professional curricula emphasizing...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. The first class, with 107 students, started on August 14, 1978.
Montserrat
The government of Montserrat granted AUC a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) parcel of land near PlymouthPlymouth, Montserrat
Plymouth is the de jure capital of the island of Montserrat, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom located in the Leeward Island chain of the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. The town was overwhelmed by volcanic eruptions starting in the 1990s and was abandoned...
, where a new campus of 17 buildings was built. AUC began conducting classes at its new campus in Montserrat in January 1980.
On September 17, 1989, Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
hit the island, severely damaging the campus. Students and faculty were evacuated.
Plainview, Texas
While the Montserrat campus was being rebuilt, AUC operated at a temporary location in Plainview, TexasPlainview, Texas
Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,336 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Plainview is located at ....
, where classes started again on October 17, 1989.
Montserrat
The Montserrat campus was rebuilt and AUC reopened it for classes in September 1990. Long thought to be dormant, the Soufrière HillsSoufrière Hills
The Soufrière Hills volcano is an active complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, it became active in 1995, and has continued to erupt ever since...
volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
on Montserrat erupted on July 18, 1995, rendering much of the island uninhabitable, including the entire city of Plymouth. Students and faculty were evacuated, and the campus was buried under volcanic ash.
Belize and St. Maarten
AUC reopened its operations in September 1995. 250 students were sent to a temporary location in BelizeBelize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
and 280 students were sent to a temporary location in St. Maarten, at the time part of the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
. However, on September 5, 1995, Hurricane Luis
Hurricane Luis
Hurricane Luis was one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph . The storm was the twelfth tropical storm, sixth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season...
hit St. Maarten, destroyed much of its infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, and delayed the opening of the St. Maarten operation by three weeks. In September 1996, AUC transferred all students and faculty in Belize to its temporary facilities on St. Maarten.
St. Maarten
AUC purchased a parcel of land in the village of Cupecoy on the DutchKingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
side of St. Martin and construction of a permanent campus began in July 1996. The new campus opened on May 1, 1998. AUC's new campus consists of teaching and learning facilities featuring classrooms and laboratories, an imaging anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
lab, a microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
lab, and a medical library
Medical library
A health or medical library is designed to assist physicians, health professionals, students, patients, consumers and medical researchers in finding health and scientific information to improve, update, assess or evaluate health care. Medical libraries are typically found in hospitals, medical...
.
Curriculum
After completing the initial 5 semesters (20 months) of study in the Medical Sciences portion on AUC's St. Maarten campus, students then conduct 4.5 semesters (18 months) of training in the Clinical Sciences portion (also known as the Clinical Years) at AUC's affiliated teaching hospitals, whereby the students may choose between teaching hospitals in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, The United Kingdom, or Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Both the required core rotations (Internal Medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
, Surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
, OB/GYN, and Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
) and elective rotations in any specialty may be taken at one or several different clinical sites. After a total of four years of training, students are awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(M.D.).
Accreditation and Licensure
AUC is listed with the World Health Organisation's Avicenna directory and in the ECFMG IMED/FAIMER database of medical schools, which indicates the school is recognized by the appropriate local government agency.AUC is accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Colleges of Medicine
Accreditation commission of colleges of medicine
The Accreditation Commission of Colleges of Medicine is an international review and accreditation service for medical schools.The National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation , part of the United States Department of Education, has listed ACCM as "found to use standards to...
(ACCM), an independent organization based in Ireland that accredits medical schools on behalf of several governments, including the governments of Sint Maarten and the Netherlands Antilles.
Some states have their own approval processes for medical schools, all of which have approved AUC. These include California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. In addition, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
have approved AUC to allow medical students to do clinical rotations in their states.
AUC graduates may apply to the General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
of the United Kingdom for registration (residency training) in the UK without prejudice. The only stipulation associated with AUC graduates are for students who, "... transferred to the American University of the Caribbean following a period of study at another medical school."
See also
- Medical schoolMedical schoolA medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
- International medical graduateInternational medical graduateAn International Medical Graduate or "IMGs", earlier known as a Foreign Medical Graduate or "FMGs", is a term used to describe a physician who has graduated from a medical school outside of the country in which he or she intends to practice...
- List of medical schools in the Caribbean