Offshore medical school holds orientation


Stabroek News
January 11, 2000


Vice President and Dean of Academic Studies at the new offshore medical school, Dr Ovid Issacs yesterday welcomed Guyanese students onboard and emphasised that coping with the lectures was not going to be easy and will involve a tremendous amount of reading.

Classes are due to start on January 17. Around 15 students are expected to be in the first batch and some of these are due from overseas shortly. Five locally-based Guyanese are in the first batch.

Dr Issacs who is expected to be part of the lecture team stated that the institution would be staffed by highly competent persons. His remarks formed part of the orientation ceremony held by the American International School of Medicine at its Thomas and Church Streets premises.

The school seeks to prepare persons to sit the United States Medical Licensure Examinations (USMLE) and the Clinical Skills Assessment Exams which will be staged through the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).

The AISM VP told the students that they needed to apply themselves from the word go as they were embarking on a path which is radically different to any they had encountered before.

Also speaking at the orientation were Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the school, Dr Colin Wilkinson and the Finance Director, Dr Hazel Thomas.

Dr Wilkinson in his presentation reaffirmed the mission of the institution which is to provide affordable high quality medical education.

Dr Thomas challenged the female aspirants to perform at an outstanding level in the male dominated profession, striving to "be better than the best... the men must keep wanting to catch up with you." The cost per semester is US$5,000.

The school will offer classes five days per week and there will be five courses this semester. Independent library and study facilities are also being made available for students at weekends.

The previously identified building on Church Street is not yet ready for occupation owing to flooding problems which affected some equipment. Work being done on the building is expected to be completed sometime in March.

The first five semesters involve academic and laboratory work which is expected to be done locally while clinical work is essentially done in years three and four at a US hospital.


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