Type Medical School Dean Gordon J. Green M.D. Address Camps, St. Kitts & Nevis Founded 1998 | Established 1998 Website www.mua.edu Phone +1 978-862-9500 | |
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Location Whitehall, Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis Similar University of Medicine and Healt, Saba University School of, Windsor University School of, American University of the Car, American University of Antigua Profiles | ||
Medical University of the Americas (MUA) is a medical school located on Nevis in the Caribbean. MUA confers upon its graduates the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. Students at MUA are primarily from the US and Canada and return to those countries to practice medicine. On the website there are videos and profiles of MUA graduates who have gone on to earn residency appointments at Case Western, Detroit Children's Hospital, Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, New York's Mt. Sinai, Reading Hospital, University of Toronto and other medical centers across the US and Canada. The academic program at MUA emphasizes small classes and close student-teacher interaction. A typical incoming class at MUA is about 80-90 students. MUA also offers a one year, two-semester pre-medical program for students who need to meet additional course requirements to be considered for the M.D. program.
Contents
Basic Science Curriculum
In the first fives semesters--the Basic Science curriculum--MUA has implemented the integrated, organ-systems-based approach to learning that parallels the training that is provided at many U.S. medical schools. These first five semesters take place on the campus in Nevis. The instruction emphasizes the correlation of foundational concepts in the basic sciences with their direct clinical applications. An important part of the MUA curriculum is the focus on preparation for the critical licensing exams required to become a practicing MD, beginning with the USMLE Step 1 exam.
Research Literature Review & Analysis Module
During the fifth semester, MUA students complete a "Research: Literature Review and Analysis" module which is designed to further develop the ability to evaluate and assimilate scientific evidence and reinforce the skills for critically appraising and communicating medical knowledge. Students analyze a current and complex medical care question using evidence from published medical literature. In preparing the paper, students work independently under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Each paper is evaluated by a faculty committee. A number of students have had their papers published in medical journals and report that their research played a role in obtaining a residency appointment.
Clinical Curriculum
For the clinical curriculum, semesters 6-10, MUA students return to the U.S. or Canada to complete five semesters of clinical rotations at ACGME-approved teaching hospitals that are affiliated with MUA.
The Clinical Medicine program at MUA is 72 weeks:
Pre-medical Program
For students that lack the pre-medical education requirements--possibly because they decided to focus on medicine late in their undergraduate experience or are drawn to medicine after entering the work world--MUA offers a comprehensive Pre-Medical Program on its campus in Nevis.
Accreditation
MUA is accredited by the government of St. Kitts & Nevis Accreditation Board.
MUA is listed in the FAIMER International Medical Education Directory (IMED) and in the AVICENNA Directory for medicine.
MUA is approved by the New York State Education Department for clinical training, residency, and licensure in New York.
MUA is accredited by the Accreditation Commission of Colleges of Medicine.
MUA has received a comparability determination from the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA)
MUA has received approval by The Commission for Independent Education, and Florida Department of Education for licensure.
Medical University of the Americas has been approved to participate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford and Grad PLUS Loan programs, which are both administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
Student life
Nevis is one of the many volcanic islands that stretch along the eastern Caribbean sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is a small, but popular destination for tourists who come to enjoy its white sand beaches, hike the rain forest, snorkel among the reefs and investigate the ruins of the sugar cane era that dot the island. Nevis is also well known for its excellent restaurants and charming inns—many of them old plantation "great houses."
Nevis is reached through its sister island, St. Kitts, or through other major Caribbean destinations such as Antigua and St. Maarten. Nevis can then be reached by air or (from St. Kitts) by ferry.
In traveling around Nevis, you can make a circuit of the island in less than an hour, passing by all of the major beaches and small villages as well as the capital, Charlestown; the airport and other points of interest. Driving is on the left-side of the road.
Housing options include on-campus dormitories and a wide range of homes and apartments off-campus. While all unaccompanied, first-semester students are required to live in the dormitories, second- through fifth-semester students live off campus.
Students are permitted to acquire private transportation—there is a steady turnover of vehicles with students leaving the island selling to the new members of the incoming classes.
Nevis has a well-developed infrastructure for phone, Internet and cable TV. The U.S. dollar is accepted on the island. In addition, Visa, MasterCard and traveler’s checks are accepted. Electrical outlets are 110 V, 60 Hz—the same as in the U.S. and Canada.
Several student organizations exist at MUA. These include, but are not limited to: