ANTIGUA – The American University of Antigua (AUA), a major U.S. modeled medical and nursing school in the Caribbean with a hospital integrated curriculum from semester one, announced its affiliation with the recently opened Mount St. John Medical Centre (MSJMC) in Antigua.
MSJMC, a 100 million US dollar development, is the Caribbean’s most modern medical facility and gives AUA medical and nursing students exclusive access to the highest quality hospital equipment and patient care amenities in the Caribbean.
The 185-bed hospital rivals US hospitals and features five operating theatres, an electronic records system, a 16-slice Computed Tomography Scanner and a full endoscopy suite. Under AUA’s exclusive affiliation with the hospital, AUA College of Medicine and School of Nursing students will observe and participate in hands-on medical training at MSJMC as early as their first semester.
“AUA is proud to be affiliated with this new hospital and looks forward to contributing to the success and betterment of the quality of healthcare in Antigua and the United States for patients and students alike,” said Neal Simon, president and AUA founder. “Caribbean medical schools continue to play a pivotal role in solving the healthcare professional shortage in North America and this new hospital gives AUA students the solid hands-on experience on which to build their intensive residency training in the United States.”
“This facility gives AUA students access to hands-on training early in their medical studies,” said Dr. Winston Price, Dean of Clinical Sciences at AUA. “That exposure instills in future doctors the need to think from a clinical perspective and fosters an understanding of the real-life compassionate nature of their role as physicians.”
The AUA College of Medicine is the only U.S. modeled medical school in the Caribbean with hospital-integration in the early semester and a curriculum comparable to those found in U.S. medical schools. Students of AUA’s School of Nursing (AUASON) also benefit from the program’s clinical-based curriculum in a campus setting. Graduates earn an ASN and are eligible to become licensed as an RN.
“The quality of the education of AUA’s medical and nursing students will be further enhanced through the clinical program at MSJMC, which replaced Antigua’s former only general hospital, Holberton Hospital,” stated Dr. Peter Bell, Executive Dean of the Antigua Campus “The students are very excited about the new program and participated in the actual move of patients to the new facility.”
