St. George's University

St. George's University is a university located in the Caribbean island nation of Grenada. It is best known for its medical school, which enrolls students primarily from the United States, Canada and other countries outside the Caribbean. St. George's also boasts a school of veterinary medicine, and a recently founded Graduate Program.

Concerns about the safety of the large number of American students enrolled at the school was given by United States President Ronald Reagan as a basis for the U.S.-led invasion of Grenada in October, 1983, after the overthrow of Maurice Bishop, a popular leftist leader, by a harder-left Grenadian faction with ties to Cuba. Reagan's opponents stated that the medical students were a mere pretext for the invasion; in any event elections were held the next year and a generally pro-Western government with regard for human rights was re-established. The operation of the university resumed with some of the "rescued" students returning.

Medical curriculum

The medical curriculum is often times very intense even by United States standards. The basic structure of the school is to provide two years of basic sciences education in the Caribbean followed by two years of clinical experience at one of its clinical centers located in Great Britain and the United States. Each term is the equivalent of a semester. The following subjects are taught in each term:

Year 1

• Term 1: Anatomy, Biochemistry, Embryology, Histology
• Term 2: Neuroscience, Physiology, Immunology, Parasitology, Genetics
• Term 3: Behavioral Sciences, Health Systems, Medical Law, Biostatistics, Epidemiology

Year 2

• Term 4: Pathology, Microbiology, Physical Diagnosis, Nutrition
• Term 5 and 6: Pharmacology, Pathophysiology, Advanced Clinical Skills

Terms 1-4 are completed on the island of Grenada for the first 18 months. In the last semester, students are moved to the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines where they complete their education at Kingstown Medical College.

Students are then required to complete the USMLE Step 1 examination for licensing in the United States. Some student opt to go to Great Britain for clinical training but they still must take the USMLE Step 1.

From this point forward, most students head to one of the dozens of affiliated hospitals on both the east and west coasts of the United States. Here, they participate in hands-on clinical training while preparing for the USMLE Step 2 and Step 3 examinations which follow their fourth year.

Popular culture

This university's medical school is featured in the second half of Heartbreak Ridge, Clint Eastwood's movie about the United States Marine Corps.

External links

• St. George's University Home