Medical University of the Americas

Medical University of the Americas

Type	Medical School
Established	1998
Dean	Gordon J. Green M.D.
Location	Whitehall, Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Website	www.mua.edu

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

MUA is accredited by the government of St. Kitts & Nevis Accreditation Board.

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Wikipedia