The Anguilla House of Assembly has approved the Charter for the Saint James School of Medicine located in The Quarter, Anguilla. The approval was given on Wednesday, March 30, when the matter was taken to the House on a Motion by Minister of Social Development and Education, Mr. Evans McNiel Rogers.
Speaking earlier at the Government’s press conference on Tuesday, March 29, the Minister said:
“There is no doubt that the School of Medicine has done well in Anguilla both from an economic and educational standpoint. The charter is basically an agreement between the Government of Anguilla and the Saint James School of Medicine providing that the institution follows the requisite processes and procedures whereby it will be able to confer the MD degree, satisfying the CAMHP which is the Caribbean Association of Allied and Health Professionals Programme. It is a very stringent programme and is closely monitored.
“This charter between the Anguilla Government, and the Saint James Medical School, has been lacking. We have decided that it is necessary and CAMHP has also decided that the charter is a prerequisite in order to afford the school full accreditation.” The Minister explained that the medical school will also have to meet all the other regional and international requirements for accreditation including the United States Medical Licensing Examination.
Mr. Rogers noted that Anguilla’s first student at Saint James School of Medicine Dr. Jilma Hodge was now in Jamaica at the Cornwall Regional Hospital doing her pre-clinical and clinical internships. He pointed out that she, too, would have to write the exams done by Caribbean Schools of Medicine which is equivalent to the exams of the University of the West Indies.
He added that the above charter “was a step in the right direction” as it would also be of benefit to the Anguillian student.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rogers disclosed that in a few months he would take to the Anguilla House of Assembly the Nursing Licencing Professions Act. “The legislation will establish the parameters and the legislative framework necessary in terms of establishing a Nursing School in Anguilla,” he explained. “The requirements of the Act will enable the Anguilla Government to train nurses on the island. The nurses will be able to write the requisite exams set both for region and international institutions under an accreditation programme.
