Western Atlantic University School of Medicine - Thoughts/Experiences?

[stethan]

Actually, on the CAAM-HP site, their accreditation status is listed as "Candidacy from 2021-2023," which is lower than being accredited, and probably is still in that current status. They can qualify for provisional accreditation if they can get their clinical sites approved. My standpoint is that they don't even have the FULL accreditation from CAAM-HP, let alone, the ECFMG certification. They're missing so many things.

Either way, no student should be enrolling at a carib school outside the big 3 imo.

I would say its actually the other way around CAAM-HP seems a lot more corrupt than ACCM. Not only that ACCM accredits a lot less schools than CAAM-HP. And aren't the better Caribbean schools certified through CAAM-HP instead of ACCM. Also, ACCM schools have been a lot more scandals than the CAAM-HP schools.

That's really what I meant. CAAM-HP is running a racket in my opinion. Not ACCM, from what it appears. There's a few articles about CAAM-HP including some sites popping up like CAAM-HP Report Site

But whether that matters until the ECFMG clamps down, in terms of accreditation, if it's not ACCM, it's CAAM-HP. At least for now, neither is a "requirement." This all explains why SGU said to H with both, and worked with their local government to get WFME certification.

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[SoCal24]

That's really what I meant. CAAM-HP is running a racket in my opinion. Not ACCM, from what it appears. There's a few articles about CAAM-HP including some sites popping up like Caam-hp Site.

But whether that matters until the ECFMG clamps down, in terms of accreditation, if it's not ACCM, it's CAAM-HP. At least for now, neither is a "requirement." This all explains why SGU said to H with both, and worked with their local government to get WFME certification.

Yea I agree with you totally. So for ECFMG certificate you can graduate with a school without accrediation but you won't be able to take step? I'm a little confused because if your school isn't accredited how can you take step and even get an certificate?

 

[stethan]

In the Caribbean, accreditation was never a requirement until 2023, now it has been reversed for now. Email the ECFMG yourself or visit below. Don't take my word for it.

Recognized Accreditation Policy

Accreditation

www.ecfmg.org

This implementation will not affect:

An individual’s eligibility for ECFMG Certification. IMGs can continue to apply for and pursue ECFMG Certification, even if their medical school currently does not meet the requirements of the Recognized Accreditation Policy. IMGs can pursue ECFMG Certification as long as their medical school meets ECFMG’s current requirements.

Now if a school like WAUSOM isn't recognized by the ECFMG in the first place, the graduate is scre**d regardless of any accreditation once they need the ECFMG. But CAAM-HP is ultimately a scam; again in my opinion. But accreditation does matter for schools and students seeking Title IV, which many do. But not for ECFMG registration leading to licensure.

 

[8jsi37]

Candidacy is really just the entry to accreditation. From my experience, it a matter of providing documentation of a functioning school. You and I can start a school, StudentDoc School of Medicine, provide documentation, and can probably get candidacy before a site visit. It isn't true accreditation, that's true. Caam-hp should actually remove that stage altogether, but that's another discussion. Caam-hp is a bit of a racket itself since it's schools governing themselves, but that's also another topic. But what can you do, that's all there is for some countries. ACCM seems way less corrupt and schools appear to be running to them.

I do somewhat agree with the big 3 statement as it has been the norm for years, but the big 3 have their own big issues. Adtalem (Devry) is definitely not innocent in any way lol.

Yeah it's just an entry point in getting accredited but nothing substantial yet. I agree, CAAM-HP is corrupt and so is every other accrediting body. It sucks that a lot of students don't understand this part when choosing a med school in the caribbean (but honestly, if they live in the US, its better to exhaust all of your options before going down here).

I agree that the big 3 isnt perfect and they have their own issue as I am attending one right now. But you gotta ask, which caribbean school is "perfect" or close to that? There really no "perfect" one. I think the most appealing thing about the big 3 is that if you graduate from one, you deal with a lot fewer headache and BS compared to a random carib school. They take care a lot of things that a student wouldn't really think of. Accreditation is almost a non-issue but of course the big 3 has had their share of concerning accreditation. I doubt anything "bad" will happen. They are also approved in all 50 states if someone is looking to practice in all 50 states with California being one of the more difficult state. I think the big 3 have their own issues, but if you can make it to graduation, you'll deal with a lot fewer BS. However, this is contingent on IF the student can make it to graduation. IMO, the biggest issue with the big 3 is the insane attrition rate especially during the 1st and 2nd semester. By the time I finished basic sciences, I lost about 40-50% of my class. Overall, the better option is going to a US MD or DO school if you plan on practicing in the US.

 

[future Dr. Brandon]

unfortunately for the current students at WAUSM they are going to have to wait it out. Since their school is not accredited no school is going to accept their transfer credits and they would have to start over from term 1. It's not a great situation to be in however, I believe WAUSM will eventually figure it out, they have to, however how it's going to impact the students in the future is anyone's guess. I'm very concerned about the students that have passed 5th term and are doing clinical rotations and just waiting on the step 1. The further you get away from that information the less likely you are to pass the exam. My hope is that this is a bump in the road and eventually the waters calm and students will be fine, but it's not ideal to say the least.