| The process of regaining accreditation of the University of Guyana School of Medicine will be a very costly undertaking, says Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr Emmanuel Cummings.Dr Emmanuel Cummings, Dean of the Faculty of Health SciencesThe School of Medicine earlier this year lost its accreditation status from the Jamaica based accreditation body, Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP).This development will in essence reduce the value of the degrees of 46 students who will graduate this year end. Without accreditation,Nike Air Max 1 Mens Trainers, the UG medical degree will no longer be on par with similar degrees in CARICOM territories.Reclaiming the accredited status,Air Max 97 Silver Bullet 2018, Dr Cummings said,Nike Air Max Shoes Sale, could cost over US$35,Adidas Shoes On Sale,000; the equivalent of G$7 million.“The last time that CAAM-HP came here the visit cost US$25,000 and that was back in 2012 and we usually have to pay that up front,” Dr. Cummings said. Payment, according to him, is usually made by UG but could very well be too steep for the University on this occasion. Dr Cummings said that the support of Government will be instrumental in funding the process.The visiting CAAM-HP team usually travels first class to the country requesting accreditation and is accommodated at a five star hotel.The visit usually lasts for one week, but because of the loss of accreditation, CAAM-HP is likely to undertake a more intense process of verifying that the School of Medicine is in order.“The last time they stayed at the Pegasus but this time they will stay at the Marriott, so funding the visit could see about US$10,000 being added to what was paid in 2012,” Dr. Cummings speculated.This cost, however, will not include the funds that will be required to put in place the recommendations of CAAM-HP to improve the School of Medicine ahead of the visit.According to Dr. Cummings, moves are already apace for the institution to commence a self study of the School of Medicine, which will culminate with the compilation of a very detailed report outlining what measures were put in place to remedy all concerns of the accreditation body.According to Dr. Cummings, money will have to be expended to hire consultants, upgrade facilities and prepare documents, among other things.It is expected that the School of Medicine will be able to complete the self-study by this year end and submit a report to CAAM-HP by early next year. But according to the Dean, “this thing is not just about submitting a report. You have to have evidence, you have to show your development, you have to show changes,Cheap Adidas Shoes, the improvements, you have to show that you are upgrading the facilities, you have to show a commitment from Government to do this, you have to show that the Medical School is an important part of the University and therefore you have to show that the University administration is on board.”“The report, when completed will be a big thick document with information that can full an average size carton. You have to send five hard copies of these documents to CAAM-HP.”Dr. Cummings disclosed the information provided will be thoroughly scrutinised before CAAM-HP designates a date to visit the Medical School.“They will then put together an ad hoc five-member team of medical educators and they will be accompanied by the Executive Director. “When they come to visit, they are coming to verify what you have in your report. If you say that you have reviewed your curriculum that is what they will come to see…that evidence. They want evidence that there were lots of meetings, you did workshops and that you hired a consultant. You can’t just tell them, you have to show minutes of all the activities that you did and how you went about doing it…it is a very expensive process.”CAAM-HP’s pending site visit, Dr. Cummings noted, would therefore be one that seeks to ascertain that all of the 144 standards as detailed by the body are adhered to by the School of Medicine.The standards are divided into sections that address institutional settings, medical students, educational programme, educational resources,Air Max 90 Black And White Womens, faculty, internship and professional development.Stressing the importance of accreditation, Dr. Cummings said that because Guyana is a signatory to the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), which allows for professionals to work within the CARICOM region without a work permit, the School of Medicine was required to be accredited by CAAM-HP. This process is done in order to ensure that the degrees throughout CARICOM are equivalent.According to the CAAM-HP website (www.caam.hp.org), the body is the legally constituted body established in 2003 under the aegis of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), empowered to determine and prescribe standards and to accredit programmes of medical, dental, veterinary and other health professions on behalf of the contracting parties in CARICOM.Dr. Cummings therefore pointed out that “you have to meet certain minimum standards in order for your degree to be worth anything…” |
