Neal Simon(left), President, Dr. Peter Bell (right), M.D., Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean and Dr. Lorna McBarnette, Vice President for Institutional Development.

If you want to obtain an international medical education, attend an international medical school that also prepares you to pass the U. S. Medical Licensing Examinations and provides you with a strong foundation for postgraduate specialty training in the United States. The place to look is the American University of Antigua College of Medicine.

The nation of Antigua adopted a national mandate to become the pre-eminent provider of medical services in the Caribbean. So, in 2001 the American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine was established by a group of prominent American physicians and hospital administrators to provide qualified candidates the finest medical education available anywhere. "We began three years ago with nine students. Now we have over 500 students in Antigua," said Neal Simon, President of the AUA College of Medicine.

While the typical complaint against offshore schools is that they do not go through the same accreditation, AUA College of Medicine has been accredited by New York State.

"The AUA medical education program is modeled on those at United States medical schools," said Simon. "It is the only hospital-integrated medical school in the Caribbean."

Candidates for the degree Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) take four semesters of basic science courses in Antigua, and then take a fifth semester at the Greater Miami Health Education and Training Center to prepare them for clinical rotations. The next five semesters are Clinical Rotations performed in the United States at teaching hospitals affiliated with AUA. AUA has relationships with 15 hospitals in the United States including locations in New York, Maryland, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. It is one of the few international medical schools that can place its students at New York Hospitals.

The AUA College of Medicine offers a further opportunity to expand a candidate’s worldwide education by way of its affiliation with the Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, India. Candidates have the option of enrolling at either the Basic Science Campus in Antigua or the Kasturba Basic Science Campus in Manipal. Kasturba is one of the top three medical schools in India.

The students and faculty at AUA come from all over the world, although the majority of both are from the United States. The faculty is comprised of scholars from the top medical schools in both the U.S. and Europe, each with an outstanding resume. Dr. Evan Angelakos, M.D., Ph. D., Executive Dean, was former Dean of the Medical School at Hahnemann Medical School, and Seymour Schwartz, M.D., Professor of Surgery, author of Principles of Surgery, considered by many as the definitive text book on the practice of surgery, served as Chair of the University of Rochester School of Medicine Department of Surgery. These are but two examples of AUA’s talented faculty.

The AUA Medical School is housed in modern facilities, located in St. John’s, Antigua. Candidates from the College of Medicine find their coursework integrated with clinical experiences at the nearby 200-bed Holberton Hospital as soon as they begin their studies. "We are pleased to be able to impact the surrounding community, as well as the lives and careers of medical students around the world," said Neal Simon.

The school has begun to provide doctors, nurses and other medical professionals for Antigua and Barbuda, as a singular benefit for this island nation. While AUA provides personalized instruction in state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories for its medical students, Antigua provides living standards on par with U.S. medical schools, wonderful weather, pristine beaches, and every kind of water sport.