Caribbean Accreditation Authority in Medicine


Medical schools in the Caribbean that reach the highest standard in the education of future doctors will soon be accredited by a new official body – the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM).

Established in 2004 by the the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Caribbean Accreditation Authority was set up to ensure that medical schools in participating countries in the Caribbean are providing a medical education that meets accepted international standards.

Although this body may well have been formed anyway, undoubtedly the impetus behind its establishment at this time was the changes introduced by the General Medical Council (GMC) in the United Kingdom. The University of the West Indies (UWI) School of Medicine was established at Mona, Jamaica in 1948 as a College of the University of London and in the late 1940s and its graduates were recognized by the GMC for full registration upon graduation, i.e., the degree was regarded as equivalent with a medical degree granted by a UK medical school. In 2003, the GMC stopped the practice of granting full registration to graduates of medical schools outside the European Union; therefore, UWI lost its recognition of its medical program.

To fill this void, medical schools in the region sought to establish an accreditation authority within the Caribbean.

The CAAM membership, approved by the CARICOM Heads of Government, comprises three medical doctors from medical educational institutions within the Caribbean; a dentist; a veterinarian; two medical students from within the Caribbean; two persons from international accreditation bodies; representatives of civil society; and three chief medical officers from within the Caribbean. Dean Emeritus Paddy Ross of SGU was appointed by CARICOM as one of the three doctors of medicine for an initial three-year term. The two international members are Sir Graeme Catto, President of the GMC, and Dr. David Hawkins, Executive Director of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and a member of the LCME.

The standards that will be used in reviewing medical schools within the Caribbean are based on the documentation used by the LCME in accrediting medical schools in the US. Accreditation will be of the medical program of an institution and not of the institution itself.

The University of the West Indies has submitted the appropriate data base and is in the process of being inspected and assessed by a CAAM team. The University of Guyana will be inspected later in 2006 and SGUSOM shortly after that.

Published on 04/10/2006