Med School Journey: Overcoming Adversities and Achieving Success
Embarking on a medical journey is never easy, but the challenges faced by Dr. Yaya Besong are truly remarkable...
Med School Journey: Overcoming Adversities and Achieving Success
Embarking on a medical journey is never easy, but the challenges faced by Dr. Yaya Besong are truly remarkable...
From Clinical Practice to Empowering Future Physicians: The Journey of Dr. Stavros Vouyiouklis
Dr. Stavros Vouyiouklis, born and raised in New York, has charted an unconventional yet impactful path in the medical field. After completing an undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Manhattan College and obtaining his MD from the Leavitt School of St. James, Dr. Vouyiouklis ventured beyond the traditional clinical route to embrace a career that merges medicine with education and entrepreneurship.
Navigating the Residency Match: What we learned from the 2024 MATCH Cycle
The journey to becoming a practicing physician in the United States is arduous and culminates in a pivotal moment known as the residency match. This complex process, crucial for medical students completing their education and transitioning into residency training, involves a series of steps designed to pair graduating medical students with residency programs across the country. International Medical Graduates (IMGs), including those from Caribbean medical schools, engage in this competitive process with the hope of securing a position that will lead to full licensure and the ability to practice medicine independently.
Black History Month: Empowering Diversity in Surgical Fields
Amidst the vibrant celebration of Black History Month, let us plunge into a pivotal chat about diversity, carving its space in the intricate world of surgical specialties. This reflection goes beyond the historical nods, zooming in on the ups and downs, dreams, and achievements within the surgical realm.
Navigating Residency: A Comparative Exploration of Medical Training in the US and Canada
Embarking on the journey of medical residency is a pivotal moment for aspiring physicians, especially for Canadian medical graduates.
Life of an EM Doctor
Emergency medicine focuses on treating patients with severe or immediate medical needs, such as those visiting the emergency room. While they can have specialties, their strength relies on knowing a little about every condition.
How an Olympic Athlete Passed Step 1
Are you enrolled in or considering medical school but worried about all the exams? Saint James School of Medicine wants all its students to succeed, no matter their background.
Surviving the First Days of Residency
After graduating from your medical college, you’ll apply the skills you learned in real-life situations as a resident. How do you survive the first days of your residency following medical school?
Whether you graduated from Harvard Medical or SJSM, you can use the tips below to navigate this transition smoothly.
Prep Before First Day of Residency
Are you done with medical school and waiting to start your residency program? Keep reading to discover the best tips for residency preparation, so you give yourself the best chance of success.
Interview With a Program Director
A successful career as a physician begins with a comprehensive medical school education and ends with graduate medical education in a residency program. Although landing a coveted residency requires a record of demonstrated achievement, candidates also need to reveal to program directors what they will bring to the practice of medicine.
Caribbean Medical School vs. U.S. Medical School
As an aspiring med student, you want to lay a firm foundation for your future residency and beyond. A Caribbean medical school can help you achieve your goals as competently as an American school.
What Is MSPE?
The MSPE or Medical School Performance Evaluation is an essential document that significantly affects your application to residency programs. Medical programs find the most suitable matches for their facilities by reviewing these documents and getting an idea of what prospective candidates are like.
Questions to Ask During the Admissions Process
Traversing the path to medical school can be a stressful feat, especially with competitive applications and financial support necessities. Still, keeping focused during admissions can help ease tension and ensure you have the necessary information.
While the schools select you, you also choose them. Remember to ask several important questions during the admissions process to find the medical school you want to attend. These questions can help you narrow down your options and spend your time focusing on the schools that meet your expectations.
Mistakes to Avoid During Clinical Rotations
Clinical rotations, also known as clerkships, are among the most essential requirements during any med student’s education. They provide hands-on experience at healthcare sites, allowing the student to become more familiar with core medicine and eventually find their specialty of choice. At the same time, clinical rotations are opportunities for preceptors to evaluate and guide students.
Another Class of MDs!
Congratulations to the Class of 2023! On June 2nd 2023 we celebrated the successful completion of the program by another group of SJSM graduates. With immense pride, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of you. Your unwavering commitment to bettering humanity has not gone unnoticed. The road you traveled was paved with sacrifice, but you emerged victolrious, leaving us in awe. As we witnessed you grace the stage with radiant joy and an indomitable spirit, inspiration filled the hearts of all who were present. We express our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to share in this momentous occasion. May the future greet you with endless possibilities and may success accompany you on your forthcoming journeys. Best of luck!
Medical School Admission Mistakes to Avoid
Applying for medical school is no small task. It consists of numerous steps and requires extensive knowledge and dedication to pass admissions. However, many aspiring med students make application mistakes, diminishing their chances of entry.
Explore these common admission mistakes applicants make when applying to medical school, so you can avoid them and give your application the best chance of success.
ADVICE ON ENT RESIDENCY
Medical school can prove challenging, and with so many options for specializations, students may struggle to find a path they enjoy. Those considering an ENT residency can benefit from learning about Dr. Hasnie’s path through medical school and how her ENT residency helped her find her passion while at Saint James School of Medicine.
During our recent interview with Mr. Kaushik Guha, the Executive Vice Presidenty of SJSM,, Dr. Hasnie drew on firsthand experiences to provide insights into her path to becoming an ENT and her top tips for students interested in the field or seeking residencies with surgeons.
Caribbean Medical Student Obtaining Licensure in NY
Are you considering applying for your residency in New York once you complete medical school at Saint James School of Medicine? If so, you must obtain a NY license to practice medicine from the state regulatory board before starting your residency.
Many international med students discount the possibility of pursuing their residency in New York because it is difficult to get a medical license. However, there is no reason to believe that your status as an IMG (international medical graduate) automatically precludes you from practicing in New York.
Study Techniques for Medical Students
Are you preparing for exams at medical school and looking for useful study techniques? Explore these tips from former medical students and medical school counselors.
Why Students Fail Medical School
Once accepted into medical school, you rightfully feel accomplished. Many people dream of earning an education in medicine. However, only a fraction of those people succeed.
After your acceptance, the real work begins. You must learn how to balance your personal life, course load, and other aspects of a healthy life. Doing so involves successfully navigating the infrastructure of your medical school.
Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
The Era of Geriatrics
Now is the best time to be involved in geriatrics, with the care infrastructure continuing to grow for the elderly. As the population ages at a high rate, our healthcare systems will rely on geriatricians and other medical professionals to provide excellent care for this growing population.
The Importance of School-Life Balance
As a doctor, you can best care for your patients if you first care for yourself. Maintaining a healthy school-life balance helps you avoid burnout.
How My Caribbean Med School Experience Prepared Me for Residency Programs as an IMG
SJSM Receives 3-Year Full Accreditation by ACCM
Dr. Beau Hightower - Why I Chose to go into Medicine
For anyone planning to apply to medical school or is in
the application process, the prospect of being a famous and respected doctor is
tantalizingly close yet frustratingly far off in the future. In our recent
interview with Dr. Beau Hightower, the "chiropractor to the stars"
described his experience in hopes of inspiring future and current med school
students.
Dr. Hightower has years of
experience with every aspect of the medical profession, from his days in the
chiropractic school to the challenges in establishing his practice.
The Best Practices to Help You Get Accepted Into and Survive a Med School's Residency Program
Med school provides many challenges for students,
including late nights of studying, extracurricular activities to boost career
opportunities, and for many students, holding down a part-time job. As
difficult as med school can be, the real challenge is surviving your residency
program.
DEAN’S LIST SUMMER 2022
Saint James School of Medicine announces the Summer 2022 Dean’s List. To be eligible for the Dean’s List a student must achieve a minimum 3.5 grade point average for the semester on a 4.0 scale.
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean’s List this semester!
About the Rush Esperanza Family Medicine Residency Program
The medical school presents many challenges, but many students find getting accepted to a residency program just as tricky. The process can vary across different programs, so students need to know more about a specific program before applying.
How to Get Into an OB-GYN Residency After Med School
Women visit their OBGYNS for a wide range of issues,
including family planning (i.e., birth control and intrauterine devices),
infertility, hormone issues, cancer, severe hypertension during pregnancy, and
more.
Becoming a gynecologist requires completing four years
of medical school and a post-graduate residency. Every med school grad would
agree that finding a residency is a challenging and often overwhelming
experience. However, understanding the process and knowing how to make yourself
stand out as a candidate can help you land the best residency to pursue your
career as a gynecologist and even find potential private practices.
Four Keys to Success with the Med School Residency Process
Graduating from med school is only the first step toward becoming a physician. Post-graduate medical care training is critical to becoming a licensed physician and achieving board certification.
Matching with a residency program is a competitive process, though, and not all med school graduates match on their first attempts. The process can be stressful, and students often struggle to find the best ways to make their applications stand out.
Med School Minutes: Residency Prep
The process of applying for residency is complicated and often stressful. For a medical student who has spent the past few years immersed in books and lectures, the outside world can seem a bit intimidating. So, this article will attempt to offer some advice on how med students can prepare themselves for a residency application and interview process.
How to Build Successful Study Habits for Med School
If there’s one thing that students learn in med school, it’s that you can be a smart, successful student without feeling stress or burnout. In fact, the most successful students are often the ones who approach learning as an adventure. They relish each challenge they face with curiosity and optimism.
It’s not always easy to stay motivated when you’re studying for long hours every day and dealing with all those life changes that come with med school, but if you set up some intelligent study habits early on, it’ll make a massive difference down the road. Here are some guaranteed methods to improve your successful study habits at SJSM.
DEAN’S LIST SUMMER 2021 TO SPRING 2022 – ST. VINCENT CAMPUS
Saint James School of Medicine – St. Vincent Campus announces the Summer 2021 to Spring 2022 Dean’s List. To be eligible for the Dean’s List a student must achieve a minimum 3.5 grade point average for the semester on a 4.0 scale.
Congratulations to all of our students who made the Dean’s List these semesters!
SJSM ALUM SHARES NATIONAL AAFP CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE
By Dr. Saad Hanan, SJSM USMLE Counselor, SJSM Alum;
My trip to the National Conference for AAFP in Kansas City, was an exciting opportunity for me, my colleague Dr. Nizamani, and SJSM. The conference took place from July 28th-30th and we were extremely thrilled to support SJSM’s Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG), which was being honored with a Program of Excellence Award in Professional Development. Out of 100+ applicants, SJSM was the only Caribbean medical school whose interest group was recognized at this event.
Building a Great Resume for Your Medical Residency Application
You’ve been working hard to get into medical school, so now it’s time to do your homework on the next step: applying for residency. A solid medical residency application resume is critical for showing admission committees that you’re ready to practice medicine and have the skills needed to succeed. We’ve put together some tips and best practices to help make sure your application stands out—and gets noticed!
World Champion Powerlifter Follows Dream of Becoming a Med Student
One of the beautiful parts of attending the Saint James School of Medicine is our diversity of students. People come to our campus from all over the world and from such varied backgrounds. Sit down with any of our med students, and you will experience an incredible backstory unique to each individual.
As an example, we recently had the opportunity to talk with Mrs. Chandler Babb, a current third-trimester student at SJSM who just so happens to be an internationally recognized World Champion in Powerlifting. So, let’s dig into our discussion.
HOW TO GET A QUALITY LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
Getting a quality letter of recommendation is an essential step in landing the opportunity you want. We’re going to break down everything you need to know about getting your dream letter of recommendation, how to get in touch with the right person and what information they need from you, and how to do all this without annoying the heck out of them.
Whether you are applying to medical school for the first time or seeking a new career in a healthcare-related field, the power of a letter of recommendation can be the key to success. Take your time, be prepared, and you will have a valuable tool for attaining the next step in your life.
An Interview with Olympian Kelly Hurley on Med School Minutes
On our most recent episode of Med School Minutes, we had the distinct pleasure of speaking with famed Olympian, Kelly Hurley as she makes the transition to life at Saint James School of Medicine on the beautiful island of Anguilla. We should start by saying Kelly is a 4-time All-American athlete who has competed in fencing since she was 17 years old. She was the only woman epee fencer from the United States to qualify for the Olympic Team in 2008. She is a four-time Olympian competing in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic Games. Kelly brought home the bronze medal for team fencing at the 2012 London Summer Games and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame in 2010.
Alumni Networking Event
Saint James School of Medicine is proud of the achievements of its alumni. Alumni play an important role in the development and continuous improvement of the school. In order to strengthen the bond between the school and the alumni, SJSM has planned several annual events during which the current students, graduates and the administration will meet to exchange ideas and help facilitate the creation of a true SJSM community.
On April 28th 2022 SJSM organized the first Alumni Networking event that was meant to help current students and alumni get together and exchange ideas, experiences, and connections. This successful event is the first of several to come this year.
Check out the video from this event by clicking HERE.
We invite all our alumni to join us during these events. Please visit alumni.sjsm.org to join the alumni association and to stay informed about any future events and opportunities with the school.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DEAN AT SAINT JAMES MEDICAL SCHOOL ANGUILLA
We wrapped up another insightful and exciting episode of our popular Med School Minutes Podcast about life, study, and what it is like becoming a doctor at Saint James Medical School of Medicine on the beautiful island of Anguilla. The previous episode featured a special guest, Dr. Claude B. Iliou, the Dean of Basic Sciences, who was kind enough to spare a few moments from his otherwise demanding schedule. This was a fantastic conversation that covered not only the unique background of one of our administrative leaders, but also insight into his perspective of education at SJSM.
MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS: 5 WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS AS A MEDICAL STUDENT
Medical school is a time of great learning, but it’s also stressful and creates anxiety. You are busy, and you have a lot of responsibilities and deadlines to meet. You have to read lots of textbooks, take exams, write papers, and do all kinds of other academic work.
STUDENT’S LIFE ON ST. VINCENT
In our recent episode of the Med School Minutes podcast, supported by the Saint James School of Medicine, we had the fantastic opportunity to sit down with four current MD students. Our goal was to dive in and find out what life is like on the beautiful island of St. Vincent and why it is the favored home of so many international students looking for a rewarding healthcare career. Our guests covered so many topics, so let’s just skip all the formalities and get right to the good stuff for our readers to enjoy.
FINDING LOVE WHILE ATTENDING MEDICAL SCHOOL
In our most recent Med School Minutes Podcast, we welcomed Dr. Drake to talk about catching the love bug while studying towards your medical degree. Dr. Drake comes from a family medicine practice in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Her clinic covers pretty much everything you can imagine, from emergency care to working with an indigenous population. Dr. Drake is a proud St. James alumnus from Anguilla and part of one of the earliest classes in January of 2010.
THE EXCITING BENEFITS OF JOINING THE SJSM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Saint James School of Medicine (SJSM) has remained one of the top Caribbean-based medical schools for years. As more and more students graduate from this highly regarded institution, the opportunities to enter the workforce with a leg up from the connections and relationships built over time are only elevated by joining the SJSM Alumni Association. This will allow you to reconnect with valued friends and mentors and provide the opportunity to give back to a program that accelerated your career.
IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPATING IN STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Medical school is one of the more challenging pursuits that anyone can undertake in their educational development. Between clinicals and the amount of studying required for exams, it always feels like there is little time for any other pursuits. However, integrating extracurricular activities is critical to your development as a student and medical professional. They provide you a challenge for reinforcing the lessons you learned in the classrooms as well as exposing you to different lifestyles, ideas, and philosophies that you are sure to encounter among your future patients or research.
10 KEY TIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL STUDENTS LIVING IN THE CARIBBEAN
Being a medical student is more than memorizing procedures and preparing for the next round of tests in medical studies. It is also about experiencing the culture and local history of the island you live on. That is why the Med School Minutes podcast recently sat down with Dr. Jose Ramirez, the Assistant Clinical Dean at Saint James School of Medicine (SJSM), a leading Caribbean medical school, and Dr. DeJuan Kinchelow, who is an SJSM graduate and a student counselor.
PREPARING FOR THE MEDICAL RESIDENCY MATCH
The New Accreditation Outlook for International Medical Schools
All Caribbean Medical Schools must be legitimately accredited by 2024 Due to a requirement by the Education Commission of Foreign Medical Graduates, only students from schools who are accredited by a World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) recognized accreditor would be allowed to appear for the USMLE Exams starting 2024.
ECFMG Year 2024 Rule- what it means to you!
The Education Commission on Foreign Medical Education (ECFMG) is the primary body in the United States that oversees the policies and regulation around licensing International Medical Graduates (IMGs). In order to take the USMLEs, and to apply for residency all IMGs must be certified by ECFMG.
USMLE Step 1 Dec Blog
Every three to four years, the USMLE Management Committee conducts an extensive review and analysis of the passing standard for each USMLE Step 1 exam. This is done to ensure the passing score is consistent with the expectations of the level of content proficiency needed to apply important concepts to the practice of medicine.
The Time I Led a Code
The one question I’ve never been capable of answering properly, or in a completely satisfactory way is, why do I want to become a physician? It probably has the same answer as “why am I a writer?” and I cannot answer that either. I want to be both. Perhaps we do the things we know that we can do well.
A Letter from A 2021 Alumni | Dr. Jennaire Lewars
Fellow (impending) new grad doctors. As our graduation season is upon us, I just wanted to extend a few words. As we enter this phase of our lives, with the acquisition of our new roles and responsibilities.
Dean’s List Spring 2021
The one question I’ve never been capable of answering properly, or in a completely satisfactory way is, why do I want to become a physician? It probably has the same answer as “why am I a writer?” and I cannot answer that either. I want to be both. Perhaps we do the things we know that we can do well.