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Embarking on a journey to become a doctor is never a straightforward path, and for Dr. Sanket Choudhury, an alumnus of Saint James School of Medicine, it’s a story of resilience, adaptability, and seizing opportunities. Dr. Choudhury’s journey provides a compelling look at how experiences in diverse environments and careers can shape a successful medical professional.

In California’s Central Valley, where healthcare access is a growing concern, two new residency programs in family and internal medicine at Sutter Memorial Medical Center are taking bold steps to meet the needs of the community. More than just a new training opportunity, these programs represent a vital investment in the future health of this underserved region.

At Saint James School of Medicine (SJSM), we believe that the foundation of a great education starts with more than just textbooks and talented faculty—it’s also about providing the right environment for students to thrive. As we celebrate 25 years of excellence in medical education, we are proud to announce the grand opening of our new campus in Golden Vale, St. Vincent. This momentous occasion marks a new chapter in our commitment to delivering high-quality education and underscores the critical role that state-of-the-art facilities play in shaping the next generation of healthcare professionals.

The world of medicine may seem unified in its pursuit of health and healing, but the healthcare systems in which doctors operate couldn’t be more different. The contrast between privatized and nationalized healthcare isn’t just theoretical—it’s real, and it’s shaping the careers of doctors and the lives of their patients in profound ways.

From navigating the red tape in the U.S. to tackling patient shortages in Canada, Dr. Ivan Escudero’s journey is a crash course in healthcare extremes.

Ever wondered what it’s like balancing two systems? Dive into his story, where every decision could mean the difference between life-saving care and waiting lists. Get a unique behind-the-scenes look at the real-life struggles and triumphs that shaped his career across borders.

Starting your medical journey at SJSM is more than just a move—it’s the beginning of an incredible adventure on the beautiful island of St. Vincent. But let’s be real: the transition can be daunting if you’re not prepared. Whether you’re heading to the bustling community of St. Vincent, we’ve got you covered with all the essentials you need to know before you pack your bags.

Imagine the pressure of medical school—the endless hours of studying, the constant exams, and the feeling that there’s always more to learn. It’s a journey that can feel overwhelming, but it’s also one filled with opportunity. At Saint James School of Medicine, students are no strangers to this challenge. Fortunately, there are strategies that can make this journey not only manageable but successful. Dr. Shaan Patel, a board-certified dermatologist and successful entrepreneur, knows this journey all too well. He’s walked the path from medical student to physician, and now he’s sharing his insights to help you navigate your own path with confidence and balance.

Becoming a doctor is rarely a straight path, and at Saint James School of Medicine, we understand that each journey is as unique as the students who walk it. Today, we’re excited to share the stories of Shivani and Naveed, two recent graduates who didn’t just overcome challenges—they embraced them. Their paths to pre-matching into their desired residency programs in the U.S. are filled with determination, resilience, and a few unexpected twists that make their stories truly inspiring.

Embarking on a medical journey is never easy, but the challenges faced by Dr. Yaya Besong are truly remarkable...

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.

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.

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.

Embarking on the journey of medical residency is a pivotal moment for aspiring physicians, especially for Canadian medical graduates.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.