St. Christopher's College of Medicine, the pride of Senegal

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by John Bear, Mar 3, 2004.

Loading...
  1. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Last week, I was invited to address a Florida state commission that is considering new medical school licensing rules. After my talk, I was approached, rather intensely, by an observer at the meeting, the president of the above-named school (an American, who lives in Miami).

    He told me that his school is one of the largest in the world, in terms of numbers of Americans enrolled -- more than 1,000.

    I was really surprised that I had never heard of it. I wonder if others here have any familiarity -- especially in England, where they say they also have a campus at Luton. www.stchris.edu
     
  2. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Now I note that the website is registered to a P.O. Box in Naples, FL, in the name of Doug Drake (not the person I spoke to). And the telephone, in Naples, is answered, "This is Doug Drake with Exploratech."
     
  3. Delta

    Delta Active Member

  4. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Hmm. Curiouser and curioser.

    I found it interesting that ther WHO website makes it crystal clear that being listed by them has nothing whatever to do with recognition; that they must follow the lead of each national recognizing authority. And yet some of the St. Kittsian, other Caribbean, and Senegalese schools make it sound as if WHO listing is a form of accreditation. Here's what WHO says:
    -------------------------------------------------
    Important note: The World Health Organization has no authority to grant any form of recognition or accreditation to schools… Such a procedure remains the exclusive prerogative of the national government concerned. Consequently, no institution listed in this Directory is recognized or accredited by, or its training programme endorsed by, the World Health Organization. The lists of names and addresses were compiled from data received from, or confirmed by, Member States. The Organization cannot therefore accept responsibility for the inclusion or the omission of the names of any institutions
    ---------------------------------------------------
     
  5. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    The value of being listed by WHO permits graduates to apply for the USMLE

    "3. How can I find out if students / graduates of my medical school are eligible for ECFMG Certification?

    To be eligible for certification by ECFMG, among other requirements, your medical school must be listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER). If you are a medical school student and you want to apply for USMLE Step 1 / Step 2 CK or the ECFMG CSA, your medical school must be listed in IMED and your medical school's "Graduation Years" must be listed as "Current," both at the time you apply for the exam and at the time you take the exam. If you are a medical school graduate, your medical school and graduation year must be listed in IMED to be eligible for these exams and for ECFMG Certification. To verify that you meet these requirements, access IMED on this website. See ECFMG Certification."
    http://www.ecfmg.org/2004ib/ibfaq.html#faqhdr
     
  6. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    If schools are indeed making it sound as if they are accredited by the World Health Organization, then yes I agree that the statement would be misleading. However, to obtain WHO listing, I am guessing that the institution be recognized by the nation's department or, ministry of education. Would you agree?

    Also, I have a question in regards to the word "charter". When a school says they received a "charter" to operate the medical school, from the respective government, is that considered recognition or accreditation?
     
  7. Guest

    Guest Guest

    I have a relative with the State Department in Senegal and he provided me with a list of Dr's in Dakar and of the 3 I called none had heard of it. There is a medical school in Dakar, and it is of great repute especially for AIDS and intectious diseases, but it is not St. Christophers.

    If anyone wants the list of Doctors in Senegal let me know.

    If I picked 3 doctors at random from the capital of the state where a school I wondered about was located and none of them heard of it I would be quite leery.

    Oh, my cousin says the weather in Dakar is delightful with about 72 F temperature and a cooling breeze.
    I need a government job.
     
  8. Ike

    Ike New Member


    Senegal is not a member of the British Commonwealth but the nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis is. Ecole de Médecine Saint Christopher in Dakar, Senegal appears to operate as a college within Universite El Hadji Ibrahima. Regarding the legitimacy of this institution, I am not sure if it is but my guts tell me that it is legitimate. I have a couple of Senegalese friends and I will discuss this medical school with them this weekend.
    As to the Kittsian universities, I don’t believe that any of them meets GAAP criteria. The nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis is a full member of the British Commonwealth. Typically, all properly recognized universities in member countries are listed in the directory of Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). Unlike WHO, ACU list only properly recognized (GAAP) universities. It is alarming that some Ktttsian schools that claim that they are properly recognized when no university in the entire nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis is listed in ACU directory. Some of these universities are even regarded as legitimate in the US. I believe that a GAAP university does not currently exist in St. Kitts and Nevis. Shown in the hyperlinks below are BC member countries (1) and ACU directory (2).


    1. Member Countries of The British Commonwealth


    2. Association of Commonwealth Universities' Member Directory

    Note: You must select a member country first from the drop-down menu (top right hand corner) to view the list of recognized universities in each member country.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 3, 2004
  9. uncle janko

    uncle janko member

    Drs Bear & Ike: Kittitian, not whatever it was you guys invented. What next? Jamochans, Cobains, Trinidodoes, Toboggans, Arubadubs, Grenades, Virginians...
     
  10. drwetsch

    drwetsch New Member

    From your list I personally liked the Arubadubs. It gave me a good chuckle. That old rhyme came to mind: Rub-a-dub-dub Three Men in a Tub....... :)

    John
     
  11. Jeff Hampton

    Jeff Hampton New Member

    Well, there is a Doug Drake in Naples, FL who is listed as one of the principals of DRD, Inc., a web design company.

    "Doug has been servicing and building computers for 11 years and has done extensive trouble shooting work for many of Naples’ computer service companies. Doug’s graphic design background and knowledge of an extensive array of software programs has resulted in the many award winning websites created by DRD INC."

    I suspect that Mr. Drake simply runs the "school's" website.
     
  12. Jeff Hampton

    Jeff Hampton New Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 4, 2004
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Commonwealth of Nations (off topic rant)

    Since the name of the organization has long since been "Commonwealth of Nations", whenever I see "British Commonwealth" it gives me pause.

    Most of the time when I see the old name near that of a university it's because some unscrupulous character is attempting to make a degree mill sound legitimate by associating it with stodgy-sounding Britain.

    It also irks me because I think that developing nations have a lot more to offer than many in the developed countries believe, and that excessive association with their colonial past is unnecessary and ultimately self-defeating if their institutions are to be respected in their own right.

    -=Steve=-
     
  14. Ike

    Ike New Member

    :confused: :confused: :confused:

    Yep. You are correct.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 4, 2004
  15. tropdoc

    tropdoc New Member

    St Chris

    Further information on the UK-based "offshore" schools may be found on the site of the American Association of International Medical Graduates www.aaimg.com or http://www.aaimg.com/list/cambridge.html

    Some US states will not consider licenses for graduates of schools like St Chris because the graduate must be eligible for licensure in the country where the school is registered, and also because they have minimum residency requirements for studying in the country where the school is WHO listed. The degree is from Senegal despite the graduate never stepping foot in that country.
     
  16. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    I found the standards of AAIMG clear and reasonable . . . and their claimed procedure for assessing schools under 8 different categories, and "approving" only those that score 75% of higher in each, very reasonable-sounding. And I loved their extremely candid and aggressive descriptions of schools.

    However, the president of St. Christophers came up to me, after my presentation before the Florida Commission for Independent Education last week (where I mentioned AAIMG as one of many resources for information). He adamantly believes that AAIMG is a bogus organization, which has not really visited schools, and which is run anonymously from a convenience address by people with a hidden agenda.

    I'd like to know more about all this stuff. Where is Carlos Pestana when we really need him!
     
  17. MichaelR

    MichaelR Member

    I have been trying to go to International Medical Education Directory (IMED) to look up to see if the school is even properly recognized, but the link is dead. The school doesn't show up in the most current (2002/3) IAU WHED database either.
     
  18. tropdoc

    tropdoc New Member

    International directories Med schools

    There are some standard directories of medical schools worldwide. Try the China Medical Board's Institute for International Medical Education.

    http://www.iime.org/database/index.htm

    Or the ECFMG Foundation for Advancing International Medical Education and Research which has the IMED database (which does seem to be down tonight)

    http://ecfmg.org/faimer/index.html

    re: the UK licensed schools see one example of another likely scheme, the Medical College of London http://www.mcl-edu.co.uk/
    on the Graduate Medical Council UK's official page
    http://www.gmc-uk.org/med_ed/default.htm

    or WHO listing of medical schools

    http://www.who.int/hrh/documents/HRH_documents/en/index1.html/ As for the veracity of the AAIMG site-it is a bit cryptic on its actual funding and staffing. I have gotten an email back from the Dr Thomas Moore on the site but can't find him in the AMA database. Whatever the motives, the site's evaluations ring true with my own investigations of the schools.
     
  19. tropdoc

    tropdoc New Member

    St Chris

    One other note: St Christopher Graduates cannot be licensed in California which means that they won't be licensed in Texas and some other states who follow California's list of approved and disapproved schools. See the reply of Pat Park of the CA Med Board on a discussion list for St Chris on valuemd.com

    http://www.valuemd.com/viewtopic.php?t=988
     

Share This Page