T First, I don't recommend any Caribbean medical school outside the big four, but if you do choose to reapply to other schools beyond the big four, I believe there are definitely ways to tier medical schools in the Caribbean according to their levels of accreditation, approval, and recognition in the United States.
Because the information posted here was published in 2014, we're providing a more up to date assessment of where we stand as one of the Caribbean medical schools with accreditation and whose accrediting authority is NCFMEA approved. I've used selections from the previous list as a jumping off point:
1. Is the school accredited?
Trinity School of Medicine holds the same CAAM-HP accreditation as AUA, SGU and Ross.
2. Is the school’s accreditation NCFMEA approved?
Yes, Trinity's accreditation by CAAM-HP in St. Vincent has been NCFMEA-approved. The accrediting body that accredited the medical school has been deemed by the US Department of Education’s National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation to have accreditation standards on par with LCME, which accredits US and Canadian medical schools.
3. Is the school New York approved?
Our core clerkships are conducted in Maryland not NY. We have numerous graduates who are currently in residency in the state of NY as well as having obtained licensure. This is a priority for our program following California.
4. Is the school California approved?
This is Trinity's next goal having just renewed our CAAM-HP accreditation n 2017. As we approach our decade mark in 2018 we are preparing to undertake this all-important state approval as our goal has always been for our graduates to have the freedom to practice in whichever state they so desire.
5. Can the school’s graduates be licensed in all 50 States?
See the above on plans and priorities, California state approval followed by NY.
6. Is the school eligible to offer Title IV federal student loans?
Today, to be eligible for Title IV status means that 60% of your student body be non-US citizens. Most of the schools with this designation their standing before the new policies were implemented. Because our students are primarily U.S., Canadian and Vincentian, we do not see drastically altering our student population to reduce the number of U.S. citizens enrolled.
7. Is the school non-distance learning?
Trinity does not provide distance learning and in fact, many professors require attendance as part of the grade.
Medical students who go to schools where a large portion of the Basic Science and/or Clinical Science curriculum is given via the internet, or distance-learning, are limited from getting licensed and practicing medicine in a large number of states.
