Change in leadership at Martinus again??

[Monay24]

Just saw on the website that J.D. is back, and H.C. appears to be out. What's going on?

[greatdoctor]

HC ran out of money. JD has no money. Interesting way to run a school.

[obamafication]

when JD and HJC had money things were bad !!
now they don't ... let's wait and see ...

[greatdoctor]

Heard that faculty were not getting paid - What is going to happen to us?

[lswiltshire]

Monay24 asked
Just saw on the website that J.D. is back, and H.C. appears to be out. What's going on?

That’s a good question.
I liked JD but he had this penchant not to ever pay you on time, when I was there.

In 2004 some of the staff pictured on their website left when St Martinus was said to be DOA [dead on arrival]. You can read the thread. Two of these staff members and a colleague defected from Sint Eustachius in early 2005, only to find them in the same soup once again.

Another one of the originals returned last year to teach micro and genetics and left in haste. I wondered why the longstanding Pathology teacher is now at Xavier Aruba. Must be a very good reason, because I know for a fact that he loved St Martinus with a passion.

When the poster above says “Heard that faculty were not getting paid - What is going to happen to us?” that is an old age concern at St Martinus from the beginning. Nothing new there. Students at St Martinus have always been asking the teachers “Have you been paid” and wondering if or when the staff would jump ship.

But traditionally St Martinus staff members have been very tolerant and patient with respect to waiting for their salaries. It would usually come even if two months late! But it usually came. One suspects that the patience and tolerance of the St Martinus staff will continue ad infinitum ad nauseamque until the end of time! So dont worry children. After all, have you not read the lovely things posted on this forum recently by the St Martinus Administration?

[At least they know that they would get paid………..eventually! After all, they have all heard true stories of folk at St James who didn’t get paid at all, and know persons who could attest to the fact that such had happened to them on Bonaire.]


I did not receive my last salary from St Martinus until after two months following the completion of my one year contract.

It is true that if HC ran out of money and if JD has no money, that this would be an interesting way to run a school. But JD is a miracle worker. I am sure he will come through once more!

Have no fear, JD is here!
You can not lack for JD is back!

obamafication also made a very good point when he opines that “when JD and HJC had money things were bad !! now they don't ... let's wait and see. As I told you JD can work miracles in arranging funds.

What I am most interested to hear about is how will JD get on with the now Associate Dean of Basic Sciences. Before she defected to the unfortunate CMU she was demoted from being Dean in 2007. Then in this forum posting as deballen she posted photos of JD when he was temporarily imprisoned for alleged arson related fraud, and heaped much scorn upon JD, and his loyal assistant, and myself who sought to defend the school at that time.

I notice that after HC took over, she was reinstalled as Dean of Basic Sciences, and that she is now demoted again with the resurgence of JD.

Similarly the Dean of Clinical Sciences was fired at the end of the JD regime, and reinstalled during the inter regnum of HC. Will HFS be fired again?

The saga at St Martinus is now at its most enthralling stage. And I can not find my old buddy Hawkeye to tell the forum anything at all concerning the real truth about things at St Martinus—always as ever my favorite offshore American type Medical school. Viva St Martinus. May you live til you close and so fourth and so fifth et cetera et cetera interaliaque!

[greatdoctor]

Well, you said it, on and off again Deans, faculty, owners, students - nobody knows what JD is going to do next. He keeps it close to his heart. I don't think this guy is mentally stable anyway. He has no idea how to run a medical school - and what JD does affects the school. What I am intrigued with, is that aside from the student stipends, where is he getting the money to run this place. Who will be ensconced in power, who will be thrown out - When HBS was thrown out, does anyone know why? He happened to be one of the best faculty they have - are they idiots? OR rather, does JD listen to a chorus of naysayers, and just do what they tell him, so he takes the school down further. That is why we students have to keep abreast of what is going on - so we can get our transcripts and run. I for one am thinking that this school is not going to be around, and I better take my own advice, and hotfoot it out of here. I thought HBS was going to be teaching physical diagnosis - now that he is not, I think we should all think about getting out while the going is good. This may be the last good this school has.

[lswiltshire]

Great Doctor
You are indeed correct when you posit “nobody knows what JD is going to do next. He keeps it close to his heart.” This has always been so and is one of the fundamental reasons why St Martinus, and a few other schools with like leader mindset have not grown, as might be expected.

Though it is also true that “He has no idea how to run a medical school” it is also true that his advisors around him are also woefully lacking in this respect. You may not know this great doctor, but HBS is one of the main reasons why St Martinus has not advanced since 2005, when it was starting to come back from the DOA fiasco. HBS was directly responsible for a number of students leaving St Martinus in August 2005.

One of the major problems at St Martinus has always been a reluctance of the students to express their views on valueMD.

During the year that I taught there, when I urged students in my capacity as student liason, to sing the praises of the school online (and compared to many of the other schools there are many good things there) the students would say that they could not contribute to lure folk to that lair (or liar if you please) because they did not know what was happening next. How could they invite other students to a place where they were unsure what was going on?

And to be honest, I could understand their position, even though at that time St Martinus was recovering from the DOA situation and crisis of the summer when they were desperate to get staff!

However, when the very accurate posts by Miss Pixie appeared, some of these same students apeared on this forum and with vim, vigor, viciousness and vituperance, viciously villified the author of the pieces; even though they knew that the truth was being told.

The operations manager at the time also know as the “enforcer” wrote nasty threatening letters to the author. Around this time, there was a defection by two staff members who had, and were making a stirling contribution to the development of St Martinus, both in thought and time. The same “enforcer” then travelled to St Eustachius and from thence re-recruited one married couple and a third teacher.This has caused a certain stabiity to the St Martinus staff since then.

However, all was never well. I knew it could never be well, because no organization could be blessed with the conniving and undercurrents that was working behind the scenes. Such undercurrents and conniving deprived St Martinus of the necessary vision to impact the schools survival.

Before I left the now Associate Dean of Basic Sciences used to complain vigourously that her wages were three months in arrears. And once at a function she and her husband told me that they were soon about to sue JD! Maybe it was just talk, but that is what they said to me then!

She would complain bitterly when JD gave her assignments concerning the schools development on Saturdays, claiming that JD's wife was on a plane going on hoiliday while she was about the school's business. She would complain bitterly that the Enforcer and his wife, the then Registrar were paid better than she was.

St Martinus has paid for its hypocrisy and lies!


Great Doctor, if you had the time to peruse the record online you will find that you are one of the very few students to speak out against the ills at St Martinus. To one who spent a year at that place, I know that you are speaking the TRUTH, because you are describing the conditions that were the norm there in 2003, 2004 & 2005! Nothing has really changed at St Martinus except the continued beautification of the real estate going from the photos displayed on the website.

Whenever I posted a little nugget of truth in the St Martinus forum, in recent times, just for the fun of it, my old colleague
with the strange degree
that is not a doctor,
who knows nothing about Medicine
who could not teach
about whom JD said he would give him a chance to learn to teach, even though he knew that he could not teach
who was always pushing himself forward

would always seek to discredit what ever I would say. But NOW WE KNOW WHO WAS TELLING THE TRUTH, and who was singing for their supper.

Now that he is no longer at St Martinus do you hear his song? Or is it that he has learned that YOU CAN NOT DEFEND THE INDEFENSABLE.

St Martinus had many opportunities to merge with entities that had the money and experience to take it forward, but JD wanted to control his pie pan, that had no pie within!

St Martinus had many opportunities to grow and impact on its surroundings thereby gaining strength and backing of the Government in Curacao and use of SEHOS, but JD did not listen. It is written in Proverbs WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH! This means the whole institution!

I know for a fact that students I taught I 2005 and who passed STEP 1 in 2006 have NOT UP UNTIL THIS TIME COMPLETED THEIR CLINICAL ROTATIONS, CAUSE ST MARTINUS DOES NOT APPARENTLY HAVE THE SPOTS!

All that I am hearing about my beloved St Martinus is really sad sad sad, but IT WAS ALWAYS INEVITABLE!

But does that love to doubt the facts than go see for themselves, and prolong the agony of their demise.

[greatdoctor]

Everything you say is totally true - One hopes that prospective students are reading these illuminations about this school - and staying away. There is no library to speak of - and HC seemed to put an huge amount of money into preparing new classrooms - and new entrance, and trees, etc, while, student facilities fared worse. And where are all these students who were going to fill up all these classrooms. Then he went bust. Now that JD is back, he has the same philosophy that disallowed this school from blossoming. If it has not by now, it won't. We are back to the old days. He does his own thing - cannot work with anyone who will give him savvy advice - and takes the school down with him. He apparently lost a fortune of his family's money - how - his lousy business judgment one would think. And the same is happening here - why does anyone think he had to try and sell the school. So how come he is back. Back to take it into bankcrupcy - which it probably is in now. And ******* says the staff should take a pay cut - is he joking - Does he want JD to balance the budget on the backs of the faculty. Then where is he going to get any new faculty when they need them. New Faculty will tell him to take a hike. The flawed judgement of JD is already transparent. New students - Listen well - GO SOMEWHERE ELSE - You are totally stupid to come here. And we have heard that there are no new clinical slots being found - there is nothing - and if you don't get a really good USMLE score, you are guaranteed not to get a clinical slot. So, that is the end of your medical education. Other schools have plenty of slots,, for which they have paid, and guarantee their students. I for one am going to study like hell to get a good USMLE score - I am determined once I have put all this money and work in to achieve - but, I am warning other students to stay away from this debacle of a school.

[lswiltshire]

Good doctor

Of course everything I say is totally true.

Don’t worry about the prospective students, some will come and lose their money and prolong the agony of the death of a school that has never blossomed—and never will!

It is true that there is no library to speak of. Can you imagine being asked to teach the Pharmacology courses and there WAS NOT ONE SINGLE PHARMACOLOGY TEXT BOOK IN THE LIBRARY? I had to go surf the net and look for the info required by the USMLE OBJECTIVES.

What do you expect? HC put a huge amount of money into preparing new entrance, and trees, etc, while, student facilities fared worse BECAUSE THE MAJOR INTEREST AT ST MARTINUS IS THE REAL ESTATE NOT THE MEDICAL SCHOOL OR MEDICAL EDUCATION. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SO!

Who fooled you that they were fixing classrooms to be filled? They were fixing ROOMS TO BE RENTED OUT! You don’t need to pay 10-12 teachers to rent out rooms now occupied by classrooms.

When I was at St Martinus, there was always a team of Guyanese construction workers improving the BUILDINGS. St Martinus as you can see excels above most offshore Caribbean medical schools in its BUILDINGS!

You ask “And where are all these students who were going to fill up all these classrooms.” That was never the issue Sir. Now you know! A better question would be "where are all these students who were going to come and HELP US PAY TO UPGRADE THE REAL ESTATE HERE?"

Now that JD is back, he has the same philosophy BECAUSE HIS INTEREST IS ALSO IN REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT. Its an easy way to make money if you have prime real estate, as the school has.

HE MUST HAVE A SCHOOL THERE BECAUSE THAT IS THE TERMS UNDER WHICH THE NUNS SOLD THE BUILDING. AS LONG AS THAT COVENANT IS IN VOGUE THERE MUST BE A SCHOOL. THAT IS WHY TWO REAL ESTATE MEN TRY TO RUN A SCHOOL AS THOUGH MEDICAL EDUCATION IS REAL ESTATE!

You are again correct in saying that if St Martinus has not yet blossomed IT NEVER WILL.

JD will listen sometimes but you have to impress him that you know what you are doing, and you have to have no YES MEN LACKEYS GOING BEHIND YOUR BACK TO UPSET THE APPLE CART.

THE TRUTH is that JD has rarely had anyone around for bery long who could or would give him savvy advice. He is not fully to blame. EES was interested only in her salary and her children. HBS is an approximater of the labiae orae to the adipose tissue overlying the gluteus maximi of anyone or everyone who will promote his well being and welfare. So poor JD has been out on a limb since about April 2005 when these chaps ascended the ladder to be the Deans. LOL

Who is *******?

You ask “Does he want JD to balance the budget on the backs of the faculty?’ How do you think JD has always done it Sir? He has always juggled with the funds of his alleged 25 companies that he had in my time, by taking from one company to pay the next. Of course this paying Peter from Paul’s allotment does NOT work so well in such recessionary times.

You ask “where is he going to get any new faculty when they need them?’” is a good one. Don’t know if he will get away with it again as he did in 2004-5. Too many other schools around these days.

Your advice that prospective students GO SOMEWHERE ELSE is GOOD ADVICE. I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT IF YOU SOMEHOW GET THROUGH THE STEP 1 PHASE THERE YOU WILL BE CATCHING HELL FOR YOUR CLINICAL ROTATIONS. I do get feedback you know, a factor to which Hawkeye was always oblivious

It is indeed true that “Other schools have plenty of slots,, for which they have paid, and guarantee their students.”

I find the post entitled “Strike over, salaries will be paid” most amusing!

It reads thus “Good news comrades! I have it from good source in Admin (Hehe)that salaries from last month should be paid soon, so let's all get back to work and release the exam grades at once.”

Can you imagine this guy is celebrating the fact that SALARIES FROM LAST MONTH HAVE NOW BEEN PAID? ISNT IT ALREADY ALMOST PAY DAY FOR JUNE?

Well those of us who worked at St Martinus in 2004-2005 and before know that this is the norm there. That’s nothing new.

What you guys don’t know is that a certain Dean called one of his ex St Martinus colleagues as long ago as last year October looking for a job. So things have been going bad for a while. Wonder if St Eustachius will take back the three that defected from there to St Martinus in early 2006.

How does the writer of the afore mentioned article expect that “ there should be better dialog with the admin before starting another wild strike and better communication with your Dean” when pay day for June is just around the corner?

Will JD turn water into wine and sell it cheaply by the floating bridge? Or will he multiply bread and fish by the kiosk in the square there in Otrabanda, and sell it at rock bottom bargain prices? .

"You are about to invest in an institution that does not deserve to have the words "university, school or medicine" associated with it is a good caveat too
..
Entire school is indeed a hoax. This school should just close, and stop its lying on its website, and students reading these posts should take these comments to heart and find another school.

Whatever happens, it seems that there is a lot of fun being had down in Curacao for some. Its certainly hilarious from here. Time longer than twine, and day runs until night catches it!

By the way great doctor how many students do you have on campus now?

[greatdoctor]

How nice to have someone corroborating the truth. Hopefully, all the students are reading these posts. Someone has to be brave , and maybe, stupid enough to write the truth. I love the way admin thinks they can keep things from the students - we know a lot - ******* teaches pharm - is a pretty good teacher - cannot imagine why he is prepared to reduce his salary - he is worth what is being paid - whatever that is. You are right about HBS - kisses anything that will keep him his position. Perhaps the students also did not know that a couple of years back students who had loans - were not being given their living money by the school. One students had to go to a member of staff to ask for food - she had been pleading for her money - and they WOULD NOT GIVE IT!!!!! - she had to get money for food from other people - so even if you get a loan - be prepared to find funny stuff happening - Can you imagine an admin - actually probably JD witholding her money!!!!! Probably to pay off his bills elsewhere - Did he care she was starving? Listen carefully students - don't come here - even with your loans. Let this place be sold for real estate, as that is all it is - fine real estate for rent, or buy. Not a school.

[obamafication]

iswiltshire is correct, at least some of this place has to remain a university on paper because of the conditions set out by the nuns.
Otherwise JD would have converted these hallways into a LaCuracao or Palais Hindus in a heartbeat. He is bleeding cash with this place.
Maybe he should convert the back into a chapel and donate it to the convent and get the blessings of the sisters to close this school.

just a thought...

[Martinus Admin]

It seems that this thread has attracted comments from current and previous disgruntled faculty members and students. No use to comment on all kinds of false allegations.

[greatdoctor]

Disgruntled??? You call your school having a library - it is a few books on a shelf. What happened to our pathologist who left? And we now have a woman teaching pathology who does not know path herself?? Anyone can read slides. She cannot explain disease states, or how they came to be there. At least this other guy could. What about your pathetic labs?? No money has been put into good teaching equipment, necessities that make up a medical school. You are cheap, and this is not the way doctors should be trained. But, why would we expect this admin to come forward with the truth?
Truly we as a students body should demand a meeting with HBS to find out the real situation with rotations - or is he going to give us a false story as well.