Thread: MUA Belize Not Listed in WHO

I am wondering why MUA Belize which is a chartered school in Belize is not listed with WHO directory

If you desire permanent licensing with the medical boards you better make sure that you go to a school which is listed with WHO

ECFMG will only grant you access to USMLE but to be licensed permanently it is the individual medical state board that has the final say and the individual state medical boards require that your med school credits come from a WHO listed medical school

Check will Belmopan Ministry of Education and Sports in Belize, MUA Belize is not listed with WHO

Check with WHO/PAHO office in Belize you will find out that MUA Belize is not listed with WHO

Guys do your homework real good otherwise you will end up like St. Chris

For example the State of UTAH does not accept credits i.e. your primary medical degree i.e. MD from MUA Belize because it is not listed with WHO

Check with GMC UK as of this date MUA Belize is not an acceptable school for students to sit for PLAB.

Be smart and do your research thoroughly otherwise you will end up like St. Chris students.

World directory of medical schools The WHO Department of Human Resources for Health (HRH) is now upgrading the World directory of medical schools, formerly available via WHO's website. The new Directory will be a web-based database with comprehensive information on health training institutions worldwide, including schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, midwifery, public health, pharmacy and rehabilitation. HRH is pursuing this project in order to make information easier to find. We also intend to improve the content of the database, which requires a major change in technology and close collaboration within and outside WHO. We appreciate your understanding and patience. The new site will be available soon. In the meantime, readers are reminded that WHO has no authority to grant any form of recognition or accreditation to schools of medicine or other training institutions. Such a procedure remains the exclusive prerogative of the national government concerned. December 2005

As teratos stated (on other thread), MUA-Belize is listed with IMED; Plus I'm "living proof" that MUA-Belize is a legit school since I'm sitting for Step 1 exam next month. Had no problems being vertified by ECFMG. And there are students at clinical sites who are doing their rotations, have sat for boards (and passed), or/and doing both (studying and doing clinical rotations).

Also want to add... when I started in January of 2004, the school was listed in WHO and IMED.

Yeah, while WHO listing is still a requirement in some states (others use IMED, still other their own lists), it's a no-brainer to get on the WHO list, provided you have a friendly gov't. If you look at the letter from ST. Chris (in one of its by now many incarnations) available on the St. Chris homepage, you'll find a letter from the Belize Min of Education to IMED. Unless that letter is a fake, which I doubt, it must be assumed from that letter that Belize HAS given a charter to MUA Belize, and thus it's eligible for WHO listing. (ALWAYS remember: WHO listing is NOT an accreditation - it's a list compiled solely based on info given by WHO member countries).
However, as posted by md90, that list is currently in limbo.

Also, I don't recall that the GMC in the UK has issued a ban on MUA Belize. Can you provide a link or other documentation for that?

What IS true, however, is that MUA Belize is NOT recognized by California (and those that follow california) or New York. I'd also assume that getting licensed in Texas can be a pain if your diploma says MUA-B.

WHO listing is a requirement with the Sate Licensing Boards you need to check this out, for example in UTAH it is a requirement

As for GMC in UK you call them and they will tell you the fact: "at the present time degrees from MUA Belize are not acceptable to sit for PLAB" because they are not listed by WHO
Even though WHO and ECFMG do not accredit schools, but definitely WHO listing is still considered important or almost a necessity if you want to get permanent licensing with State Medical Boards or anywhere in the world.
Investigate this thoroughly with the State Medical Boards where you intend to practice, rather than be sorry at the end of your career by being uneligible for being permanently licensed.
All the professional graduate medicine bodies in U.K. eg: Royal College of Physicians require that your medical degree (primary medical qualification) be acceptable by GMC UK before they would even entertain your application
ECFMG is just one step to sit for the qualifying USMLE exams.
Once you have the ECFMG certification there is no guarantee whatsoever that you will be permanently licensable with the State Medical Boards. State Medical Boards are the final authority on whether to accept your primary medical qualifications or not. They have their own laws and you need to thoroughly investigate and do your research real well and determine if your primary medical degree is eligible from a medical university which is not listed with WHO.
If the State Medical Board advises you that they are okay without WHO listing then you are okay with the degree from MUA Belize.
If they say that your school must be listed with WHO they boy you are in big trouble, because MUA Belize is not currently listed with WHO.
My advise to all the students is that they need to pay serious attention to this matter.

Originally Posted by smartmd

WHO listing is a requirement with the Sate Licensing Boards

Call them, they'll be fine with the IMED listing. G

I checked this out too and the WHO is now requiring all schools to provide a copy of their certificate of accreditation. This is something new. I spoke to the MUA Admin and they stated that they are in receipt of their certificate and will be forwarding it to WHO. The new WHO listing will be updated as soon as they receive this - so I'm not worried.
We are listed with IMED and can sit for our Boards, Match and get Residency.

Lets hope to get WHO approve. when will it be?

MUAB is not the only school waiting for WHO listing, several others who are considered newer, have the same issue. It seems the WHO is being cautious and not simply generalizing and lisiting every school that requests listing. Also, it is my understanding that criteria have changed, not sure what that means, but is what I read and heard from an email i sent asking when my school would be listed. They indicate no problems but ask for me and my classmates to be patient.

WHO geneva is now updating its medical directory and making it electronically accessible by member countries.

WHO listing of MUA Belize will add a lot of credibility to MUA Belize, and make it degree more acceptable for licensing purposes. At the present time and M.D. degree from MUA Belize is not an acceptable primary medical qualification in the U.K. for the purposes of allowing graduates from MUA Belize to sit for PLABS and then be able to proceed for residency there if one chooses.

Even though MUA Belize is listed with IMED, this only allows one to be able to sit for USMLE exams, but it still does not qualify one to be able to get a permanent licensing with the State Medical Boards.

Only when you apply for permanent licensing in the choice of your State, then only you will meet the real challenge of getting one's M.D. degree acceptable or not by the State Medical Board. This is the final authority for your license. One should therefore, attend a school that will grant you the M.D. degree that will meet the requirements of the State Medical Board where you intend to practice.

For example State Medical Board of Utah states in their regulations, that they will only accept a medical degree if you have received this degree from a WHO listed school.
I do not know how many State Boards are requiring this, I am sure quite a few.

How WHO listing is helpful, is that it is indicating to the State Medical Boards that yes the primary medical qualification the M.D. is from a school that is in fact chartered in the country of its origin and is functioning in accordance with the rules and regulations of the country of its charter, that there is a supervising body which is regulating its accredition in accordance with the laws of that country.

It is informing to the member countries and their authorities that in fact the school that is listed in the WHO directory of medical schools is in fact a legitimate school and a regulated school.

This is why now WHO will not be listing any medical school in a country that is not a chartered school in that country and also must be based in the country of its charter. These are one of the new requirements of the schools if they desire to be listed with WHO now.

This is why WHO is requiring that all member countries send in copies of the charter of their schools and authenticated by their respective ministries that supervise the medical schools that these are chartered and accredited schools in their respective countries that are in good standing.

I am glad that finally the agencies are waking up and eliminating the squatter schools and those schools that are not being regulated. I believe there should be more scrutiny by some international agency that regulate all medical schools thoroughly but this is yet to happen.

After the lesson of St. Christopher's College of Medicine, I want the IMED to jointly investigate with WHO all listings in their directories to avoid such disasters for the benefit of students.

Why has the Ministry of Education in Belize not sent the paper work of MUA Belize to the WHO as of today.
I checked with WHO geneva office recently and they told me that they have not received the paper work from the Government in Belize. This indicates to me that the regulating authorities in Belize are sleeping or they do not know what to do (which is highly unlikely). They should be more concerned about regulating and improving the quality of their medical schools and the welfare of the students rather than just money.

The telephone no. to investigate in Belize is: 501-822-2329 and speak to Ms. Marian McNabb the CEO of Ministry of Education in Belize. I say get to the root of this issue do your investigation thoroughly otherwise at the end of the day your degree will be worthless piece of paper which will be very costly to trash it then.

The number for WHO office in Geneva is: 41-22-791-1096 Ask for the person incharge of WHO directory of Medical Schools, find out why MUA Belize is not listed now.

The number for GMC UK to confirm if the M.D. qdegree from MUA Belize is acceptable to sit for PLAB exams is:
44-161-923 6602

It costs you less than $5 for your investigation, but atleast you will know the truth from the horse's mouth rather than just believing rumors. The above is being provided for your benefits students. Investigate and have facts, as a doctor you need to learn this.

Ask the management of MUA Belize, what are they doing about the issue of MUA Belize listing with WHO, why are they not proactive in this case, Why is the Ministry of Education Belize not sending WHO the paper work. This is the fundamental responsible management of any medical school that should be working towards quality medical education and not just a money making business.

IF a school is listed by IMED, and the WHO, then one has a lot of credibility attached to their degree to be acceptable by GMC U.K. and the State Medical Boards in the U.S. This is not secret it is a fact.

Good Luck

Personally, I don't think IMED/WHO-listing confers any "credibility". If you're not IMED listed, you're simply not a medical school. (same thing in principle applies to WHO-listing, but that list seems to be in limbo currently).

Medical school "credibility" comes from having permanently licensed graduates in all 50 states. Which is another reason one should be extremely careful about attending newly established medical schools.

While a charter and IMED/WHO-listing is a requirement for establishing a medical school, it does not IN ANY WAY insure proper training standards at the school.