I am a bit confused on the subject after reading all the forum comments. Will Saba be Dutch and subject to EU rules? Is the NVAO (great report btw) an official accrediting body recognized by the EU? Thanks!

Basically, the Netherlands-Antilles have been disbanded and Saba and St. Eustatius have opted for closer ties with Holland. There will be some major administrative changes but the logistics of when and how these will take place haven't been worked out yet. Most likely, Saba will eventually adopt the Euro and will have more direct Dutch control. It's unsure when exactly this will happen though.

Saba was visited by the Dutch accreditation body a few semesters ago. Hopefully the school will get approved. I'm pretty sure they are recognized by the EU.

I realized when Saba officially becomes part of the Netherlands that the Euro would probably be used, but I didn't think about the changes in terms of accreditation, and I have to say I'm a bit confused.

I am under the impression that WHO requires medical schools to be accredited by the country they reside in, so when Saba officially goes to the Netherlands and is no longer part of the NA does that mean NVAO has to pass Saba in order for the school to keep its accreditation or does NVAO have no authority over the matter?

I have also heard there is a NVAO report concerning Saba, an assement of whether Saba passed or not. So, if there is such a report where I can find it? Did Saba pass or where there deficiencies? Because Saba is based off an American medical school model, not a European one, so it would be interesting to see what changes NVAO would want Saba to make in order to pass.

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Psych Baltimore, MD [x], IM Detroit, MI [x], OBGYN Detroit, MI [x], Surgery Kansas City, MO [x], Peds New York City [x]
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The school's website informs of "a positive assessment" by NVAO, which "is the result of an extensive review" of our school. That is all I know.

Saba University School of Medicine - News & Events

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York University - B.Sc. (Hons.)
Saba University - M.D.

olek thanks for the link, but I would like more details. what did NVAO like about saba? what were they looking for in the review?

does anyone else know about more this positive assessment by NVOA? and does NVOA have any authority in terms of saba loosing or keeping accreditation?

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Psych Baltimore, MD [x], IM Detroit, MI [x], OBGYN Detroit, MI [x], Surgery Kansas City, MO [x], Peds New York City [x]
GI [], Infectious Disease [], ER Brookdale Hospital [], Medicine SUB I Metro Health[], Nephrology [], Pulm/Critical Care Wycokff [], Family Medicine [], Anesthesiology []
step CS [], step 2 CK []

Here is the report. (bottom of the page)

NVAO - Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatieorganisatie

You're correct. When Saba makes the transition, the school will have to be accredited by Holland since the Netherlands Antilles will cease to exist.

The school should get accredited. If for no other reason, the school is now a vital part of the island economy. If NVAO failed to accredit Saba, there would probably be a massive uproar because the island economy would collapse.

that would be SA-WEET if Saba becomes a genuine Dutch school, assuming i read the NVAO report correctly....

i'm totally going to practice in Holland once O care rapes my paycheck.

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The Last Bus Driver

Yes it is happening... Netherlands Antilles will soon be no more and Saba may likely be a part of the province of Netherlands.

If anyone knows the relevance this has with respect to practice and licensure in Europe please do holla.

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York University - B.Sc. (Hons.)
Saba University - M.D.

Hi, I am new here, though I sometimes post in the studentdoctor forums. Anyway, I was interested in this issue as well as well, as someone considering Saba, so I emailed NVAO myself, asking about the situation after the disbandment of the Netherlands Antilles if Saba does receive NVAO accredidation. Since the reply said not to reproduce it, I will just paraphrase it.

They said that if Saba is accredited by NVAO the licenses will not be valid in the continental Netherlands, or elsewhere in Europe but will be valid on the islands. As they target foreign students, not Dutch students, they simply need to meet NVAO accredidation standards for the medical degrees they are granting and can remain more or less American-style. Some of it was pretty similar to the NVAO accredidation report. Dutch schools are run very differently than American-style schools as explained in the "The education at and the organization of the Netherlands Antilles medical schools is closely related to the American educational system and traditions." paragraph.
As it said, "It is not the aim of the assessment committee to assess whether or not the Netherland Antilles medical schools are comparable to Dutch/Flemish Faculties of Medicine, but only to evaluate to what extent the NVAO standards for higher education are met." For Saba to grant an equivilent to the Dutch "Arts" degrees, it seems they would have to be comparable to Dutch and Flemish med schools; they would need to be research-forcused universities where students are taught in a university hospital. Specifically they would have to follow the relevent "Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek" (WAW) guidelines.

If you are interested in this, I recommend you email them yourselves.