If accepted, I will be bringing a spouse to the island. Is there an organization for spouses that is affiliated with IUON or UMHS?

If so, could someone please provide me with the website or contact email for the organization?

Thanks!

At this time, neither UMHS nor IUON have a spouses organization. As the number of students grows and more bring spouses to the island, one will be started. In the meantime, there is an island organization called the International Women's Association. They organize activities for women who are on St. Kitts with working husbands, student husbands and retired husbands. The activities include golf, bridge, yoga and aquarobics, among others. Sorry, fellas, there is not a similar organization for husbands that accompany their wives here!

The Universities have Student Government Associations that regularly plan activities from catamaran trips to parties and BBQs. Spouses are always welcome at those acitivities.

Thank you for the response. Do you happen to know how many IUON students are married?

I too am bringing my wife and also my daughter of 15 months to the island. I have been down there to visit and the school is state of the art and the appartments are very safe. I am confident that it will not be a problem having my family there. I have been in contact with someone attending the vet school on the island, he has a family of 4 and they are loving it and they havn't had any problems. I am dissapointed that I have to wait until May instead of Jan, but I think that it is good they are getting accredited first.

Does anyone know about Financial Aid for Canadians / US students for such a school? Also, how is licensing going to work here? Forgive me if these questions are just not answerable right now.... thanks.

Slaol 121,
I would estimate that approximatley five IUON students are here with spouses. In addition, several faculty also have spouses living on island, my wife being one of them.

I do need to add one comment about spouses who come to St. Kitts. They will need to have a residence visa. This visa does not allow them to be employed during their stay. For this reason, students should not count on this income to support the family. Neither should the spouse count on a job to keep them occupied while their student spouse is studying. There are, however, enough recreational activities that spouses can keep themselves happily occupied without a job.

EMRBU8,
I'm not an expert on financial aid and I don't want to give you false information. I'd suggest that you contact the Financial Aid Department in the New York Office. They should be able to answer any questions that you have regarding that area.

As for licensing, the process will be the same as any other reputable school in the Caribbean. Once the Accreditation Board has finished their review of the UMHS application and accredited the MD program, the Government will contact IMED and WHO for listing. Students will then be eligible for the USMLE licensing examinations and application for licensure in the U.S. Questions regarding specific requirements for licensure should be directed to the state/provincial licensing authority in the state/province where you wish to practice.

Is this expected to occur before the start of the May 2008 term?

Yes, the application was submitted on October 2, 2007. The Accreditation Committee will mostly likely complete it's review before the end of the year. UMHS already has its charter and will have accreditation prior to its May semester.

Ok, cool. Another question:

If UMHS gets the needed accreditation from WHO and IMED, this means students can sit for the USMLE-3 - correct?

Let's say this happens, but (worst case scenario) the school is unable to work out any agreements with teaching hospitals for clinicals. What will happen then?