Two scholarships to new medical school offered to BVI students
Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU) is set to open a medical school in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) next year, offering two full scholarships annually to qualifying BVI students.
In a recent press release, PHSU announced that its School of Medicine will be located at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College in Tortola. The inaugural class will consist of 50 students, with plans to increase that number to 75 for the fall of 2026.
Premier and Minister for Finance Dr Natalio Wheatley expressed enthusiasm for the school’s opening and its potential benefits.
“We are truly excited to welcome the new PHSU School of Medicine in the British Virgin because of the benefits it will bring not just to health standards in our territory but also to our economy,” he stated. “The school will bring a recurring influx of students who will live in the BVI, buy goods, and spend in our businesses. I am optimistic that Virgin Islanders will welcome them and develop services for this new kind of resident.”
University President Gino Natalicchio highlighted the significance of establishing a location in Tortola.
Opening this location in Tortola will make a major difference to students in BVI, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean region, and worldwide because it gives them a truly viable and accessible option to complete their studies in medicine,” said Dr Natalicchio stated. “Currently, there is a growing need for physicians worldwide. The PHSU School of Medicine provides a good solution by connecting health sciences students to opportunities and experiences to help them accomplish their goals.”
Discussions about introducing medical schools in the BVI have been underway since 2018, and PHSU’s anticipated opening next year represents a significant milestone for the territory.
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Remember our beloved Premier is a Doctor too.
Yeah Yeah. BUT HE IS NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR. THAT IS A BIG BIG DIFFERENCE!! CANNOT BE COMPARED WITH A MEDICAL DOCTOR. OBVIOUSLY YOU NEED SOME CLARITY
Yeah Yeah. BUT HE IS NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR. THAT IS A BIG BIG DIFFERENCE!! CANNOT BE COMPARED WITH A MEDICAL DOCTOR. PREMIER HAS A PHD. HE WROTE A PAPER ON AFRICAN STUDIES. OBVIOUSLY YOU NEED SOME CLARITY ON THIS.
Yeah Yeah. BUT HE IS NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR. THAT IS A BIG BIG DIFFERENCE!! CANNOT BE COMPARED WITH A MEDICAL DOCTOR. PREMIER HAS A PHD. HE WROTE A PAPER ON AFRICAN STUDIES. MEDICAL DOCTORS STUDY FOR YEARS. OBVIOUSLY YOU NEED SOME CLARITY ON THIS.
He is NOT a medical doctor.
He has a doctorate degree as a result of doing in depth research African History, I have heard.
bay will be the dormitory for these new med students living on their boats.
To gain a MD degree which is needed to practice medicine anywhere in the States or Canada, and in the BVI, requires approximately 8 years of training. If you Google “medical School
Entry requirements”, you will find that first you have to obtain a BSc degree from a mainline university. This takes 3 or 4 years of university. Near the end of this training, an aspiring entrant to medical school will write the examinations required to obtain MCAT certification. This certification, along with interviews, testimonials, relative evidence of interests, standard of his/her BSc degree , will allow the new BSc graduate to apply to the medical school he/she wishes to attend.
The school is legit and is fully accredited. it meets the standards of USA, Canada and all the first rate countries of our world. This is largely because the scool has been around since the 1977 and has been U.S. accredited from since around the same time in 1981.
Some medical schools in the caribbean is not USA accreditted. Our branch of the school will be. (advantage)
Imagin the University of the Virgin Islands was trying to set up their own medical school but was not able to because of the accreditation shortfalls associated with source of financing their program. we over here on the other hand beat them to the punch (thanks to medical school being already established)
one needs a bachelors degree with the prerequisite science courses like chemistry, lab , biology and so on to be accepted to this school. it is not a fly by night institution.
is right. If you have already earned a four year Bachelors of Science degree, and if you are smart enough, you go straight to medical school., Why would you waste another four years at a Pre-Medical school when still you have eight more years of REAL medical school?
This another bi-water… but I like how we still hopeful and trusting as a nation
so easy to fool too…
Our graduates are defficient in
basic education and many go to the local Community College to hoefully,pass a basic test that would qualify them for College studies. This premed schooled being proposed will eventually qualify them and hopefully they will be able to attend medical schoolas acresult of learning what they should have learned in High School.
A sad reflection on the quality
of the education. In these BVI
,today.
Low education in these VI is good business for Puerto Rico..the loss of education is money in the pocket for others elsewhere and serves to confirm the belief of our lesser brain ability and learning skills. Few will pass and qualify for a halfway quality medical school.
I hate negative people with a passion