As University of Belize launches School of Medicine, attached University Hospital moved off-campus

Published by BBNTEAM at August 9, 2024

Tags

Posted: Friday, August 9, 2024. 2:45 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: The University of Belize is all set to open the country’s first school of medicine for local students, joining established schools run by foreigners. It means that aspiring doctors won’t have to look abroad to pursue their dreams.

University President, Dr Vincent Palacio, sees this as a major milestone for the university and the country. According to him, this is a new chapter for UB, and they’re prepared to face the challenges that come with running a medical school. Dr Lisa Johnson, appointed first Dean of the UB School of Medicine, emphasized that this development shows progress and enlightened planning. It’s a significant moment in the country’s history and will have a positive impact on the lives of all Belizeans in the long run.

Minister of Health, Kevin Bernard, highlighted that it’s a crucial step in the right direction. The school of medicine is not only a beacon of hope for the region, but it also has the potential to become a model for the entire Caribbean.

While some may have doubts about UB’s ability to produce quality medical professionals, both Dr Palacio and Dr Johnson stated their confidence that the school will meet international standards. The new school will seek accreditation from the Caribbean Accreditation Agency for Medicine and Other Health Professionals, ensuring that the degree meets international medical community standards.

The cost of tuition is $25,000 per year, but the first cohort of students has multiple scholarship opportunities available as Dr Johnson explains: “The exam will also double as a scholarship exam where there will be tiered tuition waivers. The tuition is the largest part of the cost because if you ever looked at any go through the fees of any fee structure of any university, you’ll see tuition and then you see fees. And so, we will have we will award one 100% waiver of tuition, one 75%, one 50%, and two 25% tuition waivers to the top performers.” Minister Bernard said the Ministries of Health and Education will find resources for more scholarships.

The placement exams will be held later this month, and the school is set to open on September 30.

Meanwhile, plans to locate the $90 million (US$45 million) University Hospital on campus have been scrapped, with the site moved nearer to the current Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan. The Government has been forced to spend an additional six million to acquire the land and ground-breaking should commence later this year.

Minister Bernard cited other challenges as the reason for the change: “…the location of accessibility, remember it’s not just a teaching hospital, it’s going to be a tertiary facility where you need to have immediate access and so they felt after the Ministry and other technical team looked at it, they felt that it needed to be at a different location that is more accessible but it will continue to serve as Dean Johnson mentioned, not just the tertiary teaching hospital but we also want to try to see how we can implement our regional facilities to also become some level of teaching facilities where people can go in and learn technical works and so forth…

President Dr Palacio noted that while the hospital will still be affiliated with the University, he thought there was still a chance to have it directly on the 800-acre central campus: “Well, I tried to show ways in which infrastructure could be put in place. But, you know, they had their architects and their designers, you know, convince them otherwise. So it’s just a matter of, you know, how they view it and how we view it. That would work well for us.”

Dr Palacio added that the future headquarters of the National Forensic Science Service (NFSS) currently based in Ladyville will be built on campus, including a morgue.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.