The University of the West Indies continues to lead the way with successful accreditation of its programmes. The Caribbean Accreditation Authority in Medicine and the Health Professions (CAAM-HP) recently accredited UWI’s MBBS degree programme for the period 2012-2017. UWI’s is the first Medical programme in CAAM-HP’s history to achieve accreditation for a five-year period.
 
This achievement followed CAAM-HP’s comprehensive analysis of UWI’s curriculum and facilities by an international team of experts. The complex accreditation exercise saw the collaboration among UWI’s three faculties of medicine – Cave Hill, Barbados; Mona, Jamaica; Mount Hope, Trinidad & Tobago – and its Bahamas’ Clinical Medical programme, to allow for institutional accreditation as a single UWI School of Medicine programme. 
 
Accreditation reviewers commended the institution on its draft Strategic Plan and its approach to a multi-campus, multi-territory university, and noted “the great potential for innovation and diversity among the campuses, while achieving common assessments and outcomes.” Other strengths noted by the review team included a committed, motivated and collegial faculty; strong and effective leadership by Deans and Directors; a good patient mix; and importantly, well-trained graduate output.
 
As is customary, this accreditation was provided with conditions, such as submission of annual reports by the University detailing progress made towards addressing recommendations for future compliance and improvement.
 
The University is especially pleased by this milestone accomplishment and welcomes opportunity for continued quality improvement of its programmes. The Medical Faculty has been a flagship of the UWI since the inception of the regional institution in 1948, and the University prides itself in its reputation for high quality teaching and first class research in many areas related to the practice of medicine in the Tropics.
 
Vice Chancellor of the UWI, Professor E. Nigel Harris noted that “The University of the West Indies has an exceptional record of producing medical graduates of the highest quality and it is important that we work with accrediting bodies like CAAM-HP to assure our stakeholders of our commitment to excellence through continued quality improvement based on self-study, external assessment and responsiveness to recommendations for improvement”.
 
Further details on this accreditation are available on the CAAM-HP website, www.caam-hp.org.edu.   
 
Updated: December 14, 2012