AUB students begin QEH rotations after 13-year wait

The American University of Barbados (AUB) med students have officially begun clinical rotations at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), in a major development for the medical school after 13 years in Barbados.

Clinical rotations are the stage of medical education where students leave the classroom and spend set blocks of time in different hospital and clinic departments, working on real patient care under supervision. 

Ten AUB medical students started their rotations at the QEH on Friday, while three others began training at the Psychiatric Hospital. The occasion was marked with the distribution of 500 fruit bags to patients across the QEH, an annual outreach initiative the university said was also being used this year to celebrate the start of the new training arrangement.

AUB students distribute fruit bags to patients at the QEH as part of an outreach initiative celebrating the start of clinical rotations at the hospital (Contributed)

Director of Medical Services at the QEH, Dr Carlos Chase, said the hospital had accepted both interns and medical students from AUB, noting that the interns started about two months ago.

He said the partnership reflected the hospital’s expanding role as a training institution for medical students and graduates from different universities.

“We’ve improved and expanded our capacity for students from different universities and this will help to enhance our standing in the region as a centre of excellence for training both undergraduate and postgraduate students,” he said.

“We hear a lot of bad things about the hospital, but we have a lot of good going on and a lot of good that goes unrecognised. The training programme at UWI and QEH has been one of the outstanding beacons at this institution.”

Addressing the media on Friday, Chief Executive Officer at AUB, Anita Bhat described the start of rotations as the fulfilment of a long-held goal for the university, which has operated in Barbados for nearly 13 years.

Chief Executive Officer at AUB, Anita Bhat. (Photo Credit: Shanna Moore/Barbados TODAY)

“This was our dream ever since we started the school,” Bhat said. “It is a historic moment for us and we are very excited.”

AUB students previously had to travel overseas, including to the United States and Guyana, to complete clinical rotations.

Bhat said the partnership was not only important for the university and its students, but also for the wider Barbadian community.

“This is not only good for the school but also for the students and also for the greater community because we bring the economy and also we do a lot of volunteer work here,” she said.

She pointed to AUB’s free clinic and its work with churches, schools and local health organisations, including the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Cancer Society and Diabetes Foundation.

“Our parent school in India is highly into research and technology in healthcare, especially digital health,” Bhat said, adding that the relationship could support future research and information technology development in healthcare.

Speaking from India, where AUB’s parent institution is based, president and director Meesam Ali Khan said the university had been working to expand the teaching and training opportunities available to its students.

AUB president, director Meesam Ali Khan. (Contributed)

“Our purpose is to always give the best education and training to our students in different regions and different countries,” Khan said.

He described the QEH as an ideal training environment because of its patient numbers, range of cases and experienced medical teachers.

“The most important thing is the more patients you see, the variety of patients you see and the quality of the doctors who treat them,” Khan said.

“They have already been training students from UWI for a long time, so they have a good teaching hospital.”

Khan said the fruit distribution exercise was also intended to reinforce the importance of empathy in medicine.

“We want to teach them not only medicine and high technology, but empathy,” he said.

Bhat added: “This initiative was not only to celebrate the start of our students’ clinical rotations, but also to inculcate the spirit of community service and develop empathy in our students while caring for people who are suffering.”

Khan also outlined plans for future collaboration with Barbados in healthcare technology, including the proposed donation of 100 digital stethoscopes capable of transmitting heart and lung sounds remotely in real time through a mobile application.

He said the university was also exploring possible support through software systems, digital health innovation, expanded free clinic services and community outreach.

Khan said the partnership represented a “win-win” for the university, the QEH, students and the wider community.