Medical students to benefit from $3.6m rescue plan

A $3.6m (US$1.8m) endowment is to help University of the West Indies medical students struggling to meet tuition costs, officials announced Monday.

Led by the revived Barbados chapter of the University of the West Indies Medical Alumni Association (UWIMAA) and its central executive committee, the assistance includes scholarships for those unable to finance the full programme at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Cave Hill, and other regional campuses.

Chapter president =Professor Peter Adams told Barbados TODAY: “The Central Executive has actually raised an endowment of approximately US$1.8m. So, this endowment is good because it has invested, at the moment, 50 per cent of the profits go back to help medical students at all the sites of the University of the West Indies; and therefore, it will grow over time with more money put in. So, it’s quite significant, and it’s not going to run out,” 

Professor Adams said the Barbados chapter is piggybacking on the multi-million-dollar endowment, most of which has come from alumni throughout the Caribbean.

“We have agreed to make a contribution to the running of the central executive committee. So, if you have a chapter in Florida, one in Canada, one in Jamaica, one in Trinidad, one here, one in Bahamas, we should contribute to the running of the central executive.”

He continued: “It is very specific, the money raised in endowment. It is not going to be used for any expenses of the alumni association. To answer another question. Have they contributed to Barbados medical students? Yes, they have. And they contribute every year to Barbadian medical students in scholarships. Medical students at all campuses get contributions from the association. But we are not asking the central executive to fund us directly.”

In addition to the central committee’s aid to students across the region, those studying in Barbados are also benefiting directly from the Cave Hill chapter.

This includes funding for students who face additional costs when they fail a course and have to redo it, and others who need help with living expenses.

Professor Adams continued: “What I have found at Cave Hill was that…quite often they are overseas students, the ones that came from Trinidad and The Bahamas – and we have quite a few students in those places – can have problems with their studies because living expenses, or the entire tuition might not have been paid by their governments,” president of the local medical alumni chapter,

“So, there are a number of medical students having difficulty, especially when they fail a course and have to redo it, and it’s another charge. And sometimes, small sums can help them through.”

He said that while Barbadians are less likely to experience similar financial issues, some still do.

“The Barbadians are less susceptible to that because many of them could live at home. But we have funded Barbadians. This was done even before this association was formed in 1984. There were students who definitely had issues completing their studies; even Barbadians, their finances were low; and sometimes, small amounts would help them.” 

The retired medical faculty dean leads the alumni chapter, which was revitalised after being dormant for about 15 years.

He noted that the students would normally get their fees paid by the government, but still have to meet their own living expenses or depend on relatives to do so.

“But certainly, the larger numbers would be those coming in from overseas within the Caribbean. So, yes. There are a number of students… I can think of about two or three students off the top of my head from Barbados that have problems; and some of them had to work extra, which is not compatible with the course of a medical school, because it is really a full-time activity. So, I think it is really important for us to have extra funding for people in need. We can’t fund the full medical school programme, but we can help people who need groceries for a month or two…it can make all the difference to them.”

Adams said that small contributions can help some students face financial strain.

Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Cave Hill Dr Damian Cohall, addressed student interest in pursuing medicine in Barbados.

He said there has been no significant decline in medical student intake at Cave Hill, despite a fall-off during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We still continue to attract our 25 Barbadians. We still continue to fill that local quota established by the Government of Barbados. We still attract Bahamians, we still attract, generally anywhere between 30 to 35 Trinidadian students per year, and we have a few international students. So, we have been able to maintain our numbers, and we are happy about that.”

Dr Cohalle added: “For the past few years, we have been able to have the top student right across the campuses as it relates to MBBS [Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery] final exam performance. So, we’re quite proud about that; and I think, the excellence at Cave Hill, is certainly driving the marketing of the programme, and students are certainly appreciative of the type of teaching and learning that takes place at Cave Hill and our applicants are very much aware.” 

(EJ)