St. Matthew’s Med. School graduates first students
Earlier in this newscast we focussed on one Belize City high school that’s celebrating the construction of a new building. For this next story we travel thirty-six miles northeast to visit an educational institution that’s also marking a major milestone. Ann-Marie reports from San Pedro, Ambergris Caye.
Ann-Marie Williams
“Belizeans and tourists alike know the island-township of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye as a place to unwind. But what they may not know is that San Pedro is home to Belize’s first medical school, St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine. An international student body study here for two years, after which they go out to practice medicine.”
Their two year course of study takes place right here on San Pedro where the students, who come from all over the world including Belize learn the basic sciences in a classroom setting.
Dr. Jeffrey Sersland, who completed his medical training in England, is the president and CEO of St. Matthew’s. Sersland says he fell in love with the island on his first visit and decided to set up a school.
Dr. Jeffrey Sersland, Pres. and CEO, St. Matthew’s
“I saw the opportunity to work with the country very appealing, in Belize. And San Pedro was an idyllic setting at that time, so San Pedro just was just sort of a happenstance in many ways.”
Sersland says setting up a medical school on San Pedro was not without its problems.
Dr. Jeffrey Sersland
“When I first came to San Pedro, I had this dream, and I was waiting here…We put the buildings up before any of the students arrived and I just sat there patiently waiting, just hoping that the students would come fulfil this dream that I had. It was very difficult in the beginning. We didn’t have any funding sources from the United States. We didn’t have any real backing, it was myself and a couple colleagues from the U.S. and from Belize that came together through the hard times to really fund the whole project. After a while, we stuck together, held on strong and we were allowed the opportunity to be in the lending community within the U.S. that certainly help us grow, so the students had more opportunities to fund their education.”
There were lots of funds to go around. The university has lecture halls, a library, classrooms, a laboratory, a deli and a lovely campus. Of the close to fifty medical students enrolled at St. Matthew’s seven are Belizeans on scholarship. Ajay Hotchandani is one of them.
Ajay Hotchandani, Belizean Medical Student
“Now I’m doing my basic science. I’m a fourth semester, and after the next semester, I’ll probably do my internship in England then the U.S. So I’ve been here for a little bit over a year and a half.”
“Well I’m doing my first year in Europe just to expose me to a different area of medicine. I’ve realised that what we learnt in text books is one thing and what we learn from different cultures and different people is something no teacher can teach us. It’s a culture that we will learn and it’s a different way of doing medicine as we do here in San Pedro, compared to Belize City, compared to England, compared to the U.S. Anywhere around the world I can get that exposure, I’ll take that opportunity. It’s something that I believe can only b beneficial to my career.”
Durgha Shanmugan, who was born in Sri Lanka and raised in California, is currently studying the basic sciences. She finishes in August and starts her clinical practice in September.
Durgha Shanmugan, U.S. Medical Student
“I have decided to go to England. So when I go to England, I’ll be doing my rotations there, and then I’m going to study for the boards and take my boards as well.”
“I eventually want to do my rotations in Los Angeles, but I want to do my third year, the core rotations, in England just for the experience. I haven’t had any experience before, and I think the experience will help me understand more, and at the same time I will study for the boards and do my fourth year in Los Angeles.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Why the experience in Europe?”
Durgha Shanmugan
“I was told by many people that you get more hands on experience in Europe it’s social medicine and you’re able to interact with the patients more.”
The Belizean students are not going it alone though, a couple Belizean teachers lecture at St. Matthews. Robert Coye, an internist by training, is now an assistant professor of anatomy.
Robert Coye, Assistant Professor of Anatomy
I love teaching, and it was an opportunity for me to do teaching as well as I’m working in areas here, which I think is quite progressive. There are looking into developing more community outreach, with respect to the medical students, get them more involved in community regards, prevention, patient education, more community advocacy type work, preventive medicine. For example, we recently developed a programme with a tobacco prevention specialist from the state of Wisconsin.”
Giovanni Solorenzo, Belizean Lecturer
“A typical day for me entails coming to the university at 6:30 in the morning, getting my text books ready. I start teaching at 7:00, my course is the only one that starts at 7:00. I teach the students how to do a physical examination. I think it’s a very wonderful experience. It keeps me updated, I keep on studying and it’s as a primary care physician, it’s a very good thing to do because I’m able to keep on top of things.”
St. Matthew’s University was established in 1997. Tomorrow is a proud day for the university school of medicine, as it holds its inaugural graduation ceremonies for eleven doctors.
Marybeth Downs, V.P., St. Matthew’s School of Medicine
“We will have our students and faculty here to send off our new graduates, who will be receiving their diplomas, and after the ceremony they will be doctors. They mill be M.D.s and they will be certified to practice medicine. It’s going to be a really exciting ceremony. We’re really excited about it. we’re going to have the ceremony take place on the beach.”
Pedram Mizani of Iran is one of the medical students who will be graduating tomorrow.
Pedram Mizani, Graduates on Saturday
“Walking down the streets knowing that this was the island that I actually got my degree at, it feels great. Hopefully one day I could come back and help out the people over here. I understand there’s going to be a hospital built…it’s a great feeling to know that this island is actually moving up much faster than expected.
Ann-Marie Williams for News 5.
For Belizeans interested in studying on a scholarship at St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine you can log on to the school’s website for more information at www.stmatthews.edu or contact the Ministry of Health.
