The Dundee Education Environment Measure was self-administered in 2004 to undergraduate medical students in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Mona, Jamaica. The students-centredness and friendliness of the educational environment needs to be optimized.

The increasing pace of new developments has been challenging but a coordinated response is vital if The University of the West Indies is to continue to attract the brightest and the best and to lead the way as the premiere provider of quality medical training in the region.

An observational cross-sectional study of seatbelt utilization conducted in Kingston, Jamaica, showed 81.2% utilization by private motor vehicle drivers and 74.0%, by front seat passengers. This was significantly improved compared to 21.1% and 13.6% respectively in 1996, before the introduction of legislation in 1999 (p < 0.001). Females were significantly more likely than males to wear seat belts, both when driving (92.5% vs 77.3%; p < 0.001) and as front seat passengers (79.9% vs 66.3%; p < 0 001).

Student self-assessment is a useful method of promoting learning through recognition of strengths and weaknesses, understanding the relevance of core learning objective and encouraging responsible learning behaviour. The study examines the accuracy of medical students self-assessment of their performance in a paediatric clerkship objective structured clinical examination. Students overestimated their performance at some stations and underestimated at others.

Elderly surgical patients at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, had less emergency admissions, underwent more surgery, had a longer mean hospital stay, a higher mortality rate and a greater mortality amongst emergency admissions. Cancer was the commonest admission diagnosis and that amongst mortalities.