Two medical teaching programmes at The University of the West Indies (UWI) have been extended accreditation status from the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) 2009. The UWI Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Veterinary Medicine programmes both received accreditation and commendation from CAAM-HP.

In extending the accreditation status of the UWI MBBS to 2012, CAAM-HP commended the University on the progress made in the governance of the Faculty of Medicine across campuses. CAAM-Hp also congratulated the leadership of the School of Veterinary Medicine for the successes evident in the programme.

CAAM-HP is the legally constituted body established in 2003 under the aegis of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), empowered to determine and prescribe standards and to accredit programmes of medical, dental, veterinary and other health professions education on behalf of the contracting parties in CARICOM. On its official website (www.caam-hp.org), CAAM-HP defines “accreditation” as “an objective peer review process designed to attest to the educational quality of new, developing and established educational programmes.”

The CAAM-HP accreditation process aims to certify that a medical education programme meets prescribed standards, and to promote institutional self-evaluation and improvement. Acting independently of the participating countries, the CAAM-HP makes periodic evaluations of the medical, dental and veterinary education programmes in CARICOM countries. In preparation for the upcoming full survey visit by CAAM-HP to the UWI campuses in 2012, the University is now preparing to conduct an institutional self-study from the medical teaching programme during the year 2011.