BANGALORE, India : Manipal’s American University of Antigua, College of Medicine’s commendable commitment to knowledge sharing and thought leadership in the medical domain, both at community, as well as at an institutional level, have been outstanding. AUA’s mission of developing skills and an attitude of life-long learning is perfectly aligned with the practices followed by the leadership as a trickle-down effect. This has been, and is the perfect impetus for AUA students, to inculcate the mission as an integral part of their core values.
On 1st October 2022, Manipal’s AUA leadership participated in a global thought leadership conference on Reforming Medical Education conducted by BTA (BAPIO Training Academy) in Swindon, UK. Neal Simon (President – AUA) and Dr. Peter Bell (Provost – AUA) presented their insights on ‘Future of Medical Education’ and ‘Importance of Clinical Skills’ respectively.
Dr. Peter Bell also attended the first ever World Health Summit (WHS) along with Manipal’s AUA’s students Ms. Nana Konadu-Asare and Ms. Ashleigh Bates. The students had the honour of presenting their research on ‘Combating Childhood Obesity in Antigua’ in the Young Researchers Symposium at WHS2022. WHS is a unique international strategic forum for global health. This prestigious summit was co-organized by World Health Organization (WHO) in Berlin, Germany from 16th – 18th October 2022.
This year has interestingly witnessed an increasing number of enquiries from the Indian continent. Manipal’s AUA has been gaining prominence in the international medical education scenario through knowledge sharing. The intention of such initiatives is beyond enrolments, with a focus on creating awareness and sharing knowledge with medical aspirants, ambitious to earn an international medical degree.
With the start of the fresh batch of medical students of 2022 in Antigua and the pre-med students in MAHE, India, there is a rise in the number of students and parents seeking information and guidance. The inquirers have been predominantly parents posing questions, followed closely by students and counsellors seeking information about pursuing international medical education. The eagerness of realising the dream of becoming a well-rounded doctor, and being accepted as a healthcare provider in the international circuit is quite evident. Questions ranged right from simple steps for studying medicine in the USA, to clearing the licensure exams for becoming a global medical practitioner.
To ensure parents and students get the real picture of the international medical education ecosystem, and to empower them to take an informed decision, Manipal’s AUA, College of Medicine volunteered to facilitate a series of virtual interactions.
On 16th September 2022 AUA held ‘A Sneak Peek into a Medical Lecture’ to address the curiosity of the inquirers. Though virtual, this session served as one of its kind, a medical lecture that covered a brief on the curriculum of the first year of Medicine. The webinar saw two brilliant professors of AUA, Dr. Nagaraj Mysore and Dr. Ravindra Singh Rajput take the attendees through the lecture to give them a feel of ‘how’ and ‘what’ by demonstrating a sample clinical case. The efforts were applauded and received with great enthusiasm by the audience. In fact, the response was so good that the attendees requested a follow up of this ‘Sneak Peek’ session, which is being scheduled soon.
Further to address students’ and parents’ queries on MBBS in USA, primarily the opportunities for the Indian students to realise their dream of becoming a licensed medical practitioner in the USA, Ms. Kelley Taptich (Vice President of Student Acquisition) & Ms. Mamta Purbey (Associate Vice President, International Student Acquisition) shared some carefully charted out information in another virtual session on 22nd September 2022. They covered various aspects of undergoing undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses in the Caribbean, USA, Canada etc. towards becoming a global doctor. This session too, received a tremendously positive response from the students, parents and counsellors.
