History

Curacao, Dutch Caribbean

After the Second World War there was an acute shortage of physicians in North America and Europe. As a result, medical schools started establishing in the Caribbean and thus alternate pathways were created for medical students to enter the North American market. At the start of the 21st century the existence of Caribbean medical schools had become a common phenomenon.

While medical education in large countries are based on having a medical school attached to a (teaching) hospital, this is not the case in Caribbean medical schools. The Caribbean islands being small economies do not permit the luxury of having schools attached to a hospital. Instead, students complete part of their education (Basic Sciences) on the Caribbean island, and then transfer to another country to complete the clinical portion of their education (Clinical Medicine). This method has become an accepted pathway to completing medical education.

Curacao, the largest island and capital of the Dutch Caribbean, chose not to allow an international medical school to establish until 2001. At that time Mr. Jayantkumar Daryanani – an established business entrepreneur – had helped the government revive the economy and the inner city of Willemstad. The government was keen on having a medical school of high standing on the island, and they issued an exclusive Charter to Mr. Daryanani to make that happen.

The Catholic Church was responsible for setting up the initial schools and hospitals in the Dutch Caribbean. As part of the inner-city development, Mr. Daryanani had purchased a rundown property from the Catholic Church which was the where the first school of the Dutch Caribbean was established in 1863 and is recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. Mr. Daryanani re-developed the world heritage property and restored it to its former glory. He attracted an experienced team to the island and set up the first medical school in Curacao. What began as the St. Martinus College in the 1890’s was transformed in the St. Martinus University and within in 2003 the first medical school opened its doors. Staying true to his words, Mr. Daryanani ran the school alongside an experienced team and made sure his mandate was fulfilled and the school reached high standards. Within a few years after its inception the school’s first students started taking the USMLE examination and scored exceptionally well. The mandate was fulfilled. After being involved with the medical school for over 10 years, Mr. Daryanani chose to move on.

Paramaribo, Suriname

Suriname, a country nestled between British -and French Guyana on the north coast of South America, was a Dutch colony until 1976. While it was a Dutch colony, the development of Suriname was in many ways similar to that of the Dutch Caribbean. Just as in Curacao, the Catholic church had set up schools in hospitals in Suriname. The most prominent hospital is the St. Vincentius Hospital.

The Sint Vincentius Hospital was established by a Roman Catholic mission from the Netherlands. The Roman Catholic mission has been involved in healthcare in Suriname since the 19th century. It was mainly the Sisters of Charity from Tilburg who were active in this endeavor. The St. Vincentius Hospital was built on 19 July 1916. When the St. Vincentius Hospital was founded, it was under the inspiring leadership of the Sisters of Charity. The original hospital had 70 beds and had the characteristic of a nursing hospital. The hospital soon managed to gain a good reputation in the Surinamese community. The hospital was expanded in the 1950s with a financial boost from the Welfare Fund and grew to 200 beds. Organizational changes also occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1974 the hospital had 300 beds and was transferred by the Roman Catholic Diocese to the St. Vincentius Hospital Foundation. From that moment on, the management of the hospital was completely in Surinamese hands.

SAI University and Medical School

Having heard of Mr. Daryanani’s success with the medical school in Curacao, the management of St Vincentius Hospital (SVZ) reached out to Mr. Daryanani to see if he could do the same in Suriname as he had done for Curacao. Mr. Daryanani visited the SVZ and immediately realized the potential of having the medical school attached to the hospital. This would allow for a more traditional education program. Mr. Daryanani put together an ambitious plan to establish the South American International (SAIU), a healthcare university, at SVZ.

Just like in Curacao, the SVZ property is recognized as a historic site. Part of the hospital property was to be transformed into a medical school. SAIU has the following benefits as compared to Caribbean medical schools:

• SAIU has a dedicated hospital (SVZ) where its students can complete the Clinical Medicine portion of the program.
• SAIU has Post Graduates (PG) that are completing their specialization at SVZ. This allows the medical program to follow the more traditional form of medical education.

SAIU has academic excellence as a priority and in line with this seeks to maintain the highest level of accreditation. Medical education at SAIU will conforms with both North American and European standards.