To become the supplier of the best possible education and training in health sciences, preparing students from across the world in an effective and efficient way for the realities of best quality contemporary healthcare practice.

IUHS operates a charter granted by the Government of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, West Indies. The Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and the post graduate MD / MS / MDS Degree from the International University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine is recognized by the Medical Board of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, West Indies. The International University of the Health Sciences is listed in World Health Organization’s World Directory of Medical Schools, 7th Edition. As a result of this listing, the Educational Commission of Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) permits IUHS MBBS graduates to sit for licensing examinations in the United States (USMLE 1 and 2). The graduates from IUHS, St. Kitts, are eligible to appear for the Licensing Exams worldwide including USMLE, PLAB, MOH & MCI Screening Test, subject to any local laws. Each IUHS student is obliged to determine the medical licensure requirements of the jurisdiction(s) in which he / she opts to practice medicine.

International University of the Health Sciences has considered carefully the many independent reviews over the decades of the shortcomings of the ‘traditional’ approach to medical education, based on didactic lectures Presented by independent departments using a Flexnerian model. It has recognized the validity of many of the criticisms that suggest that this approach is neither efficient nor the most appropriate to the needs of contemporary medical graduates, and of course, of their patients. And it has accepted the view that problem based course is like to meet student needs at least as well as the ‘traditional’ approach, if not better. It has also evaluated the many reports of the performance of graduates from PBL courses and has concluded that they are, indeed, at least as good, and in many instances significantly better at preparing students for certifying examinations as well as for a life in medical practice.

IUHS recognizes that the nature of medical practice is undergoing a process of rapid change, arising out of new information and interventional technologies, new biomedical knowledge and new roles and practices, new approaches to care and styles, and much more. Medicine has probably never undergone such a rapid process of continuing change as at present. Rather than simply adopting a ‘me too’ approach and hiring Faculty to teach courses in the same ways as they have in the past, IUHS has determined to base its educational program on the realities of contemporary medical practice. The program is based entirely around the development of relevant and appropriate knowledge and skills that will enable a new graduate of IUHS to fit in study which reflect the patterns of disease in the community as well as the roles that medical practitioners must play in managing the burden of illness.

Further the traditional curricula include many activities and studies which are no longer relevant in today’s style of practice – for example experimentation on animal’s preparation of histological specimens, dissection of specimens and many others. IUHS has reviewed critically the knowledge and skills that are relevant to the needs of a new graduate, through reviewing the work, roles and activities of doctors, and has eliminated those aspects of the curriculum that are not necessary (replacing them with up-dated alternatives where appropriate)

IUHS has noted with growing concern the burgeoning of biomedical information and the progressive specialization and sub-specialization in the domain. Courses are taught in isolation from each other as well as from clinical practice and relevance. Studies show that the knowledge acquired in this discipline-based structure cannot readily be accessed and used in another context (for examples applied to a clinical problem)

Clinical reasoning is a vital professional skill, enabling the user to apply their content knowledge flexibly and appropriately in reaching a diagnosis and coming up with a management plan for each patient. The skills must be learned, and it can only be learned through provision of structured opportunities to try it out and improve it. IUHS has determined that a case-based approach to study (problem-based) is not only the best way to integrate the knowledge, but also the best way to provide opportunities to develop the skill of clinical reasoning. Ample opportunity to test that skills development is made available through the extensive program of clinical involvements with patients.

IUHS has identified many opportunities where the use of appropriate technologies can greatly enhance the student learning experiences, as well as making them more efficient and cost-effective. There are large numbers of prepared materials on CD, resources and sites on the World Wide Web and study guides in Power Point that can add greatly to the learning experience of students, as well as exposing them to up-to-date materials and to the ways in which they will continue to keep up to date after they graduate.

Furthermore the use of technology enables IUHS to introduce a greater level of flexibility, which permits students to study when, where and how suits them best, as well as to repeat studies as and when they feel in need of this. The need for all students and Faculty to be co-located in a single building can be overcome, and the differing needs and schedules of different students can readily be accommodated. For example students can contact each other or Faculty on or off campus by Email at any time and seek advice, support and / or expertise.