Eleven medical students from Puerto Rico were welcomed to Loma Linda University School of Medicine this week following the closure of their former school.
Dr. Roger Hadley, dean of Loma Linda University School of Medicine, welcomes the transfer students from Puerto Rico, shortly after their arrival on campus this week. (Photo courtesy of Loma Linda University)
The students – two seniors and nine juniors – were among the 275 students, some from California, of San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Caguas, Puerto Rico, U.S., who were unable to continue their education after the school lost its accreditation early last month. The selected transfer students will resume their education at LLUSM and plan to graduate with the classes of 2012 and 2013, respectively.
“I feel it has been a blessing being here,” said Angie Lastra, 25, a senior, from Carolina, Puerto Rico. “We felt like it was the end of the world when our school closed, but now we are glad to be here. We are eternally grateful.”
On Oct. 3, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body for medical schools in Canada and the U.S., including Puerto Rico, issued a statement declaring that it had “withdrawn accreditation from the educational program leading to the MD degree at the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine.” The decision, they stated, was based primarily on inadequate clinical resources.
The displaced students made a plea to the Association of American Medical Colleges, which then sent a call out to 134 other accredited medical schools to consider applications from students seeking transfer.
The LLUSM Advisory Council, led by Dr. Roger Hadley, dean of the LLU School of Medicine, determined that the school had capacity to accommodate a number of the students seeking transfer, and was among the first medical schools to offer help. After a team of LLUSM faculty members flew to Puerto Rico to conduct personal interviews with the students, a special admissions committee meeting was held to determine those students who might be the best match for LLUSM’s program.
“The story of the Good Samaritan tells us that when one sees a person in need, we should stop, help and find a place for them to stay,” Dr. Hadley said
~Courtesy of Loma Linda University Medical Center
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I am a California resident and a first year medical student at San Juan Bautista School of Medicine.
First and foremost, I’d like to thank Loma Linda for opening their doors to our 3rd and 4th year students.
Secondly, I’d like to call attention to the fact that although Loma Linda “saved the medical education” of 11 SJB students, there are 265 students who do not have the same opportunity available to them. Of these 265 students, many of us are California residents and intend to practice in our resident state.
With the current shortage of physicians across the United States, it is imperative that all 276 SJB students gain acceptance into accredited medical schools. The AAMC has created a website indicating a limited amount of M.D. schools accepting transfer students from San Juan Bautista. A majority of the schools are interested in the 3rd and 4th year students, thus leaving us, the first year class, a limited selection. All of the SJB students have gone through the AMCAS application process, and we have all proven ourselves as hard-working and determined individuals. Therefore, all 276 students deserve to be placed in a LCME accredited M.D. program. We would like the LCME, AAMC, and AMA to work together and figure out a possible solution to placing all SJB students in accredited medical institutions.
Apart from the list of schools provided by the AAMC, the first year class has contacted nearly all of the medical schools across the United States inquiring about positions available for first year transfer students from SJB. Most of the schools reply with, “sorry, but we are only accepting students who have taken and passed their STEP”. Unfortunately, as first year students, we will have only completed 2 courses by the end of the academic semester; the rest of our courses are intended to end in May 2012.
The loss of San Juan Bautista’s accreditation directly affects residents of the Los Angeles Community. Students have moved from the Los Angeles area and given up their lives in California to attend medical school and pursue their dreams of becoming physicians. All 276 SJB students are bilingual and possess the compassion, knowledge and skills to cater to predominantly Latino communities like those that surround the Los Angeles area.
We all deserve the same opportunity for our medical education to be “saved” just like the 11 students who were fortunate to be given a second chance. Who will “save” the education of the remaining 265 students left at San Juan Bautista?
^nothing but entitlement. If anything you should consider yourself lucky, since youre only a first year and have time to start over. There are third and fourth years, who were getting ready to graduate and have 4 years of med school debt, who dont have a degree or a residency to go to.