WILLEMSTAD - The Avalon University School of Medicine here in Curaçao held a press conference yesterday to announce that they Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Profession (CAAM-HP) has also granted them accreditation. This is the second important accreditation in a row. Avalon is one of only two medical schools out of the 80+ schools in the Caribbean that have been accredited.

This accreditation is extremely important because starting the year 2023 individuals applying for the certification of the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates), must be a student or graduate of a medical school that is appropriately accredited. In fact, the school must be accredited by an accrediting agency that is officially recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME). So far, WFME has recognized 20 accreditation bodies across the world, including CAAM-HP and ACCM

According to Dr. Shokat Fatteh, Chancellor of the school, the administration, faculty, and students of Avalon are excited about obtaining both CAAM-HP and ACCM accreditation, which enables the students and graduates to sit for the United States Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE). They can practice medicine in the United States.

According to Dr. Fatteh, who traveled to Curaçao for this announcement, this is good news for Curaçao. Students from other countries can come to the island and start their medical education here knowing that it will be accepted in the U.S. and other countries.

Avalon currently has about 80 students on campus on the island. But in total has 200 students with the ones in the U.S. The school has a staff of about 25, of which 15 are medical faculty and 10 are no teaching staff.