Fifty years of clinical examinations at the University of the West Indies

The University of the West Indies was founded at Mona, Jamaica, in 1948. After fifty-two years, the format of the final Bachelor of Medicine clinical examination in Medicine and Therapeutics has been radically revised. The change from the traditional to an evidence-based, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was undertaken in November/December 2000. Assessment drives learning and both the methods chosen for assessment and the manner in which they are applied determine how students learn. The philosophical underpinnings of the change in format are discussed in this paper.

Research, health policies and health care in the Caribbean. The role of the University of the West Indies

The University of the West Indies has had a major impact on the provision of health care and the health of Caribbean nations over the last 50 years, through undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education, research, outreach and public service. These roles are fully accepted, and the Faculties of Medical Sciences and School of Clinical Medicine and Research have provided most of the doctors now serving the English-speaking Caribbean, including academic leaders and chief medical officers. The design of a curriculum to produce doctors "designed" for the region has been a well-articulated goal, and the need to carry out relevant and essential national health research is now accepted. But the broader roles of ensuring translation of research into policy and practice, and developing effective ways of promoting on-going continuing training and behaviour change are far from understood or seriously attempted. Communication of research findings and evidence-based practice is crucial. The West Indian Medical Journal clearly has a valuable role to play here and this requires expansion and support. But a multi-faceted approach to communicating research findings and translating evidence into policy, planning and care is necessary. One possible approach would be a University Unit of Health Policy Research and Development.

Neurological and neurosurgical referrals overseas from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados, 1987-1996

This paper reports on neurological and neurosurgical referrals overseas from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) for the period November 1987 to November 1996, and is a follow up to an earlier report for the period January 1984 to November 1987. It outlines the pattern of referral, diagnoses, referral centres and costs based on examination of the files of all QEH patients transferred overseas under a government aided scheme. There were 203 transfers of 191 patients (69 males, 122 females) including 10 patients who were transferred twice and one patient who was transferred three times. Patients' ages ranged from 1 to 80 years (mean 37 years). Twenty overseas centres were used during the period but most patients were transferred to Brooklyn Hospital, New York in 1988, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, between 1989 and 1994, and Hospital de Clinicas Caracas, Venezuela (1992 to 1996). 65of the referrals were for neurosurgery and 25were for magnetic resonance imaging scans for diagnosis. The largest diagnostic categories were central nervous system tumors (40) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (25). Estimated costs reached almost BDS$11 million, but the mean actual cost was BDS$63,916 based on information from 123 patient transfers. Thus, the actual total government expenditure was probably closer to BDS$13 million. This study demonstrates the urgent need to establish a neurosurgical service at the QEH and the cost effectiveness of doing so.