WHERE TO STUDY Curacao
Become a healer at the Island of Healing Ever been to Curacao? Situated in the southern Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan Coast, this is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, famous for its coral reefs and scuba diving destinations. In Portuguese, the word ‘Curacao’ means the state of being cured. During the earlier times, a group of Portuguese sailors suffering from scurvy had landed in Curacao and cured themselves by eating a fruit containing vitamin C. Since then, it came to be known as the ‘Island of Healing’. Apart from being a picturesque tourist destination, Curacao is emerging as a major medical study destination in the Caribbean Islands. Among the institutes here, St Martinus University Faculty of Medicine, recognised by the WHO and the Medical Council of India, provides quality education Bureau
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constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Curacao is famous for the Curacao Dolphin Therapy and Research Center (CDTC), where patients suffering from physical or mental disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism, and down’s syndrome are given a chance to interact with dolphins under a unique programme. The therapy offered at CDTC uses the principles of behavioural therapy. Research has shown that interaction with dolphins can bring about improvement in the concentration capacity, or the ability of a patient to focus. Curacao’s association with healing
doesn’t end there. Today, it is emerging as one of the major medical study destinations in the Caribbean Islands. A scuba diver’s paradise and a tourism hotspot, Curacao has some beautiful coral reefs that makes it a progressive wellness destination as well. The cost of living in Curacao is comparatively low, so there’s no pressure on foreign students to take up part-time jobs while pursuing studies here. The only medical college in Curacao to be approved by the Medical Council of India, St Martinus University Faculty of Medicine (SMUFOM) offers students quality education. It is one of the two private medical schools in the Caribbean
that offers a two-semester-per-year system, consistent with the Liaison Committee on Medical Educationaccredited US, Canadian, and most medical schools around the world. St Martinus College was established in 1842 as the first school of the Netherland Antilles, run by the Nuns of the Catholic church, the Sisters of Roosendaal. In the 1990s, the Sisters decided to hand over charge to a team of professionals with the objective of turning this institution into a medical and health sciences university. After a complete renovation, the campus was transformed into SMUFOM. At SMUFOM, students are exposed
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FUTURE MEDICINE I August 2012