By St. George’s University
Each summer the St. George’s University Med/Vet Summer Leadership Academy welcomes high school and college students from all over the globe to Grenada. The mission? To provide aspiring veterinarians and physicians with an insider’s view of medical or veterinary school, a taste of Caribbean life, and enough insight on their future career path to help them make a well-informed decision on the rigors of their potential career.
The Academy was launched in 2003, teaching college and high school students through a series of lectures, small-group problem solving sessions, hands-on training, and practical labwork. This year’s lectures ranged from cardiology and neurology to musculoskeletal and gastroenterology and each is followed by sessions in the anatomy lab. The medical students’ clinical training included learning how to take a patient’s history and blood pressure, do a simple suture, and more. Vet students trained at the Elisabeth McClellan Small Animal Hospital on campus.
With the program now in its 10th year, St. George’s University was thrilled to welcome back Jefferson Forest High School from Virginia. Sharon Cree, one of two teacher chaperones who accompanied the students, said they were “intrigued” by Summer Academy when another teacher who had attended spoke highly about the experience in Grenada while at a Virginia Association of Science Teachers (VAST) conference. Jefferson Forest High has now been attending for three years and the program is seeing increased popularity among its students. Their cohorts have grown from six to eight to 11 this summer.
Two students, Glenna and Erynn, told us that they were drawn to the program by these reviews. Glenna is interested in a medical career while Erynn has an interest in veterinary medicine and, after completing the program, they have both said that it has helped cement in their minds that these are the career paths they wish to follow. Erynn commented: “Summer Academy has really introduced me to what the medical field is like. I honestly had no idea how much schooling I would have to do, how hard it would be etc. It is great that they told us this and so many more applicable things.” Despite her interest in medicine, Glenna was worried she might not be able to stomach medical school. She commented: “Participating in this program showed me that I’m not going to be grossed out at all and that was definitely a good thing to know.”
Ms. Cree believes that the program has brought tremendous benefit to her students. “There are so many activities,” she said. “Students are enriched in the recreational activities as well as the academics. It really gives them a feel for the medical field that they couldn’t get anywhere else that we are aware of. They are challenged in a lot of different ways and they have a lot of memories that they take back from this.”
High school students attend the academy for 10 days. College students attend for 12 days and their experience includes a medical leadership component featuring lectures on public health, business, and a “One Health One Medicine” session that explained how each ties into medicine and veterinary medicine. The academics are balanced out by water sports and other activities such as hikes through Grenada’s rainforests, staff/student game night, and a dinner cruise.
“Even though the program isn’t all work, we build fatigue into the programs because going to med school or vet school is rigorous and tiring, and they need to determine whether they can manage it and whether they like it,” says Heather Brathwaite, director of the Academy. “In most cases, it cements in students’ minds their commitment to medical or veterinary school. In rare cases where students have decided that medical or veterinary school is not for them, we’ve still achieved our goal.”
About St. George’s University
St. George’s University is a center of international education, drawing students and faculty from over 140 countries to the island of Grenada, West Indies. St. George’s is affiliated with educational institutions worldwide, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. The University has contributed over 12,000 physicians, veterinarians, scientists, and public health and business professionals who are studying across the world. The University programs are accredited and approved by many governing authorities. For more information, visit www.sgu.edu.

