More details have come to the fore regarding all the reasons why Dr. José Humphreys’ name was removed from the register of medical practitioners licensed to practice in the State after the Antigua and Barbuda Medical Council investigated his purported qualifications and suitability for registration.
The details are contained in a May 2nd 2019 letter issued by the Registrar of the Medical Council, Cicely Dorsett, to Dr. Humphreys and his lawyer, Dr. David Dorsett – a document that has since been obtained by OBSERVER media.
The letter was apparently in response to documents Dr. Humphreys submitted this year in his continued bid to get his medical licence renewed, a process he started in September 2014.
Several significant issues were identified, the first of which is that the institution from which he obtained his medical degree in 2011, the American International School of Medicine (AISM) in Guyana, was not accredited at the time he completed his studies. Moreover, to date, it is still not accredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and other Health Professions (CAAM-HP).
According to the CAAM-HP website, this body was established in 2003 and is “empowered to determine and prescribe standards and to accredit programmes of medical, dental, veterinary and other health professions education on behalf of the contracting parties in CARICOM.”
The Medical Council also pointed out that when it looked into one of the same documents Dr. Humphreys submitted to support his application, the Ministry of Health in Guyana noted that “while the Government of Guyana approved the establishment of the AISM, it is required that the Guyana Medical Council must certify the graduates of AISM to practise medicine in Guyana.”
It was only on June 19th 2018, that AISM was accredited in Guyana – seven years after Dr. Humphreys graduated. Based on the findings of its investigations, the Medical Council wrote to Dr. Humphreys, saying, “This does not impact graduates, like yourself, who completed studies prior to the 19th June 2018.”
The Council also highlighted that during its investigations, as required by the Medical Practitioner’s Act, it consulted with the Chief Medical Officer in Guyana who again made it clear that while AISM is now registered with the Accreditation Council of Guyana, is still not registered by CAAM-HP.
Added to that, Guyana’s Chief Medical Officer advised Antigua and Barbuda’s Medical Council that Guyana “only allows the graduates of AISM to register as Interns after they have sat and passed one of the following regional or international medical exams – CAMC (Part 1, 2), PLAB or USMLE (Part 1, 2).”
The Medical Council, in its letter to Dr. Humphreys, indicated that the information regarding the medical exams was also reflected by AISM on its website.
OBSERVER media reviewed the website for verification and found that these exams are required, and it adds that the International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who wish to practice in the Caribbean must take the CAMC Parts 1 and 2 exams referred to as Caribbean Board Exams.
Read more in today’s paper