I did not decide to become a physician until I was in my late 20's and did not actually apply to medical school until I was 30 years old. At this juncture in my life, I was happily married, had a 6-year-old daughter, and was well into my original career choice, which was as a firefighter and a paramedic. It was not at all easy to return to college full-time while I worked full-time and enjoyed my family. I knew that I wanted to be a physician, however, and was prepared to do what was necessary to accomplish this. My intention from the beginning was to matriculate into a United States medical school. Knowing that competition was fierce, I was a realist when it came to understanding that it was completely possible that I might not get accepted. It was at this point that I began researching international medical schools and the procedures that would be required to practice medicine in the United States were I to graduate from one of these schools. I quickly discovered that no complete resources existed to provide me with the information that I needed on schools located throughout the Caribbean region.

Consequently, this book was born. I have since graduated from Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia U.S.A. I completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at Dartmouth in New Hampshire and obtained a Master's Degree in Health Policy from the Dartmouth Institute. I continued to work clinically and hold the position of the Chief Medical Officer at a Dartmouth affiliated hospital. Subsequently, I was asked to lead the American Medical Residency Certification Board(r) and function as the Chief Executive Officer. I am very thankful for my education and training in the United States; however, I would have gone to the Caribbean without regret for my education had this been necessary.

This book will hopefully provide guidance to prospective students so that they, too, can matriculate into the medical school of their choice, whether it is in the Caribbean or elsewhere.Steven W. Powell, MD, MPH, CPE.