*The 3-year first-time residency attainment rate is the weighted average of the 2022-23, through 2024-25 academic years. For each year, the rate is the percent of students attaining a residency out of all graduates or expected graduates in the year who were active applicants in the NRMP match in that year or who attained a residency outside the NRMP match in that year. The 1-year first-time residency attainment rate is 95% for 2024-2025 graduates.
AUC Breast Abnormalities Project Screens 756 Women in Sint Maarten
Minister of Public Health Richinel S. Brug with AUC professor, Dr. Naira Chobanyan and AUC students
AUC School of Medicine, in collaboration with the Positive Foundation and the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor, hosted a free breast health screening event in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, on March 28. The initiative has now served 756 women and aims to reach 1,000, while also providing health education to more than 250 students.
More than a dozen AUC students under the supervision of clinical medicine fellows, Drs. Simelda and Skinner provided women with general health assessments that included taking history, checking a vital sign, calculating body/mass index, measuring waist circumference, visual acuity, blood glucose and cholesterol level. Each screening also included a free clinical breast examination by Dr. Naira Chobanyan, clinical oncologist, and professor of clinical medicine at AUC.
Minister of Public Health Richinel S. Brug paid a courtesy visit to the screening session. "These screenings are a vital service to our community, providing women with the opportunity to take proactive steps in monitoring their health. I commend AUC, CPS, and the Positive Foundation for their dedication to improving breast health awareness and early detection”, stated Minister Brug.
Participants attended a presentation of the risk factors for breast cancer, demonstration of the clinical breast exam and breast abnormalities on plastic models, as well as assessment of individual risk for breast cancer in participating women over 35. Results of this study are vital for understanding the prevalence of breast abnormalities within the population of Sint Maarten. All results will be reported to the Ministry of Health to help establish policies for the screening of breast abnormalities and cancer.
A major educational outcome of this project is developing a learners-as-educators model, which is a unique teaching tool for medical students to cascade medical knowledge from faculty to fellows to medical students to community. It was developed by Dr. Naira Chobanyan, a principal-investigator of the project from the AUC team.
For medical students and clinical medicine fellows, each health and breast screening event is an opportunity to work side-by-side with patients while practicing clinical and communication skills. Students spend much of their time explaining the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of breast cancer, and answering questions about personal breast health and self-care. In addition to the benefits this research brings to the community of Sint Maarten breast cancer awareness and education, clinical fellows and medical students are afforded an opportunity to gain real-world clinical experience. By working with real patients, conducting interviews, and performing an overall health assessment, medical students could enhance their preparedness for clinical rotations.
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