Cornell to open branch med school in Qatar

Expansion is the first but not expected to be the last as universities see opportunity for growth beyond U.S. borders.

By Jay Greene, AMNews staff. May 21, 2001.

Officials of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York said they have plenty of time to address outstanding U.S. accreditation issues before their new branch campus in the small Persian Gulf country of Qatar opens in 2004.

Cornell surprised many in the U.S. medical community when it announced last month that it will establish a medical school campus outside the country. More than 30 U.S. medical schools have exchange programs or clerkship arrangements with international medical schools. But Cornell's 11-year, $750 million contract with Qatar to establish that country's first medical school marks the first time a U.S. medical school has exported its educational program.

The plan raises at least one important question for the Liaison Commission on Medical Education, the volunteer body that accredits the nation's 125 allopathic med schools: Will Cornell med school graduates in Qatar be considered U.S. medical school seniors for purposes of matching with a U.S. residency program?

If considered graduates of a U.S medical school, as Cornell officials believe, it would be the first time that students trained outside U.S. territories could avoid residency training certification requirements established by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. [...]