Despite increasingly strict immigration laws in various countries, the demand for skilled professionals, especially in the medical field, remains strong, according to Bradley Wade, Regional Director for Student Recruitment for Africa at St. George’s University School of Medicine (SGU).
Wade noted that countries like the United States continue to favor skilled legal migration regardless of political administration. “Doctors are highly sought after as a skilled profession. There is a huge shortage of doctors in the US, so we have never really had any problems with our students being able to access the US,” he said.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) projects a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians in the U.S. by 2036. This growing gap has fueled interest in international medical schools like SGU, based in Grenada, West Indies.
SGU has seen increasing enrolment from Kenya, one of its fastest-growing markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nine Kenyan students were admitted in the latest intake, with pathways to practice in both the US and the UK. Students begin pre-clinical training in Grenada, followed by clinical rotations in over 60 affiliated hospitals in the US or 17 in the UK, through a partnership with Northumbria University.
One aspiring student, Shelmith Muriungi, who attended an SGU-hosted medical ethics lecture in Kenya, expressed excitement about the opportunity. “The flexibility to work either in the US or the UK broadens my future ambitions,” she said, adding that she expects both academic and emotional support from the university’s international environment.
SGU is currently the world’s largest provider of new doctors entering first-year U.S. residencies. Wade revealed that the university enrolls about 15 students annually from Sub-Saharan Africa and aims to increase this number to 75.
While the full four-year tuition fee stands at Ksh 48.6 million ($376,986), SGU offers partial scholarships, bursaries, and loans to support deserving but financially challenged students.
So far, SGU has produced over 23,000 doctors, with 15,000 practicing in the US and UK, and others working across more than 50 countries.
