The University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine offers a variety of elective programs of study in hyperbaric medicine.

The expanding field of hyperbaric medicine involves the breathing of high-concentrations of oxygen at significantly elevated pressures to provide therapeutic benefit in several clinical conditions.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy confers demonstrable benefits in select patients, chiefly through the reversal of hypoxia and the hastened removal of pathological gases (e.g., carbon monoxide). By these means, hyperbaric oxygen has become a prominent front-line or adjunctive component in the treatment of several clinical conditions:

 Decompression Sickness
 Gas Emboli
 Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
 Gas Gangrene
 Blood Loss Anemia
 Necrotizing Soft Tissue Injury
 Radiation Necrosis Injury
 Intracranial Abscess
 Problem Wounds
 Thermal Burns
 Crush Injury
 Refractory Osteomyelitis
 Compromised Skin Grafts and Flaps

For students whose medical studies are well managed, participation in a hyperbaric program provides the opportunity to expand scientific and medical experience.

 The diverse pathologies underlying the illnesses treatable with systemically active hyperbaric oxygen suggest that hyperbaric oxygen therapeutics are best understood and deployed in a multidisciplinary context.

 Students will receive valuable experience in both theory and practice but must recognize these programs are not currently recognized by a US based Hyperbaric and Undersea accrediting agency.

An additional advantage enjoyed by participants in the Programs of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine is that the opportunity for hands-on patient contact may occur as early as the first term of medical studies.

The clinical populations most likely to be encountered by medical students on Sint Eustatius in this context reflect the geographic intersection of scuba diving (recreational and industrial), which can lead to decompression sickness and gas emboli, and endemic systemic disease (e.g., diabetes) that commonly leads to the expression of problem wounds.

To accommodate the varied aptitudes and interests of medical students pursuing training in hyperbaric oxygen therapeutics on Sint Eustatius, a variety of academic programs have been developed.

Medical students should note that studies in the Programs of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine are typically undertaken concurrently with courses in the Basic Sciences in the University of Sint Eustatius. As such, enrollment in the Programs of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine need not prolong the stay of medical students on Sint Eustatius.

Health care practitioners and other interested persons are also welcome to participate in the programs.