Got dismissed from Caribbean medical school after failing step one :(.

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

ocean2121

New Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
3
Reaction score
1
I got dismissed from a Caribbean medical school after failing step 1. Can anyone tell me what are my options at this moment? Any opinions good or bad, I want to hear it.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Probably better to find another career. Even if you do manage to gain acceptance to another Carib med school, the chances of you landing a residency are slim to none.
 
You can try going to another Caribbean school. Where did you get dismissed from?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
How many times did you fail Step 1, by the way? SGU gives you at least 2 chances to pass it before deciding to dismiss you. If you submit a well-organized appeal with a detailed plan for study and remediation, they may give you a third chance.
 
Last edited:
It was SGU. Thanks for reply.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You can probably apply to a lower tier school who will let you take the step. I don't know if AUA would give you a chance, but maybe windsor or st. matthews ( I think that what it's called, on St. Lucia) would take you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You can probably apply to a lower tier school who will let you take the step. I don't know if AUA would give you a chance, but maybe windsor or st. matthews ( I think that what it's called, on St. Lucia) would take you.

How easy is it to get an internship and residency after that, though? It might just be better to cut your losses and find another career path.
 
How easy is it to get an internship and residency after that, though? It might just be better to cut your losses and find another career path.

True, but that's the OP's decision to make.
 
You can always try other Caribbean schools, however most of them will require you to start all over at MS-1.

Another option would be trying the Philippines. Good luck
 
I'll start off by saying I'm very sorry if I upset you at all with my post. You're in a very awful situation and I can only imagine how terrible it must be. It will work out one way or another.

Now... You can attempt rematriculation into another Caribbean medical school, but your options really start to become limited. Since you've already failed Step One twice, your options are already limited for licensure after residency. Some states only allow two attempts per any USMLE step exam. Most states allow three or unlimited attempts for licensure. So even though you go to a school that allows for licensure in all 50 states, you've become limited due to your current situation. See this FSMB licensure website for details in each state; <http://www.fsmb.org/usmle_eliinitial.html>. If you've already ruined your licensure possibilities for whatever state you want, then perhaps you should go to Plan B (see below) and so on.

PLAN A
Theoretically, it can still workout for you. You're going to have to set your residency options very low. Your only honest chances of matching would be in fields like family medicine, psychiatry, pathology, and possibly pediatrics. And even with that, it's going to be very difficult. You'll need to apply to AT LEAST 100 residency programs. I would suggest 200-300 (~100 each specialty). The reason for needing so many is that your application will be screened into the "No Interview" pile for so many programs (which means not matching there). One of the other things you'll need to do if you make it to clinical rotations is be absolutely stellar. You'll need to do well on rotations and try to impress as much as possible at potential residency programs. Often times a person may not meet the screening criteria of a particular program during match applications, but they'll still get an interview because they did a rotation there (two of my interviews were like this, I would've never gotten an interview had I not been a student there). Now, about which schools to attempt... You had best do yourself a favor and try anything you can to get back into SGU (post aboves mentions it is possible to get back in after two fails). If you can't get back into SGU, then you should go for something like St Matthews, AUA, etc.

PLAN B
Apply to D.O. schools. They do equally well, or better, than us Carib M.D.'s in the match. In fact, at this point, if you could get into a DO school, don't even screw with the idea of continuing with Plan A, unless perhaps you can get back into SGU. And even then, you're residency opportunities are WAY better if you got into a DO school at this point.

PLAN C
Being a medical physician is a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding. On the other hand, there are lot of great healthcare professions outside of medicine per se. Consider other great options... Dentistry, Optometry, Podiatry, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Pharmacist, etc.

PLAN D
Law school doesn't seem to be too bad either.

PLAN E
Get a Ph.D. and become a professor.

No matter what you choose to do, you're young and you have your whole life ahead of you. You'll be okay. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
B,C, and E... but how about just MPH or Masters?
 
B,C, and E... but how about just MPH or Masters?

Nice little thread necromancy... I'll bite.

If you want to do hands-on clinical work, which is what most physicians who start medical school want, then option "C" - specifically Physician Assistant - I think is the best choice. There are a lot of programs who would take you. This is a growing field.

Of course, the OP was over 2 years ago. Would be interesting to know what happened. It looks like they were asking about AUA. Either way, hope it worked out. If you made it all the way to Step 1, then you were doing something right. PA school would probably be a breeze at this point, and give you a good living.

-Skip
 
Top