Questions to Ask Yourself Before Applying to a Caribbean School

[Bluejay87]

Now that medical school and the Match are over, I've been taking some time to reflect on my own experiences as well as those of my classmates. Going to one of the "Big 4" Caribbean schools paid off for me - I graduated and got into a nice residency program close to home. Many of my friends have similar success stories. But many others either failed out or have been unable to match.

With all of this in mind, I came up with a list of questions that anyone who is considering a Caribbean medical school should ask themselves before applying.

1. Have you seriously and thoroughly tried to gain admission to a US medical school?
- Applied to an adequate number of both MD and DO schools
- Completed a master’s degree or post-bacc program, or took other steps to address weaknesses in your application
- Applied in at least two different years

2. Do you have any red flags that will ultimately prevent you from obtaining a residency?
- Any criminal record aside from speeding/parking tickets
- Serious disciplinary problems
- Just because a school will accept you doesn’t mean that a residency program will hire you

3. Have you really asked yourself why you want to go into medicine?
- If it’s a tossup between medicine and being a librarian, go get that degree in library science

4. Will you be disappointed if you can’t go into a competitive specialty?
- Some Caribbean grads match into competitive programs and specialties, but you must understand that these are people who do extremely well in medical school - you will, statistically, probably be average and competitive specialties will not be an option for you as an IMG.

5. Similarly, will you be able to accept the fact that you will have to work harder and achieve higher test scores to land a less prestigious residency than your peers at American schools?

6. Do you have a financial plan, including what to do if you fail out?
- Unless you have a wealthy benefactor, you're going to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt
- A large minority of people who start at even the best Caribbean medical schools do not end up becoming physicians, but the debt is still there
- “It won’t happen to me,” isn’t a plan.

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[bedevilled ben]

Now that medical school and the Match are over, I've been taking some time to reflect on my own experiences as well as those of my classmates. Going to one of the "Big 4" Caribbean schools paid off for me - I graduated and got into a nice residency program close to home. Many of my friends have similar success stories. But many others either failed out or have been unable to match.

Good stuff. Much like you, I went to a Big 4 and it worked out, I got my #2 choice exactly where I wanted to be, and thankfully the vast majority of my friends Matched as well. But I do know a handful of people that either didn't make it through the program or failed to Match. Some of them were surprises, people that were smarter than me or better applicants. Some of them weren't.

It strikes me as somewhat of a Catch-22. The people that have the self-awareness and objectivity to critically examine their previous academic performance are probably the people that could succeed in Caribbean schools, but will second-guess themselves and choose not to go. Hopefully they're the ones that reconsider and end up in USMD/DO programs. OTOH, the ones that jump in blindly with poor scores and a high chance of failure won't bother or aren't able to honestly answer the questions you posed. These are the ones that fail out to attrition.

Then, I guess, there's the lucky fools like me who fall somewhere in the middle, that manage to muddle through despite ourselves. As a surgeon once told me in 3rd year: if I have to pick either lucky or smart, I'll pick lucky every time.

 

[Bluejay87]

As a surgeon once told me in 3rd year: if I have to pick either lucky or smart, I'll pick lucky every time.

Yes, this! As a fellow lucky fool, I totally agree.

 

[Sardinia]

The Caribbean question is one of the biggest black box questions to answer because there is no way for pre-med students to know that they are ready. Let me put it this way, there are students who have excelled in Masters/PhD programs and yet still find the coursework demanded by M1/M2 to be grueling. There is nothing analogous to the Step 1 exam. Nor can anyone predict being required to balance clinical/shelf study during M3. Now compound the first two years with being to a country you have likely never been to before. I've been on mission trips where I've slept on stone floors with foreign people for months and had no problem with that. But being expected to live in adverse conditions and perform at peak academic levels on a day to day basis where you must be disciplined enough to book an 8-12 hour for a week straight is taxing. I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone.

 

[bedevilled ben]

I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone.

I'd wish it on a select few. It made me a better person, and I hope, a better physician. But that's a lot easier to say standing on the other side looking back.

 

[PossibleDOC?]

What did you two match into if you don't mind me asking?

 

[bedevilled ben]

What did you two match into if you don't mind me asking?

Psych. For those of you just tuning in, an IMG-friendly specialty. Luckily it was the one I wanted and not a backup. Supposedly more competitive this cycle, will be interesting to see the Charting the Outcomes stats.

 

[Sardinia]

.

 

[Bluejay87]

What did you two match into if you don't mind me asking?

Family medicine. I actually had to go through the SOAP because I way overreached in the programs I ranked (in psych and peds,) so some of the lessons mentioned above were learned only very recently!

 

[PossibleDOC?]

Thank you!

 

[cassis_Cake]

Congrats to both of you guys for matching!

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

This thread pretty much falls in line with what I always say on these forums...

Caribbean is NOT a bad option if you want to end up in IM, FM, Peds, or Psych in a location that may or may not be your top choice... which will require much harder work than a US school, MD or DO alike.

On that note... Congrats to both the OP and Ben for matching.

Keep up the good work!