Am I making a mistake?

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TTSD

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*SIGH* Okay, here's my story:

I'm going to be attending a Caribbean school next year (one of the top three). But now, I'm plagued with insecurities.

At first, I chose Caribbean schools as opposed to Masters (did not apply) or Post-Bacc (offered two, turned them down) for a number of reasons. Partly because I just want to get down to business and do something I really want to do, and the idea of being able to run away to a place where my family (I love them, but they cause so much emotional stress) will have a hard time following has its appeal.

I've already started previewing the material. Going over Biochemistry and Anatomy as in-depth as possible while having fun for my last quarter. Nothing really new in the material, just trying to committ them to memory.

I mean, I've had no aspiration to become the world's greatest neurosurgeon or anything for that matter. Just to be a good doctor, a general surgeon being my biggest ambition, perhaps go join the army and serve as well, or raise a family and then later do a stint with Doctor's without Borders.

But will going to the Caribbean hinder those dreams? I mean, I've been doing extremely well for the past two years, taking full-loads of ball-busting science courses, and I know it was my first two years in the basic pre-reqs that probably did me in and could probably be made up with a masters or postbacc.

But I think that going to the Caribbean will help keep an eternal light lit under my @$$, so I don't slip up and constantly remain on the edge to do well. But it's getting nerve wracking as I'm getting ready to go...

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take a look at your school and see if they have many former students doing general surgery. that would be a good way to see your chances (i dont believe general surgery is impossible for an IMG, i have heard its not that tough to get into). As for studyin hard for anat and biochem, i would suggest really learning your biochem well (the cycles especially, as well as various enzyme reactions) but as for anat...its so overwhelming and you have to learn so much i dont know how good it will be to study hard for it. most likely everything you have learned will only be really good for the first section of the body that you will do. if you start with upper limb, by the time you get to head and neck you will probably forget the majority of details when you get around to it. you seem to be very very close with your family...medical school will be very time consuming, and perhaps you should relax and spend more time with them. Also, as for pushing your studies back, it will be years before you practice as it it. with 4 years of medical school, 1 yr of internship and 2-3 years (or more) residency comes out to about 8 years from when you start school to when you practice. This is not considering if you take time off to study for USMLE or travel, or volunteer. if i was in your situation...i would just push through and do it now. leaving later will not make it any easier, and the quicker that you get through basic science the quicker you will be in the US for clinicals. again, as for your family coming too, i doubt that you would spend much time with them if they did, the first two years are pretty intense (and you have to be prepping for Step1).
As for going into the military, have u looked at Uniformed Services Medical College? They pay you to get do med school (but you have to serve as a doctor for a few yrs) and i think you have the rank of leiutenant (i am pretty sure i misspelled that...and misspelled misspelled) when you finish up. But again, you stated you wanted to push school back because of your family...when you work with the army as a doctor you probably wont see them for up to a year at a time. Perhaps you should go talk to a recruiter and he can let you know about maybe working with the army after your MD from the Caribbean. also, perhaps you can find a doctor who participates in the doctors without borders program to give you advice (Dr Kelso and Dr Todd from Sacred Heart Hospital would be able to help you out alot :thumbup: )
 
Hey TTSD.... I am in a similar spot as you are. My only difference is I am older(34) and am waitlisted at a couple DO schools. I can't see waiting another year to get started and from everyone I have talked to and information I have read I will not be making a mistake by going to the Caribbean. I aspire to be an ER doc and I forsee that being possible with a MD from the Caribbean. So if you really want to get started nright away then go for it!!!
 
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You are doing it right. I am about to go to caribean just like you.
 
I just want to add that having high USMLE scores, and doing a General Surgery residency at a top program DOES NOT GARANTEE licensure to practice medicine when it comes to IMGs (especially Caribbean). If you go Caribbean, be prepared for the fact that you might have to battle barriers to medical licensure in some states.

So PLEASE, check your state's medical licensure requirements before going to the Caribbean. For example, there are states that have banned Spartan University students from getting licensed. Also, Texas is making it almost impossible for Caribbean grads to get licensed in that state. Texas has a list of "Substatialy Equivalent" international schools, but does not include ANY of the Caribbean schools. And although California "approves" Ross, SGU, and AUC, it is NOT A GARANTEE for licensure. California & Penn. require that your clerkships be done at hospitals that participate in an ACGME residency program in the area of each of your clerkships. I do not know about SGU or AUC, but I can tell you that for Ross, YOU have to constantly request that each clerkship be "green book", which can be a pain in the behind, especially if your "clinical advisor" is in a bad mood.

I am saying this because many new Carib. students rarely think about Licensure. All they think about is getting a residency. At least for me, no one told me about these "licensure issue" before I went to the Caribbean. I only knew about these issues recently, and after I had already done most of my MS-3 rotations. I did my OBGYN core at a hospital with an AOA (Osteopathic) - NOT ACGME - OBGYN residency program, so now I am going to have to repeat my OBGYN core since I am planning on practicing in Penn.


Anyways GOOD LUCK, and no, you are not making a mistake IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING YOURSELF INTO. :luck:
 
definetly look into various states licensure requirements before attending a foreign medical school - its just common sense. Even if you are at a US medical school and do a clinical rotation at a non greenbook hospital you will run into licensing problems. having to redo rotations down the road simply shows that proper preparation was not taken by the student. Licensing is not the huge problem that you make it out to be. I know for a fact that the main states in which there are licensing problems are California (because they require sight visits), New York (same as Cali), Kansas (they want schools to be open for 15yrs before they give licensing to their students) and Texas and Indiana (i dunno why). If you choose a good Carib medical school and make sure that your rotations are all green (the hospital must have a residency for the clinical rotation you are doing), then you shouldnt have a problem with anything (if you do well on the MLE)
 
AmericanIMG said:
having to redo rotations down the road simply shows that proper preparation was not taken by the student. I

:laugh:

Sometimes it is difficult for a school (mine is Ross) to accomidate the preferences of every student. They will schedule you in a DO rotation, despite the fact that you told them many many many times to not schedule any DO. And once a schedule is out, Ross makes it very difficult to make changes.

So I had to make a choice:
Accept a DO rotation - or - sign a Leave of Absence and wait for at least 15 weeks for a schedule change.

Repeating an OB core will only take 6 weeks. So, which one would you choose. ;)
 
At SGU, all rotations are "green-book"
 
its too bad that ross just randomly places you in rotations, this could seriously affect your getting licensed down the road. the fact that you retook the rotation in a green-book doesnt get past the fact that you did a rotation in a non-green setting. i would seriously talk to the states board representative about this, because they might think that there might be a problem. i talked to pat park (the representative from California) a few weeks ago and i was told that if ANY classes were done in non-recognized settings you would automatically be declared ineligible for licensure in California, no loopholes. sorry if this isnt the news you want to hear, but it seems like taking that break would have been in your better interests...
 
I am going to a caribbean school, this was not my first choice, but I am so gone, as it gets closer to take that flight, my fears are increasing, but I plan to excel, or die trying. :scared:
 
Im surprised to hear that Ross isn't all greenbook, since it's "the top 3".
What caribbean schools offer only greenbook rotations, besides SGU? What is the website one can check the licensure reqmnts for the various states?
Im interested in IL, NY, CA, FL mostly.
 
AmericanIMG said:
its too bad that ross just randomly places you in rotations, this could seriously affect your getting licensed down the road. the fact that you retook the rotation in a green-book doesnt get past the fact that you did a rotation in a non-green setting. i would seriously talk to the states board representative about this, because they might think that there might be a problem. i talked to pat park (the representative from California) a few weeks ago and i was told that if ANY classes were done in non-recognized settings you would automatically be declared ineligible for licensure in California, no loopholes. sorry if this isnt the news you want to hear, but it seems like taking that break would have been in your better interests...

THANK YOU for sharing this information. :thumbup:

However, I have heard of Ross Students who had repeated their DO rotations, and have had no problems with California. That is why I am going to repeat mine, based on their experinces. Its my only option at this piont.

The hospital at which I did my DO rotation at was a teaching hospital affiliated with SUNY Downstate, Ross, and NYCOM. It sponsors ACGME residencies in IM, Psychiatry, and FP (but not OBGYN). It also sponsors DO residencies in OBGYN, FP, GS, and Derm. It is "green booK", but just not for OBGYN.

If I had taken the 15 week Leave of Absence, I would have risked being withdrawn from Ross. Ross does not garantee a schedule change if you take the 15 week Leave of Absence. So If no schedule change is issued after this 15 weeks period, I would have been withdrawn. So, I am not really sure if I had a choice.
 
Hey TTSD,

If you don't know who I am my name used to be Slickness. Anyways, it sounds like a tough choice. You know though that my opinion is biased since I would have tried everything to avoid going out of CA much less going to the Caribbean. I still don't really know why you chose not to apply to DO schools particularly because you would have had no trouble being liscensed in CA.

However, I think if you're up for it just go ahead and do it. Just kick butt in your boards and your rotations and I'm sure you can get into a surgery residency. Sometimes you just got to take care of business. I wish you luck man. :)
 
General Surgery is fairly easy to get into these days if you have average board scores. I would not hesitate to go to a caribbean school. It sounds like you are already working hard, so you have a head start. Good luck.
 
Adapt said:
Hey TTSD,

If you don't know who I am my name used to be Slickness. Anyways, it sounds like a tough choice. You know though that my opinion is biased since I would have tried everything to avoid going out of CA much less going to the Caribbean. I still don't really know why you chose not to apply to DO schools particularly because you would have had no trouble being liscensed in CA.

However, I think if you're up for it just go ahead and do it. Just kick butt in your boards and your rotations and I'm sure you can get into a surgery residency. Sometimes you just got to take care of business. I wish you luck man. :)

Will you quit changin' names buddy? Bah! LOL. Actually, the only class I did bad in for a long time was stupid ecology. Swear to god.. hate that class. Tell me again why an 85 is a B-? LOL

Yeah, believe me, would've loved to stay in California with the California girls. Right now its a dilemma.. if there are cute chicks in the Caribbean I'll have fun but my grades might get screwed. If there are no cute chicks, I won't have fun but I might actually do well.. fudge.

But as for DO? Well, quite frankly.. I want the MD ;-).
 
TTSD said:
Will you quit changin' names buddy? Bah! LOL. Actually, the only class I did bad in for a long time was stupid ecology. Swear to god.. hate that class. Tell me again why an 85 is a B-? LOL

Yeah, believe me, would've loved to stay in California with the California girls. Right now its a dilemma.. if there are cute chicks in the Caribbean I'll have fun but my grades might get screwed. If there are no cute chicks, I won't have fun but I might actually do well.. fudge.

But as for DO? Well, quite frankly.. I want the MD ;-).
Yea I'm struggling to survive this last quarter. Just trying to get Bs this time. Last quarter I got a C+ in a class. :eek:

Good luck pickin up on the Caribbean chicks. :thumbup:
 
Licensure is not that tough for caribbean students. The only time that this comes into question is when you do a rotation in a hospital that does not have a MD residency in internal medicine or family practice OR if the rotation you do has a DO residency. Most states do not care, but there are about five states (listed above) that will give you problems if you do a rotation in a nongreen book hospital. All caribbean schools have a few of these rotations. The non green book rotations that Ross has are DO residency sites. But Ross has more clinical sites than any other caribbean school so its very easy to avoid these sites (as I am sure this is the case for sga and auc as well). Every caribbean school has a few of these non green book spots. If you are planning on going to one of the tough states, you need to let them know not to give you a clinical rotation that is not green book. I know this because a lot of the caribbean schools have the same rotation sites and therefor I have friends from about six different caribbean schools. After all of my experiances while rotating in several states and interviewing for surgery all over the country, I have not heard of one instance of a problem with getting licensed in any particular state. I am quite sure that the way rumors fly around that I would hear something bad if this were true. I have three good friends from ross starting residency in california, texas, and pennsylvania. None of them are having any problems what so ever. So if you go to either Ross or SGU I can assure you that there will not be a problem with this issue. Some of the other schools might have an issue with the states that require med schools to have been around for more than 15 years. If you are really worried about this, it is very easy to call the state medical board and just ask them. I hope this helps. :luck: good luck :luck:
 
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