Any caribbean med students/grads willing to share stories?

[McGillGrad]

Wondering that myself, maybe he means it's not as competitive once you get into the school. So it might be less competitive to get in (more students admitted), but since you then have lots of classmates, there is more competition among students and they are looking to empty up some seats. That's the only way his statement could be somewhat coherent.

This guy is all over the map with his comments. He has no consistency and speaks with all types of generalizations (with a taste for hyperbole) when talking about Carib schools.

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[cheezer]

let's continue with the success stories everyone! yay

 

[JoeNamaMD]

Ross seems to have looser admissions policies than the other schools and therefore there is more intense competition once you enter Ross. The attrition rate at Ross is much higher than SGU and AUC.

 

[bulletproof]

Ross seems to have looser admissions policies than the other schools and therefore there is more intense competition once you enter Ross. The attrition rate at Ross is much higher than SGU and AUC.

that Ross admits some students that will never become doctors. I agree. I disagree with your contention that there is "more intense competition". There is only you and the material. You master it or you don't. Ross does have an MPS, set at like 65% or 70% to pass. But that is a good thing. If you are not at least getting those marks then getting through the boards will be a lot more difficult. I think currently to get off the island you need to have greater than like a 2.7 GPA or something ridiculous. A "B" average is not exactly crazy competitive in Med. school.

As for the attrition rates,I've addresed that in other threads. Suffice it to say that folks leave Dominica for many reasons. Inability to sustain a medical school curriculum is one of those reasons. Inability to live in Dominica is another. Then there are personal issues etc.

*End thread hijack*

 

[premed85]

well, i'm no longer a caribbean student, and i haven't graduated yet, but i like this thread and i'd hate to see it fade away, so i'll share my story.

so my story is pretty much a nightmare in terms of being a premed, and some people may end up going to the caribbean instead of trying to better their applications to get into a US school because of stories like mine. i was always a premed throughout college because it was sort of the thing to do, but didn't really know i wanted to be a doctor until senior year when i did some volunteering and shadowing. i messed around my first couple of years, ending up with an F and a bunch of Cs on my transcript, but got it together somewhat later on and ended up graduating with a 3.0 from a top 20 university. i took the mcat and got a 27. I knew those numbers weren't going to cut it, so i started the process of improving my application.

i retook the mcat, got a 33, double digits in all 3 sections. i enrolled in the georgetown smp and finished with a 3.3 there. i applied for the first time, no luck.

i took up a research job, kept up volunteering, and applied for a second time. nada.

the third time around, i applied to allo, DO, and sgu. i shadowed a DO to get the DO letter, kept volunteering, and kept up with the research. by this time i had two published abstracts, the papers for which were in the process of being published. i got into both DO schools and sgu and chose sgu.

so yeah, i did everything i could think of to better my app. i retook the mcat, did a master's program, did research, volunteered, shadowed, had meetings with the dean of admissions at my state school to talk about my application and get to know him, and still ended up at sgu, which i probably could have gotten into straight out of college. even having experienced all that, my advice to anyone thinking of just giving up and going to the caribbean is still to do everything you can to improve your application and reapply to US schools before going to the caribbean. i obviously feel it's worth it, otherwise i wouldn't have done it.

now on to my experiences at sgu. i feel like my few years off from school, working and living on my own, prepared me better for life on the island. i was used to taking care of myself and i wasn't sheltered like so many students at sgu are, especially those straight out of college. i had also been living away from my family and was seeing them only a few times a year for holidays, so it wasn't that big a deal to move away from them to grenada.

also, i feel i gained a little perspective in those two years off. i approached med school differently than i did college. i had a greater feeling of purpose, and i realized that sgu was providing a resource but it was up to me to take advantage of it and it was up to me to earn my degree and residency. and so i always went to class, tried to learn everything i could instead of "just what i need to know for the test," and pretty much went the extra mile. i still had fun and made a lot of good friends, played sports, and went out partying after exams, but studying became something i wanted to do rather than something i was trying to get out of doing.

so anyways, i got to sgu and first term i knew i just wanted to focus on studying and take care of business, so i didn't get into any extracurriculars. i ended up kicking butt, and began thinking about transferring. so second term, i took up some extracurriculars, took some extra classes/selectives, got to know some professors, and got some great letters of recommendation. in the meantime, my research got published, and i sent in my transfer applications and got accepted, and hence am no longer a caribbean student. now i'm finishing up my second year at a us school and getting ready for step 1.

sorry for all the text. i tried to cut it down a bit for you all

i didnt knwo you could transfer like that...how difficult was it to do that? and also, around how many hours of studying did you do per day while in med school?

 

[hopefool]

If someone was to do very well in a Caribbean med school program they are going to be at a disadvantage when trying to become an orthopedist because of not going to school in the US, correct?

Because of an undergrad gpa I will probably not be able to get into any US med schools, so I am looking into Caribbean schools because I want to have an MD and eventually go overseas to Africa and other underpriviliged areas. If I go to the caribbean my chances of getting a competetive residency match arent going to be good. What are the most competetive residencies and what are the least competitive residencies, in other words the ones that you can match at from Caribbean schools? Do some students just flat out not match anywhere after graduating from the Caribbean even after passing all their licensing exams?

i didnt knwo you could transfer like that...how difficult was it to do that? and also, around how many hours of studying did you do per day while in med school?

 

[Meatwad]

Some don't match into anything, but they were probably not smart when they applied for residency. Be willing to go anywhere and into any field and as long as you passed Step 1, you should be able to land a spot somewhere.

Hardest to Get (zero to a couple get these from Caribbean):

Plastic Surgery
Otolaryngology
Dermatology
Radiation Oncology
Ophthalmology
Urology

Quite Hard to get, but not impossible:

Diagnostic Radiology
Orthopedic Surgery
Categorical Surgery
Transitional Year

Not just anyone can get in, and is getting more competitive:

Anesthesiology
OB/GYN
Preliminary General Surgery

Easy to Moderate:

Pathology
Internal Medicine
Family Medicine
Pediatrics

If you had your hard set on Orthopedic surgery, it'd be a wiser career move to get a master's degree in the US and try your hardest to get in here. Saving a year or two by going to the Caribbean wouldn't be worth it if it meant having to practice a specialty you don't really want to for the rest of your life, in my opinion.

As of now, orthopedic surgery is not impossible to get, but you do need to do very well. It is very popular with US grads, though, and becoming more popular. The trend seems to indicate it will become more competitive, maybe making it's way into "ridiculously hard to get into" in a few years. No one can be sure, but it's reasonable to assume. Getting into primary care, on the other hand, will probably always be very attainable for the majority of medical students.

 

[AlleghenyPOD]

Nothing wrong with going into internal medicine. From there you can sub specialize in:

Pulmonology
Nephrology
Gastroenterology
Geriatrics
Cardiology
Endocrinology
Hematology
Infectious Diseases
Medical Oncology
Rheumatology
Nuclear Medicine
etc........

Just study study study! Have faith in yourself.

 

[premed85]

Some don't match into anything, but they were probably not smart when they applied for residency. Be willing to go anywhere and into any field and as long as you passed Step 1, you should be able to land a spot somewhere.

Hardest to Get (zero to a couple get these from Caribbean):

Plastic Surgery
Otolaryngology
Dermatology
Radiation Oncology
Ophthalmology
Urology

Quite Hard to get, but not impossible:

Diagnostic Radiology
Orthopedic Surgery
Categorical Surgery
Transitional Year

Not just anyone can get in, and is getting more competitive:

Anesthesiology
OB/GYN
Preliminary General Surgery

Easy to Moderate:

Pathology
Internal Medicine
Family Medicine
Pediatrics

If you had your hard set on Orthopedic surgery, it'd be a wiser career move to get a master's degree in the US and try your hardest to get in here. Saving a year or two by going to the Caribbean wouldn't be worth it if it meant having to practice a specialty you don't really want to for the rest of your life, in my opinion.

As of now, orthopedic surgery is not impossible to get, but you do need to do very well. It is very popular with US grads, though, and becoming more popular. The trend seems to indicate it will become more competitive, maybe making it's way into "ridiculously hard to get into" in a few years. No one can be sure, but it's reasonable to assume. Getting into primary care, on the other hand, will probably always be very attainable for the majority of medical students.

where does EM fit in with all this??

 

[Meatwad]

where does EM fit in with all this??

Ah yes, I knew I probably forgot one or two...

I think EM should probably be in the same category as orthopedic surgery. It's pretty popular with American seniors, and I don't see the trend leveling off or going down. By looking at the popular fields, it looks like (duh) lifestyle friendly residencies will continue to get more competitive (EM has shift work). The average Step 1 score for those matching into EM is really high.

Students in the Caribbean can definitely still get into EM, as is evidenced by the matchlsits of schools like SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba. I'd expect the percentage to decrease, though. Medicine is changing, so no one can accurately predict the future.

 

[JoeNamaMD]

Long term trends will see an increase in demand though for primary care physicians, so income might increase for those who are PCPs.

 

[Meatwad]

Long term trends will see an increase in demand though for primary care physicians, so income might increase for those who are PCPs.

I doubt it. The trend has shown an increased need for physicians for years now, with a decrease in compensation. With the political climate, I don't see this trend changing direction.

 

[LaCasta]

Nothing wrong with going into internal medicine. From there you can sub specialize in:

Pulmonology
Nephrology
Gastroenterology
Geriatrics
Cardiology
Endocrinology
Hematology
Infectious Diseases
Medical Oncology
Rheumatology
Nuclear Medicine
etc........

Just study study study! Have faith in yourself.

How do you get into subspecialties such as these? Do you first do a general IM residency and then do a fellowship in one of these categories? Or do you do the residency itself in a specialty like gastro, carido etc.

 

[McGillGrad]

How do you get into subspecialties such as these? Do you first do a general IM residency and then do a fellowship in one of these categories? Or do you do the residency itself in a specialty like gastro, carido etc.

Yes, you do the former.

 

[fbf]

I'd like to hear the successful transferring stories. I've heard a couple of people did it with no problem. How does it work? All you need is just good grades? Please tell us some more.

 

[Meatwad]

I'd like to hear the successful transferring stories. I've heard a couple of people did it with no problem. How does it work? All you need is just good grades? Please tell us some more.

Search for "transferring caribbean med school," or something like that. Also check out valuemd.com

Good grades are not enough. I remember the most vocal guy (can't remember his username) who successfully transferred. He had decent undergrad stats, a 4.0 at Ross, a very strong Step 1, and extracurriculars (tutored anatomy lab at Ross, stuff like that). He said, though, people with lower stats also transferred, and people with 4.0s also got rejected. Transferring from a Caribbean school will be 10 times more difficult to do than getting into a US medical school to begin with. Getting an SMP gives you better odds than trasnferring does.