Caribbean MD what is it worth?

[makavelli]

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hey everyone just wondering what a caribbean MD can get you? Lets say you go to St. George and graduate with an MD but cant get into residency in the US. What are your options? Can you go to different countries and apply to residency there? Will they recognize your MD? my parents are from Dubai so im considering going back there to practice? will a caribbean MD degree with no residency get me anywhere? any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Richardh]

i don't think residency is limited to US for sgu students. i think sgu students can do residency in UK.

but if you want to do residency in US i think sgu require the students to take the usmle exams plus ecfmg exam. after that then the question of which state one wants to do residency will be answered 🙂

i am not familiar about how dubai accepts sgu gradutes but for each country i think it has different requirements. i am sure it will ask you to take exams before you can do residency or practice over there.

 

[Richardh]

since gaining residency in US requires you to take usmle exams and during your medical school years (in carribean) you will be asked to take Step 1 and Step 2, you might as well focus on gaining residency in US 🙂

(i don't think you need to take Step3. instead you will be asked to take the ecfmg exam)

 

[schandan13]

ECFMG is a certification, not an exam. If you clear the USMLEs, you become certified and your degree becomes equivalent to the US "MD" (this is more specific for those who do MBBS or MB,BCh from other countries).

As for an MD from SGU being worth something ? That depends on the requirements of the country you want to practice in. Most (if not all) have some sort of a screening exam/licensure exam which you need to pass in order to start practice. For the UK, i think it's PLAB, for Canada you sit for the canadian match or CaRMS. So, really, it's country specific.

If it's the US you are trying for, and you don't match in the first attempt (which is often the case for many non US citizen SGU grads) you take the year to strengthen your CV, make contacts, do research or something related to your field of interest and reapply. Worst case scenario that you don't match at all, well, then you drive a taxi. 🙄

 

[Richardh]

thanks for the clarification schandan13! great info also 👍

 

[medflava]

Go for a Caribbean medical school if you don't want a competitive residency. If you are going into Family Practice or Internal Medicine then you should go for it. Keep in mind that SGU is more expensive than a lot of US medical schools; however SGU will guarantee you a residency. And just because you went to a Caribbean medical school doesn't mean you cant get into a competitive residency, it's just that you have to try harder.

 

[Richardh]

good point ajprobashi! your advice is helpful 😀

 

[RussianJoo]

Go for a Caribbean medical school if you don't want a competitive residency. If you are going into Family Practice or Internal Medicine then you should go for it. Keep in mind that SGU is more expensive than a lot of US medical schools; however SGU will guarantee you a residency. And just because you went to a Caribbean medical school doesn't mean you cant get into a competitive residency, it's just that you have to try harder.

what? where does it say that SGU guarantees you a residency? This is the biggest load of crap I ever read.. if you think that you just have to go to SGU and a residency will be waiting for you when you graduate you're deeply mistaken. Every year over 100 SGU students don't match and don't get a residency. SGU doesn't help you with anything when it comes to residency match.

Bottom line is there's no substitute for US med schools if you want to practice medicine in the US. even if you want to do psych or FM it's infinitely better to go to a US med school, and if you don't nothing is guaranteed except for your medical school bills.

I can't believe people are actually naive enough to believe that. if you think SGU guarantees you a residency then I got a great set of slightly used boots to sell to you.

 

[RussianJoo]

good point ajprobashi! your advice is helpful 😀

I've read a lot of your posts which are just blatantly wrong... You really should do your research before giving others advice or commenting if others advice is good or bad.

AJ's advice is some of the worst advice anyone can get.

 

[schandan13]

Go for a Caribbean medical school if you don't want a competitive residency. If you are going into Family Practice or Internal Medicine then you should go for it. Keep in mind that SGU is more expensive than a lot of US medical schools; however SGU will guarantee you a residency. And just because you went to a Caribbean medical school doesn't mean you cant get into a competitive residency, it's just that you have to try harder.

 

[medflava]

what? where does it say that SGU guarantees you a residency? This is the biggest load of crap I ever read.. if you think that you just have to go to SGU and a residency will be waiting for you when you graduate you're deeply mistaken. Every year over 100 SGU students don't match and don't get a residency. SGU doesn't help you with anything when it comes to residency match.

Bottom line is there's no substitute for US med schools if you want to practice medicine in the US. even if you want to do psych or FM it's infinitely better to go to a US med school, and if you don't nothing is guaranteed except for your medical school bills.

I can't believe people are actually naive enough to believe that. if you think SGU guarantees you a residency then I got a great set of slightly used boots to sell to you.

You go to a US med school and US medical students are always pissed off at the Caribbean medical students; I don't know why. Not all US medical students match either. I even know of US medical students who don't pass the USMLE Step 1 the first time.

I've talked to enough US doctors who told me they should've gone through the Caribbean because it saves them a lot of time and headache in the long run. Going to a US medical school is very prestigous but who are you trying to impress if everyone takes the same test and I know doctors who went to Caribbean medical school that are radiologists, anesthesiologist, and in other competitive residencies...

 

[schandan13]

You go to a US med school and US medical students are always pissed off at the Caribbean medical students; I don't know why. Not all US medical students match either.

But the match rate is ALOT higher than it is for Caribbean graduates. What is it, like 97%? As compared to Caribbean graduates where it's 84% ? The point we're trying to make is that you are not only guaranteed a spot when you go to a US MD school, you have the option of actually picking and choosing the specialty you want to pursue. Carib grads don't always have that kind of liberty.

I even know of US medical students who don't pass the USMLE Step 1 the first time.

But they retake it and STILL match the very first time. On the contrary, if an IMG fails, they can pretty much kiss their chances of matching goodbye. Probably not impossible, but ALOT harder than it is going to be for a US grad in the same position.

I've talked to enough US doctors who told me they should've gone through the Caribbean because it saves them a lot of time and headache in the long run.

Well that was 20 years ago when there wasn't a mad rush for residency spots. Now people have to scramble even for family medicine. Of the top of my head i know 4 99/99ers who are appearing for the match this year. And god only knows how many such candidates are there in total. And what kind of doctors say that they should have saved "time" and "headache" ? If you ask me, that should be the absolute last criteria for choosing a school.

Going to a US medical school is very prestigous but who are you trying to impress if everyone takes the same test and I know doctors who went to Caribbean medical school that are radiologists, anesthesiologist, and in other competitive residencies...

It's not about impressing somebody. It's about having more opportunities and making life easier for yourself. That about sums it up i think. And, again, the specialties you mention, it may have been easier to match into them a while ago. But that isn't the case today. So the moral of the story is that there is no comparison to a US MD school. If you get a chance, work your behind off and try to make it. If not, a Caribbean school should be your absolute last option. No one here is saying that the Big 3 schools produce bad doctors or slackers, it's just about having a 97% chance at something as compared to an 84% chance.

 

[RussianJoo]

You go to a US med school and US medical students are always pissed off at the Caribbean medical students; I don't know why. Not all US medical students match either. I even know of US medical students who don't pass the USMLE Step 1 the first time.

I've talked to enough US doctors who told me they should've gone through the Caribbean because it saves them a lot of time and headache in the long run. Going to a US medical school is very prestigous but who are you trying to impress if everyone takes the same test and I know doctors who went to Caribbean medical school that are radiologists, anesthesiologist, and in other competitive residencies...

I wish I was a US med student. but in fact I just graduated from SGU..and I was lucky enough to match into one of those "competitive' specialties that you list, however, nothing was guaranteed to me, and many of my classmates didnt match even when they were trying to scramble for FM, Psych, or peds residencies. I am simply pointing out that you're providing false info to people who might take your gibberish as the truth.. As you're well aware you know what happens when you Assume...

 

[RussianJoo]

But the match rate is ALOT higher than it is for Caribbean graduates. What is it, like 97%? As compared to Caribbean graduates where it's 84% ? The point we're trying to make is that you are not only guaranteed a spot when you go to a US MD school, you have the option of actually picking and choosing the specialty you want to pursue. Carib grads don't always have that kind of liberty.



But they retake it and STILL match the very first time. On the contrary, if an IMG fails, they can pretty much kiss their chances of matching goodbye. Probably not impossible, but ALOT harder than it is going to be for a US grad in the same position.



Well that was 20 years ago when there wasn't a mad rush for residency spots. Now people have to scramble even for family medicine. Of the top of my head i know 4 99/99ers who are appearing for the match this year. And god only knows how many such candidates are there in total. And what kind of doctors say that they should have saved "time" and "headache" ? If you ask me, that should be the absolute last criteria for choosing a school.



It's not about impressing somebody. It's about having more opportunities and making life easier for yourself. That about sums it up i think. And, again, the specialties you mention, it may have been easier to match into them a while ago. But that isn't the case today. So the moral of the story is that there is no comparison to a US MD school. If you get a chance, work your behind off and try to make it. If not, a Caribbean school should be your absolute last option. No one here is saying that the Big 3 schools produce bad doctors or slackers, it's just about having a 97% chance at something as compared to an 84% chance.

I think 84% is too high. SGU put out an email a few years ago to the current students saying their match rate was 74% over the last 10 years, and we were the highest out of all carib schools. The NRMP's charting outcomes state foreign grads match at a rate of 47%..


AJ says it's guaranteed as if, if you don't match you get your money back type of thing. Like buying a TV or something. The fact is no one can guarantee anything but the odds of matching for a US med student are about double of the average person at a carib school.

I just wanted to know where he got the idea that a residency was guaranteed? When in fact former SGU grads who are now program directors and concurrently deans of SGU don't interview SGU student for their residency program because they feel that we're not good enough, and only interview US grads.

 

[makavelli]

Thanks for the responses guy. the reason i asked is i either have the option of going to Dubai for medical school or the caribbean. im not that good at standarized tests (21 MCAT) so im concerned about going to SGU doing poor on my boards and not matching in the US. What RussianJo is saying definitely worries me.

 

[makavelli]

Basically if I go to Dubai im guaranteed a job but im rolling the dice if i go the caribbean. my first choice would be to practice in the US but doing medicine in Dubai might be a more realistic option. Tough decision🙁

 

[RussianJoo]

Thanks for the responses guy. the reason i asked is i either have the option of going to Dubai for medical school or the caribbean. im not that good at standarized tests (21 MCAT) so im concerned about going to SGU doing poor on my boards and not matching in the US. What RussianJo is saying definitely worries me.

either way if you want to practice in the US you'll need to take the steps. You might have a better shot at doing better on them if you went to a med school with US clinical experiences during your 3rd and 4th year...I am just stating some facts, I wish I kept that email to post but the other number is easily found on the NRMP charting outcomes chart. People really don't appreciate how luck they were to match when going to the carib or any foreign school, but if you do go to SGU and do well then depending on the specialty you apply to your chances of matching can be very close to 100%. but you'll have to work pretty hard for 4 years.

 

[RussianJoo]

You go to a US med school and US medical students are always pissed off at the Caribbean medical students; I don't know why. Not all US medical students match either. I even know of US medical students who don't pass the USMLE Step 1 the first time.

I've talked to enough US doctors who told me they should've gone through the Caribbean because it saves them a lot of time and headache in the long run. Going to a US medical school is very prestigous but who are you trying to impress if everyone takes the same test and I know doctors who went to Caribbean medical school that are radiologists, anesthesiologist, and in other competitive residencies...

no reply? what's wrong cat got your tongue? how about "I am sorry SDN readers for posting made up info on here and confusing all you new applicants. I'll never do that again."

 

[ahmed17]

Does anybody know if a caribbean MD can get a post-doctoral research position....I looked at NIH's website over here:
http://lrp.info.nih.gov/about_the_programs/pediatric.aspx
and it just says that having an MD from an "accredited institution" makes you eligible to apply.....but are SGU/AUC/ROSS/SABA graduates going to be entertained?

Thanks

 

[RussianJoo]

Does anybody know if a caribbean MD can get a post-doctoral research position....I looked at NIH's website over here:
http://lrp.info.nih.gov/about_the_programs/pediatric.aspx
and it just says that having an MD from an "accredited institution" makes you eligible to apply.....but are SGU/AUC/ROSS/SABA graduates going to be entertained?

Thanks

why don't you call NIH and find out.