Carribean medschools?

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bharu24

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I have some doubts about carribean med schools..................
I would really appreciate it if someone could clarify them.........
1. For residency are Caribbean med school graduates considered as an Amg or Img (Fmg) ?
2. Approximate cost ?
3. Ive heard that Caribbean me schools are lenient in accepting transfers in 3rd year from foreign medschools. Is this true??
4.Are carribean Fmgs considered superior to foreign Fmgs? (In my case i am an Indian Fmg)........
5.Do all Caribbean 3rd and 4th yer medical students do their rotations on the mainland (USA)??
 
bharu24 said:
I have some doubts about carribean med schools..................
I would really appreciate it if someone could clarify them.........
1. For residency are Caribbean med school graduates considered as an Amg or Img (Fmg) ?
2. Approximate cost ?
3. Ive heard that Caribbean me schools are lenient in accepting transfers in 3rd year from foreign medschools. Is this true??
4.Are carribean Fmgs considered superior to foreign Fmgs? (In my case i am an Indian Fmg)........
5.Do all Caribbean 3rd and 4th yer medical students do their rotations on the mainland (USA)??
Click to expand...

Yeah...

1) FMG
2) You can look this up yourself
3) Not sure
4) Maybe only due to familiarity, but the stratification between FMGs and AMGs is fairly large
5) Again something you can look up yourself; most I've seen seem to
 
are the students who graduate from med schools in pueto rico -Amgs or Fmgs??
I mean to ask whether is Pueto rico a part of USA or does it come under the caribbeans??
 
Puerto Rico students are considered American graduates. You need to be FLUENT in Spanish to be accepted.

Caribbean grads have the advantage of being trained in a tradition that emphasizes the Step. They also rotate 3rd and 4th years in American hospitals and can pick up LORs there. Foreign grads-from-India will not have this advantage, but typically you would respect somebody more who went to the best university of their third-world-country compared to somebody who went to a university on a rock in the middle of the ocean. Oh, and a foreign grad can actually have a career outside of America / the Caribbeans. A Caribbean grad will need to first get an American residency before earning money with their MD degree outside of the Caribbean.

The approximate cost is $7k-25k per semester, depending on the Caribbean school. Look at Valuemd.com for more info.
 
Morsetlis said:
Puerto Rico students are considered American graduates. You need to be FLUENT in Spanish to be accepted.

Caribbean grads have the advantage of being trained in a tradition that emphasizes the Step. They also rotate 3rd and 4th years in American hospitals and can pick up LORs there. Foreign grads-from-India will not have this advantage, but typically you would respect somebody more who went to the best university of their third-world-country compared to somebody who went to a university on a rock in the middle of the ocean. Oh, and a foreign grad can actually have a career outside of America / the Caribbeans. A Caribbean grad will need to first get an American residency before earning money with their MD degree outside of the Caribbean.

The approximate cost is $7k-25k per semester, depending on the Caribbean school. Look at Valuemd.com for more info.
Click to expand...

not sure if so advantageous.
 
I was looking into the Caribbean schools in case I don't do well on the MCAT next April or May. I heard that it was difficult to land a residency position, though, but I'm not sure what type of numbers a med student from the Caribbean would need to pull in order to have a chance. I almost feel like its not even worth going if I will have a hard time finding a residency gig.
 
The future is a bit up-in-the-air right now. I would recommend the Caribbeans if this were earlier than 2011.

That said, last year SGU had a higher (or same, depending on where you get your data) USMLE Step 1 pass rate compared to USMD grads.
 
Morsetlis said:
The future is a bit up-in-the-air right now. I would recommend the Caribbeans if this were earlier than 2011.

That said, last year SGU had a higher (or same, depending on where you get your data) USMLE Step 1 pass rate compared to USMD grads.
Click to expand...

Source? I find this extremely hard to believe.
 
Aislinn said:
Source? I find this extremely hard to believe.
Click to expand...

i don't. SGU is one of the best Carib schools, and pre-clinical instruction there is probably pretty solid. it wouldn't surprise me a bit to learn that the average pass rate was low 90s%, just as it is state-side. the difference being that they've already failed everyone out who wasn't up to the work, which is rare at LCME schools.
 
Morsetlis said:
That said, last year SGU had a higher (or same, depending on where you get your data) USMLE Step 1 pass rate compared to USMD grads.
Click to expand...

maybe but who cares you'll still be a carribean student with 20 stress ulcers wondering if you'll even get prelim surgery in the nevada desert
 
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Morsetlis said:
The future is a bit up-in-the-air right now. I would recommend the Caribbeans if this were earlier than 2011.

That said, last year SGU had a higher (or same, depending on where you get your data) USMLE Step 1 pass rate compared to USMD grads.
Click to expand...

Does that stat include the people they hold back for not passing their qualifying exam?
 
VoiceofReason said:
maybe but who cares you'll still be a carribean student with 20 stress ulcers wondering if you'll even get prelim surgery in the nevada desert
Click to expand...

For people with Fs or struggling Step 1, Step 2 tests, maybe more than 20 uclers, up to 50 stress ulcers, even if they only apply to least-desired residencies.

For SGU and other good US-IMG/IMG/FMG feeder schools, the stress could be less. A bit less if you're American, doesn't need visa.
 
Aislinn said:
Source? I find this extremely hard to believe.
Click to expand...

Bear in mind that games are played. At some offshore schools you can't sit for the USMLE until the school deems you ready based on internal requirements/tests. Some places make people spend a lot more time studying for the test than their US counterparts. And some places focus more on teaching to the test rather than teaching medicine. All of which, along with heavy attrition can translate to higher scores if done well. Doesn't really matter because a high step from a Caribbean school still puts one in line behind a US grad at most residencies, although it may put you ahead of other Foreign grads.
 
Socalpremedguy said:
I was looking into the Caribbean schools in case I don't do well on the MCAT next April or May. I heard that it was difficult to land a residency position, though, but I'm not sure what type of numbers a med student from the Caribbean would need to pull in order to have a chance. I almost feel like its not even worth going if I will have a hard time finding a residency gig.
Click to expand...

This shouldn't even be in your vocabulary right now. Study up, do decently on the MCAT and get into an American school. If MD is out of reach, go for American DO. If that's out of reach, take time off and improve your app. Carib schools are balls expensive and leaves you with a life long stigma. I know of residents, very smart and qualified residents, that are still limited by the fact that they went to Carib--ie much harder for them to get fellow positions.
 
That implies that he would want a fellow position.

Yes, the Caribbean limits your future options.

But, some people are perfectly happy where they are.
 
Brewmeister said:
This shouldn't even be in your vocabulary right now. Study up, do decently on the MCAT and get into an American school. If MD is out of reach, go for American DO. If that's out of reach, take time off and improve your app. Carib schools are balls expensive and leaves you with a life long stigma. I know of residents, very smart and qualified residents, that are still limited by the fact that they went to Carib--ie much harder for them to get fellow positions.
Click to expand...

Thanks all for the advice. I don't have a stellar undergraduate GPA (2.98) from 5 years ago, though my graduate GPA is a 3.6. Post-bac classes (all pre-med prereqs) GPA is above 3.6. My dream is going to a med school in the US, but my numbers aren't that good.
 
Brewmeister said:
This shouldn't even be in your vocabulary right now. Study up, do decently on the MCAT and get into an American school. If MD is out of reach, go for American DO. If that's out of reach, take time off and improve your app. Carib schools are balls expensive and leaves you with a life long stigma. I know of residents, very smart and qualified residents, that are still limited by the fact that they went to Carib--ie much harder for them to get fellow positions.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Brew. I'll try my best on the MCATs, and hope to keep up my science GPA above 3.5.
 
gravitywave said:
i don't. SGU is one of the best Carib schools, and pre-clinical instruction there is probably pretty solid. it wouldn't surprise me a bit to learn that the average pass rate was low 90s%, just as it is state-side. the difference being that they've already failed everyone out who wasn't up to the work, which is rare at LCME schools.
Click to expand...

Yea that's not it. They haven't failed everyone out, why would they...they'd miss out on those tuition dollars. The REASON they are scoring high in USMLE board exams is because they don't have to take it summer after 2nd year in order to be able to go into rotations. They can take it 3rd year, some even 4th year. That's a hell of an advantage timewise to study more. Basically get to actually learn a lot of the material not just cram it all in 10 weeks of mega study hashing.

Also I have a friend in a Caribbean school where the school supplied them with, Doctors in Training, Kaplan Qbank, USMLE Qbank, Pass Program, and some other program for review. Pretty much gave them everything review wise they could need to do well on board exams.
 
Belleza156 said:
Yea that's not it. They haven't failed everyone out, why would they...they'd miss out on those tuition dollars. The REASON they are scoring high in USMLE board exams is because they don't have to take it summer after 2nd year in order to be able to go into rotations. They can take it 3rd year, some even 4th year. That's a hell of an advantage timewise to study more. Basically get to actually learn a lot of the material not just cram it all in 10 weeks of mega study hashing.

Also I have a friend in a Caribbean school where the school supplied them with, Doctors in Training, Kaplan Qbank, USMLE Qbank, Pass Program, and some other program for review. Pretty much gave them everything review wise they could need to do well on board exams.
Click to expand...


Where on EARTH are you getting your information from. Not from the Caribbean maybe Europe.

SGU students have to pass the step before they start rotations.
 
Belleza156 said:
Yea that's not it. They haven't failed everyone out, why would they...they'd miss out on those tuition dollars. The REASON they are scoring high in USMLE board exams is because they don't have to take it summer after 2nd year in order to be able to go into rotations. They can take it 3rd year, some even 4th year. That's a hell of an advantage timewise to study more. Basically get to actually learn a lot of the material not just cram it all in 10 weeks of mega study hashing.

Also I have a friend in a Caribbean school where the school supplied them with, Doctors in Training, Kaplan Qbank, USMLE Qbank, Pass Program, and some other program for review. Pretty much gave them everything review wise they could need to do well on board exams.
Click to expand...

Lol they "supplied" them with these materials... I guess that tuition money went to good use then?

Also, everybody at SGU need to finish Step 1 before starting rotations. Most SGU students study for no more than 2 months for it. Yes, there is a January class: They finish preclinicals in 2.5 years instead of 2. That means they have 1/2 of a year extra to study for the Step 1.
 
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