Clinical Rotations after Carib Med a Nightmare?

[MD-iwish]

Hi guys, I'm really scared because I keep hearing these horror stories about how some people (1 went to Ross, another went to SGU) come back after their classroom semesters in the Caribbean and then awful times with their rotations because they have to move every month or so. Is this really as bad, or has it been over-exaggerated? Also, do the schools make the arrangements for you at their US affiliated hospitals (do you have to "qualify" to be put in a US hospital), or do you have to set up your own rotations? From what I understand, people do 1.5 years in the Caribbean, and then the other 2.5 years here (please do correct me if I'm wrong), and then do they take a year off to do the USMLEs, or are they integrated into the curriculum (like American schools)? I've just started to look into Caribbean schools, so still trying to grasp the way they work. I would reaallllyy appreciate any comments. Thanks!

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[Mom2five]

For Ross it goes like this...on the island for 16 months, then you go to Miami for a 12 week intro. to clinicals course (lectures, write papers, rotate around to different doctor offices/hospitals etc). Most people take Step I during or right after the Miami program. There is only a small window of time you can take "off" before you encounter loads of paperwork and run into financial aid trouble (after so many months off you have to file a "leave of abscense"). Miami is kind of full of busy work but you should be able to study some during this time. My husband took 1 month off after Miami (we actually just stayed down there and he took the test there as well). Then after taking the test you wait for your scores. There are a couple "special" rotations you can start before you get your score back (some people haven't liked them though) but if you fail Step I you can not do any more rotations until you pass. So, after taking Step I we moved back in with family to await scores. He got his score about 3-4 weeks later. You fax your score to Ross and then they set-up your clinical rotations. We could have started clinicals 1 month later in NY (we didn't want to go to NY so we choose to wait until something else opened up). If you study hard during your time on the island and do well then it is not necessary to take a tremendous amount of time off to study for Step I. You take Step II sometime after 3rd year (you have to be within 1 year of graduation, and some other guidelines).

In NY, which is where the majority of students will go, you will have to move around to different hospitals but you are in the same area. The only students I have heard of that actually moved while in NY was due to the fact that one of their rotations was a DO rotation and their home state did not allow that (they wouldn't have been able to practice in their home state) so they decided to move for that particular rotation (but kept apt in NY) to keep it a MD rotation. Does that make sense?

The other most popular place to do rotations is Chicago. All core rotations (3rd year) are done at the same hospital (I have no idea about 4th year electives). There are many other clinical sites but the number of students that get them is lower. Friends of ours are in Baltimore, D.C., and at a new site in WI.

So to answer your question about if Ross sets it up? Yes. If you don't like what they give you the options are setting up your own and or requesting something else. If you don't want any DO rotations you can request to have all MD rotations but this may put "gaps" of time in your schedule (it is harder to have everything back to back).

As a single person it is very doable. We have 5 children so we waited to get the schedule we wanted. You will meet friends and generally have a good network for apt. sharing, etc. I think it is much harder with a family to have to move. I loved Miami but what a pain to move there for such a short time. Some people will leave their families back home but for us it just wasn't an option...we prefer to be together. I do not know what SGU clinical rotations are like or AUC. All I know is that many students from these 2 schools and DO schools are rotating with my husband.

I will never be an Ad for Ross or bad mouth the school. We are thankful for the chance they gave my husband but that doesn't mean it is easy. Whether it is worth it or not for you depends on many things...your stats, your motivation, your attitude, etc etc. Basically, just research what you want to know and then ask lots of questions during your interview. Ross lists every hospital that any student has ever rotated at but that does not mean that you would for sure have to chance to go there. So ask. "I see this hospital in my hometown, what would be my chances of being able to do my rotations there?" Go to valuemd.com and research threads about these issues.

Also, at AUC I think you are on St. Martin for 22 months? But check, I'm not 100% sure. Hope I answered your questions.

 

[MD-iwish]

Thank you soo much mom2five. I've heard so many horror stories, but from what you've said, it doesnt really sound that bad. From what my friends said, they were travelling across the country, but I guess they were setting up their own rotations and such. It must have been quite hard to keep the family together when you guys were going through this whole process, and here I am whining about it when I have just myself to take care of .

So I see how you take the Step 1 hmm I guess in the middle of your 2nd year, and then the Step 2 after your third year, so you dont need to take a year off after you graduate for the USMLEs? This is what I heard from someone who went to med school in India, so thank goodness it doesnt apply to me, my education is going to be long enough as is!

I've heard about the DO rotations not good in some states, so I'll check if my state allows it, but I'm guessing it might be safer to just do it at a MD one, in case I move?

Thanks a lot!!

 

[Mom2five]

Good Luck to you! And just a little advice...if you do go to the Caribbean from my experience the people that do well are the ones that keep a good attitude. Sure there can be lots to complain about when living outside the U.S. but remember that the local people will most likely never leave the island. Guess I'm saying vent in private every once in awhile but try to appreciate the experience and gain some compassion for a people group that are not so well off. (ok, that's my little soap box)

 

[ER-ER-Oh]

Grenada is what you make of it, for St. George's. I travelled a lot to other countries before I went to school there, so I was used to the different cultures and the lack of amenities. I was used to seeing the raw beauty of a place and it's people. However, many of my classmates where bitter and misunderstood the people. They thought that because the people moved slower ( a result of a culture borne of extreme heat) it was all an act to aggravate them. In fact, it was more an impatience and ignorance on the part of many of these students that made their experience difficult. I loved it there, and miss it quite a lot. I lived in an old villa with a swimming pool overlooking the sea, with an acre of fresh fruit trees and a view of the mist hanging over the rain forrest. I had cable with HBO and Cinemax, a cell phone, and a four wheel drive Subaru jeep. I was living like a King for about $600-700 U.S./month. The Dengue fever was a drag though.

As for the rotations, it's extremely easy with St. George's. You can pretty much stay at one hospital for both third and fourth year rotations if you wish. You may not get the hospital you really, really wanted to be at though. There are about 5 or 6 hospitals in Brooklyn, for example. Some are harder to get to and in not so great neighborhoods, while 2 of them are in upscale, beautiful neighborhoods. But you can also switch for fourth year if you weren't that happy with the third year hospital. You can also choose Michigan or NJ and also pretty much stay put for both years. The school sets up the rotations for you, all you have to do is find a place to live for 2 years.

 

[MD-iwish]

Thank you so much guys! I really appreciate your advise. I've been to India a lot, so I'm hoping the less-than-perfect living conditions won't be to big of a problem. The dengue fever is a bit scary though

 

[Mom2five]

I never got it...didn't know anyone that did...but that doesn't mean no one did...

 

[blackbeard505]

As for the rotations, it's extremely easy with St. George's. You can pretty much stay at one hospital for both third and fourth year rotations if you wish. You may not get the hospital you really, really wanted to be at though. There are about 5 or 6 hospitals in Brooklyn, for example. Some are harder to get to and in not so great neighborhoods, while 2 of them are in upscale, beautiful neighborhoods. But you can also switch for fourth year if you weren't that happy with the third year hospital. You can also choose Michigan or NJ and also pretty much stay put for both years. The school sets up the rotations for you, all you have to do is find a place to live for 2 years.

Is this really true? I was not aware that you could pick Michigan for 3rd year rotations. Interesting.

 

[ER-ER-Oh]

Is this really true? I was not aware that you could pick Michigan for 3rd year rotations. Interesting.

Yeah, a few of my friends went to Michigan, I forget the hosptial but it was either in Detroit or just outside of there. The options, and the number of students taken up there is limited compared to NJ and NYC. California has a few places also.

 

[ER-ER-Oh]

Thank you so much guys! I really appreciate your advise. I've been to India a lot, so I'm hoping the less-than-perfect living conditions won't be to big of a problem. The dengue fever is a bit scary though

The Dengue was bad, that's for sure, but it didn't make the experience any less enjoyable. I was sick for about a week with terrible pain and fever, but it went away and it was definitely an adventure! Only a handful of my classmates got it, and I was a bit lax on using bug spray when in the rain forest goofing off. The bugs though are really not a problem. It's a lot worse in the midwest during the dog days of summer.

 

[novacek88]

Hi guys, I'm really scared because I keep hearing these horror stories about how some people (1 went to Ross, another went to SGU) come back after their classroom semesters in the Caribbean and then awful times with their rotations because they have to move every month or so. Is this really as bad, or has it been over-exaggerated? Also, do the schools make the arrangements for you at their US affiliated hospitals (do you have to "qualify" to be put in a US hospital), or do you have to set up your own rotations? From what I understand, people do 1.5 years in the Caribbean, and then the other 2.5 years here (please do correct me if I'm wrong), and then do they take a year off to do the USMLEs, or are they integrated into the curriculum (like American schools)? I've just started to look into Caribbean schools, so still trying to grasp the way they work. I would reaallllyy appreciate any comments. Thanks!

It has been over-exaggerated. As your fellow Carribbean students will tell you, it's not that bad. But beware that many of them will do the opposite and really make it seem like it is much better than it is especially when it comes to describing all the places you can supposedly rotate at. Mom2Five did a great job describing the reality facing that. Yes, there are other places you can go but it isn't guaranteed and the spots outside of New York are pretty popular so the competition for them is stiff especially Chicago. Just expect that you will be in New York because that's where most Carribbean students do their rotations. If you like New York, then you are good to go. I always feel the Carribbean is a great option if you hail from the East Coast or Michigan.

But if you want to do core rotations in Texas, California and other places like that, you will have a much more difficult time as an IMG. I believe there is only one place in CA that will accept IMG's for core rotations and that is in Bakerfield, CA. But there is a catch with that program. It's really popular because it's the only site in CA where you can do core rotations so that site is usually limited to the best students of all the Carribbean schools thus it's competitive and unlikely that you will be able to rotate there. And I don't even know if AUC students qualify to do core rotations there. They can do electives but I think core rotations are limited to Ross and SGU grads. I'm not sure though.

An SGU grad made a good point. If you arrange your own rotations, you can probably get lucky and get appointments at some hospitals outside the traditional NY and MI ones. But that is a pain in the a@@ and usually not worth the time and headache setting up which is why most students just allow their school to set them up.

If you do your rotations in New York (which is where you will be so just accept that now), it's not bad at all. Like Mom said, you just rotate hospitals but your area is the same. That isn't a bad deal at all so you aren't forced to traveling month to month like some may imply. But it's like Henry Ford said with the model T, "You can have any color you want as long as it is black." Likewise, you rotate at any place you like as long as it's NY/NJ area.

 

[microphage]

But if you want to do core rotations in Texas, California and other places like that, you will have a much more difficult time as an IMG. I believe there is only one place in CA that will accept IMG's for core rotations and that is in Bakerfield, CA. But there is a catch with that program. It's really popular because it's the only site in CA where you can do core rotations so that site is usually limited to the best students of all the Carribbean schools thus it's competitive and unlikely that you will be able to rotate there. And I don't even know if AUC students qualify to do core rotations there. They can do electives but I think core rotations are limited to Ross and SGU grads. I'm not sure though.

Thats wrong info there buddy. I'm at AUC and doing my cores at Kern.

AUC has ~26
SGU has ~22
ROss has ~15

This info is posted in the med student lounge at Kern medical center.

 

[girlsporty]

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. It's got 3 million people, I'm sure anyone who isn't fond of it can find _someone_ to get along with for the sake of their rotations. Finding a cheap apartment is another matter...