Confused about the indian med school process

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RST25

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hey

i need advice fast

i live on the east coast, U.S. i'm graduating from high school this june. My parents are pushing me in the direction of a med school in india.

i'm currently in the process of applying to a KMC, manipal. But nothing is definite yet.

IF i decide to go to a med school in india (and it's KMC) and i want to come back to work in the U.S. :
1) After 4 1/2 yrs of med school, is it possible to do internship (clinical rotation) in the states? If so, are there any official things involved in this process? please explain what they are.

2) when exactly do you take your USMLE during the internship (if it's possible to do the internship in the states)?

3) i know you can only get the MBBS after completion of 4 1/2 yrs plus 1 year of internship. So WHEN do you get your MD?

4) What is residency? and when do you do them? how do you get into one?
i also read/heard that international med students get stuck with left over seats and they don't necessarily get into the one of their choice especially if surgery? any truth to that?

5) i heard that professors are a it harsh on the NRI's. Is that true? I also read or heard (I can't remember which) that final year KMC NRI's have had in the past to pay professors to pass them, does that really exist or is it just exaggerations?

6) what are some of the other good med schools in india that are approved (i understand not all indian med schools are approved if you want to work in the U.S.) ? is it still to too late to apply?

being that i'm not too familiar with this process any advice will be greatly appreciated. Oh..please don't abbreviate too much because that will just leave me guessing as to what you are trying to say. i'm not in any way familiar with this process

confused/lost :confused:
help!!

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RST25 said:
hey

i need advice fast

i live on the east coast, U.S. i'm graduating from high school this june. My parents are pushing me in the direction of a med school in india.

i'm currently in the process of applying to a KMC, manipal. But nothing is definite yet.

IF i decide to go to a med school in india (and it's KMC) and i want to come back to work in the U.S. :
1) After 4 1/2 yrs of med school, is it possible to do internship (clinical rotation) in the states? If so, are there any official things involved in this process? please explain what they are.

2) when exactly do you take your USMLE during the internship (if it's possible to do the internship in the states)?

3) i know you can only get the MBBS after completion of 4 1/2 yrs plus 1 year of internship. So WHEN do you get your MD?

4) What is residency? and when do you do them? how do you get into one?
i also read/heard that international med students get stuck with left over seats and they don't necessarily get into the one of their choice especially if surgery? any truth to that?

5) i heard that professors are a it harsh on the NRI's. Is that true? I also read or heard (I can't remember which) that final year KMC NRI's have had in the past to pay professors to pass them, does that really exist or is it just exaggerations?

6) what are some of the other good med schools in india that are approved (i understand not all indian med schools are approved if you want to work in the U.S.) ? is it still to too late to apply?

being that i'm not too familiar with this process any advice will be greatly appreciated. Oh..please don't abbreviate too much because that will just leave me guessing as to what you are trying to say. i'm not in any way familiar with this process

confused/lost :confused:
help!!

im headed off to school there (in Bangalore) in Aug..so i'll give u all teh info i know.

1). yeah it is possible to do clinical rotations (internship) back here in the states, for up to 9 months...3 months is compulsory in india (community medicine). Im not sure exactly how to go about doing all of it; im hearing its a lot of paperwork and what not..but its doable for sure. Some places that will take students from overseas: Baylor (houston), Yale, and i think Mayo in Cleveland..there are a few other places as well.

2). Um..im guessing u can study/take the USMLE during ur internship...im not really too sure about this one. At least for me..im gonna start studying 3rd year or so..maybe even earlier..and take it ASAP.

3). MBBS=MD...so no worry on that. U'll get it after u pass the boards...

4). Residency is ur training period after u graduate med school..before u become a full fledged doctor. After u take the USMLE step 1..u apply to residency programs in a field that ur interested in in, be it derm, cardio, IM, neuro, family practice, surgery, etc. Yeah some international students get stuck with left over seats and stuff..i mean, if u really wanna do a speciality, just go into a non competitive residency first..for a few years..do ur best, and then switch. But if ur a US citizen and being that u did ur internship back here, u'll have a better trump card to use in the residency hunt, over the traditional FMGs. Surgery is gonna be really hard for IMGs to get into...besdies, im more intersted in neuro and IM anyways...but i dunno about u.

5). Yeah the proffs are harsh on NRIs..but they are harsh on indian students too..its just teh way of life. Just dont be a smartass, and listen to whatever the proff says, and u'll be fine. Try to be a good kid, gain their respect, they'll respect ya back, or so ive been told. I dunno about the thing at manipal, its crazy if its true though. But u know..kids are always buying question papers and stuff..so maybe the story came out of that.

6). Other good med schools: SRMC in Chennai, M.S. Ramiah in Bangalore (Which is where im going), AIIMS in Delhi (the best school in india..but u have to be crazy smart to get in), St. Johns in Bangalore and Bangalore Medical College as well. There are good schools in Mumbai and all over the rest of India. No its not too late to apply to most of these schools, just get in contact with them....I think most of em are approved for the US, cause a LOT of them have been around for decades and decades.

--one last piece of advice, if ur parents are "pushing you", then it might not be a good idea to go...just be certain u wanna do medicine, and if u are..try here in the US first...For me, the situation was different..ive been given another chance (going to india) and im damned sure i'll take it. Besides, if you decide to go, its a great way to live and expeirence another country, to see and do al lot of stuff u cant do back here in america...and from what i here, the time flys by like crazy. And u get to see medical cases and stuff, that u normally dont see anywhere else. If you visit KMC manipal before u actually start, check out the anatomy museum, its crazy stuff :) .
 
I would seriously consider going to india for medical school. I have family who went to medical school in india (born, raised and educated in india). It's no cake walk over there, or once you get back here. Realize that you will not be heald in the same regard and a native IMG when you appily for residency. The native IMGs tend to be some of the brightest people in their respective country where as a US IMG will have to anwser some seriouse questions. Realize that these are the people you will be compteing against in medical school and when it comes time to apply for a residency.

If you dont count the IMGs who withdrew from the match, there was only a 55% match rate for IMGs, this is likely to get lower by the time you appily because US schools admitting more students to feed the growing need for physicians. Congress is not expected to incerase the number of GME spots anytime soon. You will find your self competeing with more and more people for fewer and fewer spots (mostly Primary Care). The previouse poster is mistaken when he/she says that you can start out in one residecny and then jump to another. The balanced budget act of 1998 made that very hard. Medicare, which funds GME will only pay for the number of years your initall residency was. For example if you did 2 years of FP and by some miracle you jumped to Surgery you would only have 1 year of a 5year residency paid for. There are very few programs, if any that can absorb that kind of cost. This not to say that IMGs dont get good spots, but these usually go to Carib students from SGU or Ross, or to native IMG's who were in that speciality in their home countries.

Also realize that you will be missing out on some of the most formative years of your life by by passing an undergraduate education. Medicine is going to take the best and most productive years of your life as is, there is no benifit in giving so much of it so early. Enjoy your time use it to grow intelecutally and mature socially.

Medicine is not the profession that most indian parents think it is with lots of money and prestige. If those are what you want there are lots of easier ways of getting it with out going to medical school.

Irregardless of which path you choose good luck in your endavors.
 
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Hey RST25, I'm gonna give you the best advice you'll ever get on this forum speaking from someone who once upon a time was in the same shoes as you. I'll post all the answers below your questions

1) After 4 1/2 yrs of med school, is it possible to do internship (clinical rotation) in the states? If so, are there any official things involved in this process? please explain what they are.

Yes, it is possible to come back to America and do an internship, what they call housejob here but it depends on a couple of things. First of all, you have to find a hospital that is going to let you do that. I know people, lots of people, who have tried to do that, and it's pretty damn hard. I dont know about kids from other countries, but its not that easy to come from an Indian school because they have no affiliations with American schools. Second, your stupid Indian school has to be cooperative with you which in all likelyhood, they wont! Everyone in this freakin country is out to make your life miserable, and a lot harder than it needs to be. Espcially office staff which for some odd reason think they're a bunch of big shots. I would find out directly from students who went to your school and came back to America to do their internship exactly how hard it is, what the process is, and how much money and dignity they wasted in the process.

2) when exactly do you take your USMLE during the internship (if it's possible to do the internship in the states)?

You can take step one as soon as you're done with your clinical sciences, basically after 3rd year. The problem is, these schools are obviously geared toward Indian exams and they're not gonna sit there and give you time off so you can study for your "foreign exam", which you DO NOT want to screw up. What you could do is take your own time off and study. The only problem with that is that Indian schools are not like American schools. They actually take attendance and in most colleges you have to have a minimum of 75% in order for them to let you appear for exams. Now, dont think there isnt a way around this, because in India, theres always a way around. You can sit there and pay "attenders" through your nose so that they somehow get control of the attendance register and put "Present" instead of "Absent" on the days you were gone. But this of course may or may not work, it depends on luck. If you decide to take the MLE during your internship, you can do that as well. However, if by some chance you are able to get your internship transferred to America, you will actually have to do real work and I doubt you'll have adequate time to devote to your studying. If you do it in India though, you can easily take Kaplan simultaneously.

3) i know you can only get the MBBS after completion of 4 1/2 yrs plus 1 year of internship. So WHEN do you get your MD?

As already stated, MBBS=MD. I didn't get that for a long time either. Oh and by the way, something that took me forever to find out, (general knowledge), MBBS=Bachelor of medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

4) What is residency? and when do you do them? how do you get into one?
i also read/heard that international med students get stuck with left over seats and they don't necessarily get into the one of their choice especially if surgery? any truth to that?

Residency is your post graduate education. What they refer to in India as MD or PG, so do don't get confused. You do this once you've completed your medical education, including internship, and passed step 1, step 2 and the CSA (Clinical Skills Assessment). After doing that you go through the NRMP (National Residency Match Program) and you try to match into the program of your choice. Selection depends on scores, interview, and of course where you graduated from. Now from what I gather, you're interested in surgery. So general surgery is not as easy as internal medicine (IM) but at the same time its not as hard as let's say, ENT or Dermatolgy. If you work your butt off to get great scores and do well in the interview which I'm sure you will considering you speak good english and will probably walk in wearing an nice suit and stuff, you can definetly get a residency in surgery. It may be in boofoo somewhere, but you can always come back to the city, or stay in boofoo and make mad cream.

5) i heard that professors are a it harsh on the NRI's. Is that true? I also read or heard (I can't remember which) that final year KMC NRI's have had in the past to pay professors to pass them, does that really exist or is it just exaggerations?

Some of the professors are real pr*cks to the NRI's, yes. Some of them just feel sorry for you cuz you're away from home and all alone in a foreign country. It just depends on the individual. As far as paying people to pass you, yes and no. In Indian exams, there are two portions. Theory (the written part) and practical (the oral part). It is next to impossible for you to pay anyone to pass you in theory, you're pretty much on your own for that. Theres a very complicated system involving coding and decoding and what not which I wont get into, but trust me, its hard. Now as far as practical, yes, it's a common practice for students to pay examiners to pass them. This can be in monetary units or with lavish gifts like stethescopes, cell phones, blue label, golf clubs, you name it, Ive seen it all. Most students up until final year are usually passed anyway unless you're really dumb and dont know anything.

6) what are some of the other good med schools in india that are approved (i understand not all indian med schools are approved if you want to work in the U.S.) ? is it still to too late to apply?

AIIMS is by far the best school in India but I dont know what the admission process is. I would suggest that you talk to some relatives in India and find out what schools are good and actually take NRIs on donation basis. This is of course if you still want to go after reading my post.


Ok, now let me summarize. DO NOT COME HERE! I'm in my final year right now with just six months left and whoever said that time flies has no idea what they're talking about. TIME DRAGS! There are 2 good things that came out of me coming to India. The first is of course my medical degree and the second is that I met my fiance (who is a born American just like me!). Granted those are 2 huge things and if I had to do it again, I would (grudgingly), I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone. As far as being easy, that's not true at all. This place is insanely hard because you're not only doing medicine, but because a lot of it is self-teaching. Not to mention you're also dealing mentally with being away from your family, friends, big macs, etc... Another problem with coming here is that once you go back, you have ZERO US clinical experience which really counts against you. Yeah, you could do what I plan on doing and try to get some away rotations in the field of your choice to make your application look better, but its a big hassle. My honest advice to you would be this. Try to get into a US med school, it's your best bet. If you wanna try to do undergrad, great. But if you dont even think you can make it through pre-med, go to the caribbean. You can do this before or after undergrad. The reason I say this is because caribbean schools like St. George's and Ross are well known in America and pretty decently respected. The best thing about these schools is that you come back to America for your clinicals so residency programs will KNOW that you can handle yourself in an American hospital.

I dont mean to scare you with all this stuff, but believe me, I'm speaking from experience, 5 years of it. If you have any questions, confusion or just wanna talk, please feel free to private message me. I can totally feel for your position and may be able to help you figure out what you really want. Take care dude. :oops:
 
In the US you finsih 4 years of medical school, the 1st two years are pre-clinical then the last 2 years are clinical. When you graduate you get your docterate but not your license to practice medicine. You then move on to your residency program that you matched into during your fourth year. The first year of which is reffered to as the intern year. After your intern year you take the USMLE step III and if you pass then get your license to practice medicine. But this is it's self is meaning less cuz all you can do with it is moonlight if your program lets you. Before you become employable you must finish your residency and then pass your Written and oral speciality boards. Once you do this you become board certified.

Internship in india cannont be transferred to the US. You may be able to do an elective rotation here but it's tricky. YOu must first contact the hospital you are interested and find out weather they take visiting forigen medical students and then if they have space, then make sure that you meet their min requirements and then come up with medical malpractice coverage. There are some exceptions to this, mainly the Carib schools that have close ties with certian hospitals in the US.

As far as wanting surgery goes, it's competative again and it prob wont change any time soon. Last year there were only 2 unfilled spots and those were snatched up in seconds or so I hear and this year there were only 6 spots open and they filled with in 15 min.
 
Sunz81 said:
Hey RST25, I'm gonna give you the best advice you'll ever get on this forum speaking from someone who once upon a time was in the same shoes as you. I'll post all the answers below your questions

1) After 4 1/2 yrs of med school, is it possible to do internship (clinical rotation) in the states? If so, are there any official things involved in this process? please explain what they are.

Yes, it is possible to come back to America and do an internship, what they call housejob here but it depends on a couple of things. First of all, you have to find a hospital that is going to let you do that. I know people, lots of people, who have tried to do that, and it's pretty damn hard. I dont know about kids from other countries, but its not that easy to come from an Indian school because they have no affiliations with American schools. Second, your stupid Indian school has to be cooperative with you which in all likelyhood, they wont! Everyone in this freakin country is out to make your life miserable, and a lot harder than it needs to be. Espcially office staff which for some odd reason think they're a bunch of big shots. I would find out directly from students who went to your school and came back to America to do their internship exactly how hard it is, what the process is, and how much money and dignity they wasted in the process.

2) when exactly do you take your USMLE during the internship (if it's possible to do the internship in the states)?

You can take step one as soon as you're done with your clinical sciences, basically after 3rd year. The problem is, these schools are obviously geared toward Indian exams and they're not gonna sit there and give you time off so you can study for your "foreign exam", which you DO NOT want to screw up. What you could do is take your own time off and study. The only problem with that is that Indian schools are not like American schools. They actually take attendance and in most colleges you have to have a minimum of 75% in order for them to let you appear for exams. Now, dont think there isnt a way around this, because in India, theres always a way around. You can sit there and pay "attenders" through your nose so that they somehow get control of the attendance register and put "Present" instead of "Absent" on the days you were gone. But this of course may or may not work, it depends on luck. If you decide to take the MLE during your internship, you can do that as well. However, if by some chance you are able to get your internship transferred to America, you will actually have to do real work and I doubt you'll have adequate time to devote to your studying. If you do it in India though, you can easily take Kaplan simultaneously.

3) i know you can only get the MBBS after completion of 4 1/2 yrs plus 1 year of internship. So WHEN do you get your MD?

As already stated, MBBS=MD. I didn't get that for a long time either. Oh and by the way, something that took me forever to find out, (general knowledge), MBBS=Bachelor of medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

4) What is residency? and when do you do them? how do you get into one?
i also read/heard that international med students get stuck with left over seats and they don't necessarily get into the one of their choice especially if surgery? any truth to that?

Residency is your post graduate education. What they refer to in India as MD or PG, so do don't get confused. You do this once you've completed your medical education, including internship, and passed step 1, step 2 and the CSA (Clinical Skills Assessment). After doing that you go through the NRMP (National Residency Match Program) and you try to match into the program of your choice. Selection depends on scores, interview, and of course where you graduated from. Now from what I gather, you're interested in surgery. So general surgery is not as easy as internal medicine (IM) but at the same time its not as hard as let's say, ENT or Dermatolgy. If you work your butt off to get great scores and do well in the interview which I'm sure you will considering you speak good english and will probably walk in wearing an nice suit and stuff, you can definetly get a residency in surgery. It may be in boofoo somewhere, but you can always come back to the city, or stay in boofoo and make mad cream.

5) i heard that professors are a it harsh on the NRI's. Is that true? I also read or heard (I can't remember which) that final year KMC NRI's have had in the past to pay professors to pass them, does that really exist or is it just exaggerations?

Some of the professors are real pr*cks to the NRI's, yes. Some of them just feel sorry for you cuz you're away from home and all alone in a foreign country. It just depends on the individual. As far as paying people to pass you, yes and no. In Indian exams, there are two portions. Theory (the written part) and practical (the oral part). It is next to impossible for you to pay anyone to pass you in theory, you're pretty much on your own for that. Theres a very complicated system involving coding and decoding and what not which I wont get into, but trust me, its hard. Now as far as practical, yes, it's a common practice for students to pay examiners to pass them. This can be in monetary units or with lavish gifts like stethescopes, cell phones, blue label, golf clubs, you name it, Ive seen it all. Most students up until final year are usually passed anyway unless you're really dumb and dont know anything.

6) what are some of the other good med schools in india that are approved (i understand not all indian med schools are approved if you want to work in the U.S.) ? is it still to too late to apply?

AIIMS is by far the best school in India but I dont know what the admission process is. I would suggest that you talk to some relatives in India and find out what schools are good and actually take NRIs on donation basis. This is of course if you still want to go after reading my post.


Ok, now let me summarize. DO NOT COME HERE! I'm in my final year right now with just six months left and whoever said that time flies has no idea what they're talking about. TIME DRAGS! There are 2 good things that came out of me coming to India. The first is of course my medical degree and the second is that I met my fiance (who is a born American just like me!). Granted those are 2 huge things and if I had to do it again, I would (grudgingly), I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone. As far as being easy, that's not true at all. This place is insanely hard because you're not only doing medicine, but because a lot of it is self-teaching. Not to mention you're also dealing mentally with being away from your family, friends, big macs, etc... Another problem with coming here is that once you go back, you have ZERO US clinical experience which really counts against you. Yeah, you could do what I plan on doing and try to get some away rotations in the field of your choice to make your application look better, but its a big hassle. My honest advice to you would be this. Try to get into a US med school, it's your best bet. If you wanna try to do undergrad, great. But if you dont even think you can make it through pre-med, go to the caribbean. You can do this before or after undergrad. The reason I say this is because caribbean schools like St. George's and Ross are well known in America and pretty decently respected. The best thing about these schools is that you come back to America for your clinicals so residency programs will KNOW that you can handle yourself in an American hospital.

I dont mean to scare you with all this stuff, but believe me, I'm speaking from experience, 5 years of it. If you have any questions, confusion or just wanna talk, please feel free to private message me. I can totally feel for your position and may be able to help you figure out what you really want. Take care dude. :oops:


hey thanx for giving him more advice than i could....i was just relating about whatever that i knew. At least i heard time goes by quick (from several people who went there and came back), but iono, since you are going through it, then i guess im wrong on that part. Dude, u've scared me a little with all this info too :( . But i think im ready to handle it (ive done 2 years of undegrad already..but i dont think i have a chance here and i dun wanna go to the carribean). Yeah i know getting that internship back in the states is gonna be really tough, but im gonna make a concerted effort for it (using my dad's connections if need be). Im sorry if i sugarcoated anything in my advice i gave him, but like i said...i just gave him info on what i knew and what i had been told by everyone that had gone there and come back. Yeah its gonna be tough, prolly one of the hardest things im gonna do in life, but im ready for it...well i guess im ready for it.
 
CaliAtenza said:
hey thanx for giving him more advice than i could....i was just relating about whatever that i knew. At least i heard time goes by quick (from several people who went there and came back), but iono, since you are going through it, then i guess im wrong on that part. Dude, u've scared me a little with all this info too :( . But i think im ready to handle it (ive done 2 years of undegrad already..but i dont think i have a chance here and i dun wanna go to the carribean). Yeah i know getting that internship back in the states is gonna be really tough, but im gonna make a concerted effort for it (using my dad's connections if need be). Im sorry if i sugarcoated anything in my advice i gave him, but like i said...i just gave him info on what i knew and what i had been told by everyone that had gone there and come back. Yeah its gonna be tough, prolly one of the hardest things im gonna do in life, but im ready for it...well i guess im ready for it.


good luck man.
 
May the force be with you Cali... ;)
 
hi

First of all, thank you to everyone that posted so much useful information.
You guys/gals have been oh sooo helpful :D

Having said that, I have more questions:

1) I know that in order to work in the U.S. the medical school that you received your degree from has to be approved by IMED so you can receive your ECFMG certification. But I also understand that the state you intend to work in must also approve your medical school. Does anyone know any particular website where i can find such a list for NY.

2) Also I heard something about World health Organization(WHO) having to approve the medical school as well. What happens if IMED approves a particular school but that same school is not the list of approved schools on the WHO website? (I'm writing in particular about AMRITA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH CENTRE, KOCHI, KERALA, INDIA)

Thank you again for all the great advice

Once again any advice will be greatly appreciated
From the not as confused anymore :)

P.S. I somehow seemed to have given the impression that i'm a "he". :laugh: I'm not a 'he" ; i'm a "SHE". :D But i guess its doesn't matter too much anyway :laugh:
 
OK, I went to Manipal, recently got an IM residency in the US at a good university program after a helluva lot of hard work. Let me give you my perspective ...

First, I really think you should convince your parents that India is NOT the way to go. May I ask why your parents want you to go after high school? Usually the answer is 1) shorter (4.5 years vs. 8 years), 2) cheper, 3) keep you away from nasty US culture and girls/boys. All are WRONG reasons to go to India. Shorther? Nope, MBBS+internship+ USMLE studying ... usually = 6.5-7.5 years. If you fail a course, just start adding time (40% of my first year class failed). If you want to come back to the US to do parts of your internship, add more time. Cheaper? Debatable if you go to a state undergrad and state med school. Don't forget to add in your plane tickets back and forth to the US ($1500-$2000 a pop). Keeping you in Indian culture ... not in Manipal. Even the locals are mostly Northies, so when you take repressed kids and let them live far far away from home .... you get the idea.

On to your questions!

1) After 4 1/2 yrs of med school, is it possible to do internship (clinical rotation) in the states? If so, are there any official things involved in this process? please explain what they are.

Manipal used to allow NRIs to go to the US for internship. In the US's eyes, you would be a 4th year elective student. Some US schools do accept international students, but most require you to get your own malpractice inssurance (which is not cheap and hard to find). When I was leaving Manipal they had started to say if you were going to do parts of your internship elsewhere, you had to do the entire block elsewhere, not piecemeal. For example, if you have 3 months of surgery, you have to do those three months entirely in Manipal or entirely soemwhere else. You can't break these up. This makes it hard to schedule US rotations. Also keep in mind that you need 1 year of internship work to get your degree. That's 365 days. Most US rotations are not scheduled from Jan1-Jan31. So you need to try and get the dates to line up somehow. So personally, I did 4 months in the US as an "intern" and 1 month as a Final MB second term student (1 year before my final MBBS exams). Manipal did allow all students to do 1 month at an international site. Again, you are responsible for arranging it and paying any fees/malpractice inssurance. I HIGHLY recommend that if you go to India, you come back and get some US clinical experience (US CE) as it will be INVALUABLE when applying for residency. As to the "how" you just have to find US med schools/teaching hospitals that allow international students to do elective rotations. Personally, I did them at Baylor College of Medicine and Virginia Commonwealth University SOM. Baylor didn't require you to have malpractice inssurance. But keep in mind most schools won't let you do more than 3 months at their school. Pulling off the entire year is tough. Oh, and not all Indian schools allow this kind of thing. There really aren't electives in Indian med schools. Manipal was reasonable about this.

2) when exactly do you take your USMLE during the internship (if it's possible to do the internship in the states)?

Like said before, you can take step I after you have finished your II MBBS exams. But, the only guy I know who did that took off 1 semester to study. Most of us study during internship or after internship. Esp. if you come to the US, you will be working your behind off to impress your attending, so you won't have too much time to study. Again, most people lose at least 1 year after internship for studying, applying for residency. Many lose more than 1 year.

4) What is residency? and when do you do them? how do you get into one?
i also read/heard that international med students get stuck with left over seats and they don't necessarily get into the one of their choice especially if surgery? any truth to that?

LOTS of truth to that. Most IMGs will take spots in FP, IM, Psych, etc. The more competitive a residency you want, Surg, ENT, Ortho, etc. the harder it is as an IMG ... unless you happen to have an uncle who is the program director somewhere (it happens). Chances are you will have relegated yourself to a non-surgical specialty. If you want to do IM like I did, not a problem. If you want to do Surg, well, Gen Surg is possible ... but statistically unlikely. You will have to have US CE is Surg with US LoR.


5) i heard that professors are a it harsh on the NRI's. Is that true? I also read or heard (I can't remember which) that final year KMC NRI's have had in the past to pay professors to pass them, does that really exist or is it just exaggerations?

Most profs don't like NRIs mostly because NRIs tend to do poorly. Some don't like the fact that you are taking up a seat their relative could have taken. If you do well (my general advice is try to be above average) you won't have any problems, once they know you are one of the few NRIs who do the work. At KMC, I have never heard of anone being able to bribe their way out of an exam. You do have to pay patients (some) to let them cooperate, but that is like Rs 5. There was one guy who used to always demand a lot of money, but they have banned him from exams. This is a common misconception, and maybe it is true at other schools, but in Manipal, there really is no corruption when it comes to grades. You would have to bribe too many people. I do know one guy who told a prof that he would have her killed if he didn't pass. Knowing him, I am not sure it he was joking or not ... he passed.

6) what are some of the other good med schools in india that are approved (i understand not all indian med schools are approved if you want to work in the U.S.) ? is it still to too late to apply?

you can apply until they have filled their seats. Manipal might be full by now. Some schools raise their prices as the season goes on (as they have less seats available). I had never heard of SRMC before looking at this forum, but their affiliation with Harvard (even though if you go to the Harvard site, you see that SRMC is paying Harvard for their affiliation) is real enough to get you the opportunity to do research at Harvard and get a residency spot there (not the norm, but helpful). Otherwise, my advice is to stick to Manipal. It is as good an education as you can get in India. The profs are mostly great interested teachers. If you go there and piddle around, they will write you off as just another dumb NRI. If you go there and get an above average score (competing against the locals) they will really respect you. Don't let people say you can't measure up to the locals. I did it ... I worked damn hard to do well, but it IS medical school.

So final message, think hard about coming to India. I think you should try the US education system first. Otherwise, Manipal is a pretty good school. I used to get annoyed by it when I was there, but compared to other schools ... little to no corruption, great faculty, great facilities in the hospital, administration ammenable to getting US CE, campus like feel to the towm, very cosmopolitain feel for being in the middle of rural India. I can tell you that while at Baylor (ranked #13 in the US), I could hold my head high against their students. You will go through a lot of crap in India. You will talk to your friends in the US in med school, and you will get bitter that they are treated like adults, where as India treats you like a child. You have to go to classes, even if they are worthless. The administration in Manipal tries to keep students from dating (stupid rules like: not being able to sit outside in groups on campus after 9 pm, not being able to call the girls' hostel after such and such a time, not being able to call a girl out of the hostel at such and such a time, etc. .... ha ha ha, I showed them!)

One more thing, it is dangerous for those who are straight out of high school. Chances are you will have to study a lot harder than you ever have before. Remember, it is medical school. Indian kids are used to studying hard. The Indian system is quite different from the US one, so you will have to work at learning how to answer Indian test questions. Not too hard, but different. Oh, one LAST thing (really) .... just keep in mind that you are in India, not the US. Don't expect it to be like the US. If you don't get stuck in this US vs India mental battle, life will be easier.

Good luck! If you go to Manipal, PM me, I have lots more advice on how to do well there.
 
RST25 said:
1) I know that in order to work in the U.S. the medical school that you received your degree from has to be approved by IMED so you can receive your ECFMG certification. But I also understand that the state you intend to work in must also approve your medical school. Does anyone know any particular website where i can find such a list for NY.

2) Also I heard something about World health Organization(WHO) having to approve the medical school as well. What happens if IMED approves a particular school but that same school is not the list of approved schools on the WHO website? (I'm writing in particular about AMRITA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES AND RESEARCH CENTRE, KOCHI, KERALA, INDIA)

http://imed.ecfmg.org/

This will be the same as the WHO list. States have their own lists sometimes (NY, CA). I would go to their state medical board websites and see.
 
I dont understand why, people don't go to Carribean instead of india.

I mean you are an FMG anyways be it carribean or India. A plus about carribean though, is that you get to do your rotations in the US for the last two years.
PLus there are so many desis who go to the carribean.. :p seriously like the class is full of patels and singhs...
 
priyanka said:
I dont understand why, people don't go to Carribean instead of india.

I mean you are an FMG anyways be it carribean or India. A plus about carribean though, is that you get to do your rotations in the US for the last two years.
PLus there are so many desis who go to the carribean.. :p seriously like the class is full of patels and singhs...

The last book i read was Robinson Crusoe and it said there are Cannibals in Carribeans!!! :eek: :laugh: :laugh:
 
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DrGarfield said:
The last book i read was Robinson Crusoe and it said there are Cannibals in Carribeans!!! :eek: :laugh: :laugh:


lol, regardless. I guess the cannibals train the doctors, so the carribean produces violent doctors.. mm
 
you better get an MRI done and count your organs after getting operated by some Cannibal!
May be part or whole of your Liver or Kidney or soemthing else may be missing! If you are in time, you can find it back to claim the same night at the Doctor´s kitchen grilling! :laugh:
 
oh btw, i wuz wondering....how do ppl born n brought up in the US(who i assume r not very familiar wid south indian languages) manage in manipal? is learnin kannada easy? and as far as rst25 is concerned....think u can pick up malayalam easily considering that u are interested in going to amrita? oh and btw, amrita is very new...faculty r experienced i know....wonder about the clinical exposure the students get....what about it in manipal ?
 
futuris2kl said:
oh btw, i wuz wondering....how do ppl born n brought up in the US(who i assume r not very familiar wid south indian languages) manage in manipal? is learnin kannada easy? and as far as rst25 is concerned....think u can pick up malayalam easily considering that u are interested in going to amrita? oh and btw, amrita is very new...faculty r experienced i know....wonder about the clinical exposure the students get....what about it in manipal ?

You learn Kannada. Most of the college is not from Karnataka. Patients in the hospital speak in order of prevalence, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi (with the vast majority speaking the first 4). Even the merit students are almost all from N. India in Manipal (the Karnataka CET seats go to KMC M'lore). There is one guy who teaches a Kannada course that most students take after I MBBS. And there is a cheat book with simple medical phrases that students carry around. For the exams, there is usually a translator. It takes a while, but you learn enough to get by.

Clinics in Manipal (like med school in general) is a function of how much effort you are willing to put in. You can get through the whole MBBS and internship without having done anything if you want (although you will have a hard time with the clinical exams). If you are interested and take the initiative, you can get great clinical exposure. The one big failing of Manipal is that there are not enough "exam patients" (patients with diseases we are expected to know for the clinical exams) for the number of students studying there. It can be hard to get patients to cooperate with a student trying to examin them if they have already been harassed by 20 other students. As an intern, that is not a problem, except that if you don't want to work (say you just want to study for PG/USMLE exams) they will let you. I met some FP residents here who were in my class. They said they had never even delivered a baby in Manipal. I delievered many many (mostly as an intern). Act interested and they will let you do quite a bit.
 
hey

they teach courses in other languages(kannada)? :(
i was under the assumption that all the courses were taught in english.

If they do teach in english, is it difficult to understand them? I'm referring to any accents they may be have.
 
RST25 said:
hey

they teach courses in other languages(kannada)? :(
i was under the assumption that all the courses were taught in english.

If they do teach in english, is it difficult to understand them? I'm referring to any accents they may be have.

classes are in English, but the patients don't speak English, at least the general ward patients you see as students.

Accents, well sure, a few have accents that are tough to understand. But getting them to understand YOUR accent will be the real trick! Most are easy to follow.
 
futuris2kl said:
oh btw, i wuz wondering....how do ppl born n brought up in the US(who i assume r not very familiar wid south indian languages) manage in manipal? is learnin kannada easy? and as far as rst25 is concerned....think u can pick up malayalam easily considering that u are interested in going to amrita? oh and btw, amrita is very new...faculty r experienced i know....wonder about the clinical exposure the students get....what about it in manipal ?

As for whether it is easy to learn the language, it takes a lot of effort but by 2 years you can understand most of the talking and by 3-4 years you can talk back well enough for someone to understand you- but this takes a LOT of work.
AIMS (Amrita institute)is a relatively new institute. It is rather posh and the treatment there at present is comparatively costly. They focus on advanced cardiac interventional procedures, Orthopaedic prosthetics etc, so you will not have much clinical experience. But, they are buiding a free section for poorer patients so by the time you get here things may have changed.

Once you do your MBBS here (9 semesters (1 sem = 6 months)) it will probably be easier to do the house surgency (1 year) too here. It will be VERY difficult to do it in US.

Then, if you are absolutely bent on going back to US you will be at the same level as all the other applicants from India wanting to get in the US of A.....and rest assured,there will be any number of people working desperately for years for this aaaaand I think there is a lot of bias towards desis who did their MBBS in India in the US for eg many specialities are closed off to them etc etc....

To put it simply, if you are NOT thinking of working in future in India or badly wanting an 'Indian experience' it might be better for you to try for med school in the US itself.
 
yeah mallumed....thats wut i wuz talkin 'bout...the lack of ordinary patients in amrita...have a couple of frnds there...never actually get to c em online...otherwise i could've given a decent idea abt the situation......as far as manipal is concerned....one doesn't really get to c the simple cases much...thats what i heard...dunno how true it is...
 
hey

I understand that students in india do a think called "mugging" when it comes to studying. I also hear thatz how they do so well in school. What is that? and How do you "mug" information? somebody explain. :confused:

thanx a kadoodle to everyone that posts on here :)
 
RST25 said:
hey

I understand that students in india do a think called "mugging" when it comes to studying. I also hear thatz how they do so well in school. What is that? and How do you "mug" information? somebody explain. :confused:

thanx a kadoodle to everyone that posts on here :)


Mugging is the equivalent of whats otherwise known as cramming. Although mugging/cramming may work for some individuals in specific situations, it is not the optimal means of storing huge amounts of information in long term memory. I hope this helps.
 
Ok, so a lot has happened here since my last post. I do want to say that as far as the language barrier goes, it can be a problem. I go to Deccan College of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad where the predominant languages are Hindu, Urdu and Telugu. I knew a little bit of Urdu before I started medicine but really learned it after coming here. Since Urdu and Hindi are quite similar, I can get by. I don't know jack **** about Telugu so if I ever have to examine a patient that can't speak Urdu or Hindi, I get a friend to help me out. But that almost never happens. As far as mugging up goes, that's just Indian slang for dry memorization. The just sit there and memorize EVERYTHING and repeat it verbatum (sp?). It's pretty amazing how they do it, I have no idea how. It's good for the short term but in the end you remember better when you actually understand the concept. Another thing I wanted to tell you, or warn you about, is that there is NO MULTIPLE CHOICE. Everything here is done by essay, so prepare yourself. I never wrote a REAL essay until I came here so I found that to be yet another thing I had to adjust to. I hope this helps a little.

P.S. In case you do decide to go, here's a couple words that confused me in the beginning...

BUNKING = DITCHING/SKIPPING/CUTTING

MASS BUNK = THE ENTIRE CLASS DOESN'T SHOW UP

FREAK OUT = GO OUT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME

That's all I can think of for now, but if I think of anymore I'll be sure to post them. :)
 
Sunz81 said:
Ok, so a lot has happened here since my last post. I do want to say that as far as the language barrier goes, it can be a problem. I go to Deccan College of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad where the predominant languages are Hindu, Urdu and Telugu. I knew a little bit of Urdu before I started medicine but really learned it after coming here. Since Urdu and Hindi are quite similar, I can get by. I don't know jack **** about Telugu so if I ever have to examine a patient that can't speak Urdu or Hindi, I get a friend to help me out. But that almost never happens. As far as mugging up goes, that's just Indian slang for dry memorization. The just sit there and memorize EVERYTHING and repeat it verbatum (sp?). It's pretty amazing how they do it, I have no idea how. It's good for the short term but in the end you remember better when you actually understand the concept. Another thing I wanted to tell you, or warn you about, is that there is NO MULTIPLE CHOICE. Everything here is done by essay, so prepare yourself. I never wrote a REAL essay until I came here so I found that to be yet another thing I had to adjust to. I hope this helps a little.

P.S. In case you do decide to go, here's a couple words that confused me in the beginning...

BUNKING = DITCHING/SKIPPING/CUTTING

MASS BUNK = THE ENTIRE CLASS DOESN'T SHOW UP

FREAK OUT = GO OUT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME

That's all I can think of for now, but if I think of anymore I'll be sure to post them. :)

If you were a gora, I'd go ballistic on you and expose your ignorance to the whole world. But I can see this was a typo :D
 
Oops, I guess I was typing so quickly I wasn't really paying attention. My bad!
 
Mugging up is what lu call Cramming! Memorisind the teenie weenie details by heart and not by brain- many do it in schools in india and some try to follow that in Medical colleges too- they do well in the Weekend tests but cramming doesn´t go any longer than that with the medical studies. So it´s not worth giving a hit. Mugging is not for medicos!

Life in the medschool in India is toooooo bore though- they always keep you on your toes- with small and big tests and assignments and a lot of studies to do- and as the exam system is more in essays and short questions but no MCQs, you have to pay more attention to the text books too. one question goes wrond and it can cost you anywhere from 5 to 20 marks in a 80-100 marks test.

On the clinical side, there´s a LOT of patients and a lot of experience to be gained- as in India we say-
"If you want 5 years´money for 2 years´job, go work in USA; if you want 5 years´experience for 2 years´job, go work in Indian hospitals"

To support this, i tell you- at the place where I did my MBBS and MS Ortho, thre are around 70,000 admissions in the hospital per year and 26,000 surgeries per year- unbelieveable? Check me out!
 
hey

When i wrote on this forum, i was very skeptical but i'm definitely glad to be wrong.

Thanks for all the quick responses!!

Oh sunny123 what is a "gora" ?
 
RST25 said:
hey

When i wrote on this forum, i was very skeptical but i'm definitely glad to be wrong.

Thanks for all the quick responses!!

Oh sunny123 what is a "gora" ?

^a "gora" is hindi for a white person. :)
 
^ yep, thanks Cali. I actually said that because there are a lot of people that try and talk as if they know the ins and outs of India (especially on the news). And I've seen this mistake over and over, where people think that "hindu" or "Indian" are languages. I know I've never thought "Christian" or "American/Canadian" were languages as well :laugh: .
 
Communicating with patients in India is really treaky. Even if u r from the same state and speak same language as that of patient u still might not understand what they r trying to say. Here is a real life experience I remember-
During my general surgery posting I was assigned a illiterate patient with distended abdomen who had come all the way from Bihar for treatment. I speak and understand Hindi very well since its my Second language and I never thought I wuld encounter any problem wiht the patient. But when I approached the patient and asked her chief complaints she said "mere pet mein kucchua hai"(I have turtle in my abdomen). :confused: I was at loss I never heard of such strange complaint. patient was saying there was a turtle in her abdomen.!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was seriously thinking whether she had any psychiatric illness but I didn't fnd anything to suggest it other than her strange complaint. Well the patient was admitted and previously attended by house surgeon so any possibility of her being "nut case" was distant. I courageously asked her again what was her problem and this time I heard carefully what she said. She actually wanted to say "mere pet mein kuch hua hai" ( there something wrong in my abdomen) :D

One fine day I encountered a patient in pediatrics ward who's chief complaint as his father told me was that there was a boodbooda in his sons eye. This time I perfectly understand what boodbooda means (its a marathi word for Bubble) but still I was baffled. I approached registrar to help me out he told me to see for the slipped lens in boy's eye a classical sign of homocysteinuria. this slipped lens according to the patient's father resembled the bubble!!!!!!!!!strange isn't it........
 
speaking about communication

Does anyone where i can learn Hindi? (books and or sites...i looked up some but wasn't too successful) I figure this might come in handy.. :)
 
You're from Ny right? I bet if you go to Jackson Heights you can find those Learn Hindi/Telugu/Tamil/Marathi/Gujrati etc in 30 Days books. Good luck!
 
Sunz81 said:
You're from Ny right? I bet if you go to Jackson Heights you can find those Learn Hindi/Telugu/Tamil/Marathi/Gujrati etc in 30 Days books. Good luck!
Stand in Jackson Heights, and it'll take you less than 30 days ;) .
 
RST25 said:
speaking about communication

Does anyone where i can learn Hindi? (books and or sites...i looked up some but wasn't too successful) I figure this might come in handy.. :)

Suggest u the easiest and funniest way of learning hindi- Watch bollywood movies
 
DrGarfield said:
Suggest u the easiest and funniest way of learning hindi- Watch bollywood movies

:D :D Thats a bright idea but again here u will be able to learn only Bambaiyya hindi bole to fultoo tapori!!!!!! it wouldnt be great idea if u intend to stay up north. Anyway its far better than nothing.
 
thanks guys

Good books are hard to find.

Standing in Jackson heights hasn't done much for my hindi, i have been there before..lol.

bollywood movies..well i'm not really a big fan of those.

" Bambaiyya hindi bole to fultoo tapori!!!!!! "...HUH?

Dhanyavaad :laugh: :D
(i know a few word thats pretty much it.)
 
for the love of god, please dont waste your time w/ silly indian movies. there are only a countable here and there that come out and actually have a point and are believeable and stuff. anyway, if you dont learn hindi soon, (w/ the proper accent), get ready for people to make fun of you and take advantage of you left and right...happens to every american that steps off the plane. have fun!
 
RST25 said:
Dhanyavaad :laugh: :D
(i know a few word thats pretty much it.)

Dhanyavaad!!!!!! :scared: Well that truly esoteric word!!!!! I dont remember when I last time used that word. U wont get many people saying dhanyavad to u; at least on the streets of any indian city. simply say thanks or thank youor else ur sure to get some strange vibes.

u know the language of Indian middle uses so many words borrowed from English that many a times I wonder whether they are english words at all.
 
Hi, my sister went to KMC, and now she's back and a 1st year resident at UTMB. After the 4.5 years, she came back here and took about 1.5-2 years off to do your internships (which she had to set up herself at various teaching hospitals) and the USMLEs (she took some prep classes, and plenty of time in betn Step 1 and 2 and the CSA, she'll take Step 3 at the end of this year I think). All in all, she's still younger than most of her peers, so its no biggie to take the time off for the USMLEs (which she said are one hard biatch), and it really helped her to do her internships here to get the residency of her choice. But yes, I've heard it's nearly impossible to get the more competitive residencies like surgery, cardiology, etc unless you're like at the top of your class. 50% of the students at KMC are NRIs so I dont think they can afford to treat you too harshly seeing as you probably pay for 75% of the school lol. And I'm pretty sure those accusations about paying to pass are baseless. As for the MBBS/MD thing, I dont really get it either, but at any rate, once you're done with KMC and your internships, you're regarded as an MD. Hope that helps!
 
can someone tell me anythn abt the twinning programme wit manipal/miami??

thank u..
 
why are you (or rather, your parents) more intent to do med school in india versus college then med school here? if you're trying to save time...there are two things to think about:

1. it will definitely take time to study for step 1 and 2 after finishing med school in india so that automatically adds a year, then you have to look for a residency spot...which is harder to find as an FMG, plus there are a million other indian FMGs competing with you...that may also add a year or two.

2. why don't you do a 6 year medical program here right out of high school? i did it and it was the best of both worlds...save time and get into med school right away...AND no need to worry about FMG discrimination (if that's a concern for you).

also, reading your initial post -
"What is residency? and when do you do them? how do you get into one?
i also read/heard that international med students get stuck with left over seats and they don't necessarily get into the one of their choice especially if surgery? any truth to that?"

the innocence of your questions makes me think that you should probably go to college first. if you don't even know what residency is...you may want to get to understand this whole process before diving into medicine in india and realizing things waaaay too late (plus all the money your family will spend). going to india to get into a career your parents are pushing you into is no joke.

my 2 paisas.
 
Hey my names Ramya im from Tampa, FL. Im in my 4th year at Manipal right now. I want find out how I can do my internship rotations in the US becuase I don want to do it in manipal. How did u apply to Baylor? Did you do all of the internship there apart from community medicine?
 
why are you (or rather, your parents) more intent to do med school in india versus college then med school here? if you're trying to save time...there are two things to think about:

1. it will definitely take time to study for step 1 and 2 after finishing med school in india so that automatically adds a year, then you have to look for a residency spot...which is harder to find as an FMG, plus there are a million other indian FMGs competing with you...that may also add a year or two.

2. why don't you do a 6 year medical program here right out of high school? i did it and it was the best of both worlds...save time and get into med school right away...AND no need to worry about FMG discrimination (if that's a concern for you).

also, reading your initial post -
"What is residency? and when do you do them? how do you get into one?
i also read/heard that international med students get stuck with left over seats and they don't necessarily get into the one of their choice especially if surgery? any truth to that?"

the innocence of your questions makes me think that you should probably go to college first. if you don't even know what residency is...you may want to get to understand this whole process before diving into medicine in india and realizing things waaaay too late (plus all the money your family will spend). going to india to get into a career your parents are pushing you into is no joke.

my 2 paisas.

I totally agree.....!
 
while I realize the original poster has probably made a decision (by the way, I wonder what it was?)...

I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents...

I actually went to the same med school as sunz81 (*wave*)... and here's my advice... which has been given by a few people on here...

Do a couple years of undergrad, get your prerequisites out of the way, and then go to the carribean.
The benefits are, you get American experience, you're closer to home, you're out of the US for a far shorter time period, there's less of a culture shock, and you have a better chance at residency...

The only benefits of going to india that i see are, if you're into the whole getting to know the culture, and/or language(s), and honestly, that's about it...

I went to Hyderabad after a few unsuccessful semesters of undergrad here, and really struggled there... academically... and just living there, initially...

Now that i'm back, passed my MLE's and in a residency program, of course I'm grateful i went, because, honestly, I wouldn't have become a doctor otherwise...
But I honestly think the Carribean is a better option IF you know you can't do it in the US... saving time is just not a realistic reason, because 9 times out of 10, you won't...
 
Dramkinola... What med school in Hyderbad did u go to?
I am in my 3rd year of BScN in toronto and im thinking about going into med school.. maybe abroad.

Please tell me what Medical College u went to. the process u underwent and ur experience.

Looking forward to your response.


---> ALSO IF ANYONE ELSE CAN TELL ME ABOUT ANY GOOD MED SCHOOL ABROAD IT WOULD BE GREAT.
( any FORMER nurses out there? let me know your experience also)


THANKS GUYS.........
 
lol if you are smart, you would go to an american medical school. No offense folks the whole 5.5 year thing in india is a big deception. No one finishes their medical school in india on time, even if they do it always conflicts with american match periods etc; In addition trying to pass USMLE'S and realizing that you guyies will always be considered to be the last takers of good residency spots...you think it's all worth it?

Your priorities should be;

1. American Medical School
2. Caribbean
3. Any foreingn school

Go enjoy college man, you guyies are trying to choose professions that demand a great amount of sacrifice, you are just not ready for that right out of high school. Iam sure there are always exceptions but doesnt necessarily mean it will be you, hey dont let your parents or family dictate how your future should be shaped? A true professional does his homework and takes initiative for a plan that inculcates hardwork and dedication. Go to college, get your foundation strong then think about medical school.You saving 2 years on your studying will only hurt you realizing that your exposure to the real world will come faster...end of the day you have a good 40-50 years of service in the field of medicine. So if you go to india you might get a crack at 52 years...who cares? Grow up and go to college!
 
Yo Drama... Dunno if you're into Basketball but I heard the Deccan BBall team is really good.... you guys have like 16 varsity starters from America or something.... I go to KIMS in Bangalore... and we had the great privelidge of getting a beat down by you guys on the cour... haha... How you guys get so many american players.... you guys recruit?
 
I haven't replied in a while...
Gopal... my year in 96 was when we had the first real influx of americans...
about 14 NRI's... we had quite a few ballers...
They still have some newer Americans there I think... haven't been back in a few years...
Don't feel bad, they beat a lot of teams around India...

saz - I went to Deccan College of Medical Sciences... while not a great Medical school (honestly) we have dozens upon dozens of residents and practicing physicians in the US...
*gets on pulpit*
Here it is basically for everyone contemplating medicine...
1) the best option is to study hard and get into med school where you're from...
2) if you live in the US or Canada, and getting into med school in your country is not gonna happen (as in my case), then go to the Carribean (I wasn't fully aware of this option when I went...
3) You can get a medical education anywhere (that's recognized), but in the end, it's up to you... what I mean is, when it comes down to your USMLEs or Canadian boards, it all depends on how hard you can study and your natural aptitude. I wasn't the greatest student while in India... too many friends, too much time wasted "trying" to have fun... which I eventually did have, made friends I will have my whole life, and matured to an extent i would never have if I would have stayed away from the third world.
4) Kaplan is the great equalizer... what I mean is, once you take the Kaplan courses, and actually learn what they're teaching you, you can pass the tests relatively easily. Once you're a resident, you're basically on the same footing as the other residents in your field. I have classmates not only in Family Practice, internal medicine, and peds, but also in Psychiatry, OBGYN, Cardiology (with one in a ElectroPhysiology fellowship), Pulmonology Critical Care, etc... I know of at least two Chief residents, and people at great hospitals... So it's not true you get stuck in FP if you go to India...

So to sum it up, medical education is medical education... just depends on how motivated you are to make the most of it.
 
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