Current Carib Med students: Critically review your school honestly

[Gollum]

Ok, so I've heard all the good about carib med schools: the rigor, the ability to come back to the states for US residencies, etc.

Now let's hear some HONEST complaints about over sea schools. Please talk about everything you dislike about it from first year complaints to fourth year.

Thank you.

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[Brian Pavlovitz]

Ok, so I've heard all the good about carib med schools: the rigor, the ability to come back to the states for US residencies, etc.

Now let's hear some HONEST complaints about over sea schools. Please talk about everything you dislike about it from first year complaints to fourth year.

Thank you.

1. GETTING to the island (in terms of $$ for tickets and # of available airlines).

2. The food

3. The attitude of some of the locals towards the students

4. The attitude of some of the more "immature" students towards the locals!

5. The competitiveness

6. Not being able to fly home when you have a few days off (see #1 above)

7. Rationing of water in dry season.

8. occasional power outages

9. Students who are slobs on campus and have no respect for the custodial staff.

10. How we're frightened into taking a $3,000 Kaplan review course because administration says that most students take it to pass the USMLE. Total crock of s&%!!!

...these are really all extraneous things, though. I really can't complain too much about the instruction. If you don't like an instructor, its more of a personal thing. Of course, we had a couple that were just plain horrible, but you learn who those people are and read on your own!

Any more??

 

[awdc]

My biggest beef since being here is that the financial aid dept can move at a snail's pace. We just had our finals for the semester and still have yet to see my financial aid award letter for the next semester despite being told numerous times for the past month that I will soon have it. It seems in every semester, some students are left hanging. Since my time here, I've heard quite a few stories about people finally getting their financial refund check at the end of the semester. While the school can give out advances, it's still frustrating being unable to plann out next semester's finances.

 

[Dukes]

For me I found it difficult to constantly shift gears between the fast paced, busy, and stressful enviroment of academic life to the slow and inefficient (by US standards) pace of island life. When you're in a hurry to get back to the books I got irritated having to wait hours to get stuff done like for instance get a cell phone. Also a lot of islanders are out to rip students off and sometimes you just can't do anything about it. For instance the grenadian customs officers who are possibly the most miserable people on earth will charge you over 100 US for your computer. Personally I'm used to friendly hard working people. Once you accept the way things are in the islands life becomes much easier. Some people never learn and are pretty much miserable the whole time.

As far as the school is concerned I felt the administration at times was rather careless and disorganized which goes also for some of the academic departments. This usually had to do with locals working there. Every semester it seemed like the bookstore didn't have all the books in on time. Other beefs I had were that some professors to me at least were too difficult to understand and/or used poor grammar which made it more difficult to learn (this wasn't very prevalent).
Also in carib schools you have a quite a big difference between the top students and the bottom. Some of the people down there I found to be among the most motivated and intelligent I've ever met and frankly couldn't figure out how they didn't get in to US schools while the some folks just aren't too bright and thus can slow down the lectures because they constantly ask questions. As one of my profs put it "down here you have a longer tail to the curve".

That's about it for me. I will say that my overall experience was very positive, I learned a lot down at there, made some great friends, I was very well prepared for the boards, and I am very glad I decided to go there.

SGU Student

 

[Gollum]

thanks.

I have one question. I have often heard that for tougher residency program research experience is not something you should do, but rather something that you MUST do. Since it may often times be hard to find the proper resources to conduct research over seas, how do students get around this hurdle?

 

[Leukocyte]

Anyone have any comments about the professors? Not their personalities, but whether any of them come for a week?

If practical, I wouldn't mind going to some of the islands once a year to give lectures about my surgical subspecialty. However, if this isn't done or if I'm not welcome, no thanks. (I'm not finished with my residency so I'm not ready to go yet).

There are many guest lecturers that come and teach a segment of a course at Ross. All of them are established professors in US medical schools who had years of experience in teaching and research.

You are welcome to talk to Ross about your interests.

 

[Skip Intro]

I guess I don't qualify! I don't want to be a full time faculty of any medical school, just a clinical faculty of the hometown school and perhaps Ross or AUC or Grenada.

Go to AUC, if you can set it up. It's by far the best island of the three.

-Skip

 

[stephew]

thanks.

I have one question. I have often heard that for tougher residency program research experience is not something you should do, but rather something that you MUST do. Since it may often times be hard to find the proper resources to conduct research over seas, how do students get around this hurdle?

too simplistic. Does it make a difference? yes. MUST you? can't really say. But the point is well taken. However by research what do you mean? Basic sci? Then you need a school with facilities (sgu for instance has WINDREF). But for most they do clinical which can be done when you get back to the states in your 3rd year and over summers.