Easier to acquire a Residency?

Absolutely not. you've made it into one of the top tier med schools in India, and in that particular school, you have the priviledge of doing away rotations in the US, including in NY, during your clinical years. Find out how to make that happen. Stay in that school, do some away rotations in the US, you'll be fine.

 

I don't know anything about your particular medical school in India.
However, I do know that there are quite a few residents from Indian medical schools in the US. Of course, going to med school over there vs. here in the US makes it hard, or even impossible, to get certain US residencies (i.e. dermatology, plastic surgery). However, there are a lot you can still definitely get (IM, family practice, psych, pathology) and a lot you can still probably get if you do well on the US medical licensing exam and your medical school clinical rotations during 3rd and 4th years (ER, anesthesia, maybe general surgery, etc.). I don't think that moving to the Caribbean is going to help you at this point. For one thing, it will probably cost you a lot of money and time (and make you look unfocused, as you have pointed out).

I'm not expert on being an IMG, but one thing I do know is that it's important to do plenty of clinical rotations in the US while you are in medical school. This makes sense as you want to learn as much as you can about practicing in the US and how hospitals run in the US. If you are a citizen/permanent US resident, that will make things better in terms of being able to get a US residency, since the program knows they don't have to deal with worrying about getting you a VISA and they know you are familiar with US culture, etc.

I don't know for sure, but would think a US permanent resident or US citizen who attending a good medical school in India and had appropriate rotations in a US hospital would do just as well in the US Match as someone who attended one of the better Caribbean medical schools. As far as transferring to any but maybe 2-4 of the top schools down there, I DEFINITELY would not do it because based on their USMLE pass rates and their dubious residency placements, or lack of any significant history of residency placements of student into US residencies, some of those places are probably not providing a very good education. Some of them are basically just diploma mills. I think some US hospitals are definitely familiar with some foreign schools (i.e. ones in India and Pakistan, etc.) particularly if they have taken students from there in the past, and will respect your degree if they have had good experiences in the past with students from your school.

 

What DF99 said.

But, if the choice is between staying were you are, vs. dropping out and going to a Carib med school, for the sole purpose of getting US clincal experience (USCE) as a med student, do not do that. You have the same opportunity to gain USCE at Manipal, as you would in a Caribbean school.

Really, the only way you could be in a better position for gaining a good residency is to drop out, take the MCAT, and get into a US school.

I'd caution you about what USCE you want to obtain. Though USCE is a good thing, it is very heavily scrutinized... and you may end up shooting yourself in the foot by obtaining it. I would consider doing your Cores in the US, and your electives back in Manipal.

 

Isn't Manipal a sort of Mothership for Non-Resident Indians returning to get professional degrees? The medical course seems 100% geared towards practice outside of India-- they stress USMLE prep and grant an MD, which isn't even recognized in India! With all that in place, I would think they'd make arrangements for US electives to get their grads into residency, no?

 

pretty sure an MD is recognized in india..the MBBS is the bare minimum you get after completing medical school...in india you can do further training and they grant an MD but most do not opt to get it...

 

Nah, she's about right...

Fairly recently there was a problem with Manipal's accreditation in India.

And, the MD granted by Manipal is not recognized as an MD in India, only as an MBBS. Im sure you can get a license to practice, maybe as though you were an IMG over there. The MD in India is a 3 to 5 year long basic science research doctorate that they can go for after their MBBS and residency. I had a professor who had trained in India, and had no problem with reminding me that his MD is better than my MD.

 

"Graduation Years" has been updated for KMC on IMED: 1953-current.

A few months ago it was 1953-2008.