Mike MacKinnon said:
Hi everyone
First off this is not an attack on those who have chosen the Caribbean route. I have worked with a few excellent physicians who have come from C. schools. I just have some honest questions and would like to see egos checked at the door and get honest answers. I am putting togeather a survey.
For those in school now:
1) Do you no wish you would have stayed in the US and tried harder to get into a US MD/DO school?
2) Has your experience been good to date? Or do you feel like you just apart of a money making venture?
3) Do you find there are alot of people around your quitting for various reasons? Is it mostly due to family issues or inability to make the grades?
4) Did you ever consider a EU school? Why or Why not?
5) What do you expect your total debt will be? Do you feel this is worth it?
6) was the Caribbean your "last resort" attempt at med school? If not why?
7) Which schools you you feel are the best there? Did your GPA and MCAT really matter for entrance if you could prove ability to pay?
8) How is life different there? What do you like dislike?
For those in residency:
1) Have you ever felt discriminated against as a C. intern/resident?
2) Did you feel it was much more difficult to Match?
3) did you feel you were prepared to do well on the USMLEs or did you feel you had to do it on your own?
4) Did you accept a residency you didnt really want to get back into the USA?
Thanks everyone 😉
I wil try to keep my answers short and sweet as I really should be reviewing Pharmacology .
1. No, I do not regret trying to wait it out to get a US school. If I were interested in Plastics, or ortho or Derm, then My reply would be different. I have no interest in surgery, and even though Derm is a sweet gig, I would have gone to law school If I was purely in it for the money ( My respect to those who truly enjoy derm.....I would not be one of them. ) I started school within months of applying and am now a third year student. This was key for me.
2. Ross lets alot of people in and anyone with an IQ of 100 and THEIR OWN MOTIVATION to want to become a physician should succeed. Are they a money-making venture?.....yes. Have I had a good experience....overwhelmingly yes. I had truly interested professors for the most part and island life is what you make of it. I got to visit many other beautiful islands, have had the experience of living in a third world country, swam with turtles and barricudas, made awesome friends for life. Again, I chose to go there. So many people are resentful. I was under no pretences as to why I was there. I managed to go out at least once a week, and still maintained good grades. You do not have to be a martyr for medicine.
3. Those who quit either a. could not handle the island....food, heat,people, lack of 1st world amenities b. could not adjust to the rigors of medical school...ie. memorisation, reading, more memorisation, and at some point putting it all together into "the big picture" of how it is all interrelated. This is not unique to carribean med. People often blame the school and complain about the dificulty of exams. To which I say no matter where you go you still have to pass the USMLE, which will be alot tougher than anything at Ross. There were a select few who quit for personal reasons ( ie. medicine was not for them, sick family members.)
4. Funnily no. You should be familiar with my response to this from the UK & Ireland forum. I am from that neck of the woods, and was anxious to see another part of the world. I was not concerned about being an FMG from one country as opposed to an FMG from another. Ireland / UK are great and if you decide to go there, you will enjoy it. My intention was to practice in the states, and the carribean route just seemed more ....direct. Either way though Biochem is biochem....and eventually you end up just sitting down with a book and making the connecctions yourself. No one can really teach you Medicine....at least until you get on the wards. Oh yeah...the 5/6 year programs were not my bag..wanted to get done asap.
5. Cost of Ross education w/ living expense money: ~ $180,000. Doing what I want for life: priceless. Its an investment. I had no undergrad loans as I chose a state school, and am intent on moonlighting in residency, so it is a lot of money...but I don't lose sleep at night or anything.
6. The carribean was not my last resort. I had a good mcat 30s, with a 3.2 GPA. I am confident I could have got in to an EU or australian school, maybe a US school if I had spent another year raising my GPA. As I stated earlier my motto was kinda like the walgreens line "get in, get out, get on with your life". Time was the major factor in choosing carribean for me.
7. GPA and MCAT not a factor for me. They accepted me based on my GPA and MCAT pretty much at the interview. This may not be true of everyone. In advising someone as to going there, I would limit myself to Ross, SGU and AUC. Check with licensing in the state(s) you want to practice and make sure the school is accepted there.
8. Life on the rock is slower, hotter, stickier. Disikes....eventually got sick of the food, and many in the class whined incessantly about the school. It felt at times like I was surrounded by 16 year olds ( I heard shes sleeping with, OMG that guy only got a 65 on test x...yada..yada ). If you choose your friends wisely, check out what the island has to offer ( scuba, sailing, hiking etc.), and you are genuinely interested in your coursework I do not foresee that many problems. During my time on the island, financial aid issues and family problems were by and far my main concerns. Study was almost a welcome relief.....very, very doable.
Good luck in your decisions. Feel free to pm me if you have any further questions. take care.
