NY Med Schools fight to end Carib path

[TriagePreMed]

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If they managed to displace big name schools, this entire thing is up for a world of hurt. It'll basically boil down to the influence of big schools vs the money of the Caribbean. Sounds like NY will be somewhere ugly to go to school.

 

[DocEspana]

Wow ... didn't know that. Seems like something should be done, but still don't know if shutting down the Caribbean path is the right move.

Well right now there are two things working 'against' the carribbean schools. One is that the AMA has a standing policy that LCME/COCA schools should have priority in clinical sites, but it has no teeth, enforcement or clear layout of how that should be accomplished.

the second is that NY state has a strictly followed* regulation, created in the wake of multiple studies showing caribbean trained american doctors have poor clinical outcomes, that if your clinical rotations send you outside of your home country for more than 12 weeks, you will no longer be eligible to be a resident in New York (as as such can be rejected from electives for that same reason, that you cant ever do residency at that hospital, why start training you there).

the *asterisk* is because NY state has declared that this rule applies to all non-american schools EXCEPT Ross, St George, and University of the Americas. AKA the three schools that have contracts that are buying out New York hospitals. They are free to train here to their hearts content.

this has made NY an especially good place for these guys to train. and train they have.

 

[Postal]

the *asterisk* is because NY state has declared that this rule applies to all non-american schools EXCEPT Ross, St George, and University of the Americas. AKA the three schools that have contracts that are buying out New York hospitals. They are free to train here to their hearts content.

ooooh. Well that explains why they all come to NY for rotations. Now I'm freaked out about going to school in New York.

 

[panasonic52]

Am I the only person who likes my pre-med advisor?

Nope! Loved mine. I wanted to switch out of Bio but never considered other majors before. He talked to me for awhile asking me about my interests and what my goals were. After our session, he suggested a major I was happy in for the rest of undergrad! Also, when I didn't get into med school the last cycle, I was flipping out about what I could do to help my chances the 2nd time around. He helped me there too, and I finally got in this time 🙂

I saw that the OP mentioned how ridiculous it is that one girl didn't get into a US med school. Her excuse for not getting in is a 27 MCAT? She either didn't have the drive to try again, bombed her interviews or applied to schools for prestige and didn't look at where her stats would get her in. I just don't think it was her numbers that prevented her from getting in.

As far as this move to stop Caribbean med schools, I'm torn. I know a few friends who I believe would make great doctors, but didn't make the cut in the US a couple times. I also think that they help the shortage considering the number of applicants increases every year but the spots available barely increase. But I also see some people go through the Caribbean who I wouldn't want treating me as a doc. I'm sure that can be found at any school though.

 

[Kalu123]

When I interviewed at Touro-NY a few months ago, the dean mentioned that AUC bought out their prior rotation slots at Bronx Lebanon. So Touro students would no longer be able to rotate there. I think the Bronx had been Touro's main rotation hospital, so this was a major loss for them. As an applicant, this was one of my top reasons for declining my acceptance to TouroCOM. I found the remaining rotation hospitals to be unimpressive, as well as quite dispersed. I personally think that if Caribbean schools increasingly "buy out" these positions, it will not only restrict the opportunities for New York medical students to train, but will eventually shoo applicants away from New York medical schools. Maybe not Cornell, NYU, or Columbia, but some of the "less prestigious" (this is debatable, I know) MD and DO American medical schools. I can personally say that AUC's big purchase of prior DO rotation spots is what made me decide to go elsewhere.

I do, however, understand that the Caribbean schools need to train their students somewhere. But why are they so concentrated in New York? Maybe there should be a cap on the number of spots allowed? It seems that in one way or another their purchasing power needs to be regulated.

 

[DocEspana]

yea, it was St. George's of Harlem Hospital (Ross and AUC taking Bronx-Leb was much less of a big deal for us when compared to losing a hospital contracted to be our university hospital). As a tiny defense of Touro, you'll be hard pressed to find any other DO school with as many sites within 30 minutes of the main campus for cores. Actually think we're #1 in that aspect.

but i digress, as this is about the bigger issue. these schools have made finding clinical training spots in the five boroughs pure hell. Columbia, Cornell and Einstein have all been chased out of their ancillary hospitals, keeping just their university hospitals on the island. NYMC has these problems heaped onto the closing of St. Vincent's, so they had a big scramble for clinical spots, so im told, this year as well.

Someone from NYU needs to explain to me how NYU and its hospital system has been wholly immune to this whole thing.

When I interviewed at Touro-NY a few months ago, the dean mentioned that AUC bought out their prior rotation slots at Bronx Lebanon. So Touro students would no longer be able to rotate there. I think the Bronx had been Touro's main rotation hospital, so this was a major loss for them. As an applicant, this was one of my top reasons for declining my acceptance to TouroCOM. I found the remaining rotation hospitals to be unimpressive, as well as quite dispersed. I personally think that if Caribbean schools increasingly "buy out" these positions, it will not only restrict the opportunities for New York medical students to train, but will eventually shoo applicants away from New York medical schools. Maybe not Cornell, NYU, or Columbia, but some of the "less prestigious" (this is debatable, I know) MD and DO American medical schools. I can personally say that AUC's big purchase of prior DO rotation spots is what made me decide to go elsewhere.

I do, however, understand that the Caribbean schools need to train their students somewhere. But why are they so concentrated in New York? Maybe there should be a cap on the number of spots allowed? It seems that in one way or another their purchasing power needs to be regulated.