Please help: US DO Vs. Carr. MD

[woodhorse22]

Hello,
I am currently applying to US medical schools (both DO and MD) with a GPA of 3.93 cum science, 3.94 cum, and 25 MCAT. I have already been accepted to some DO schools but have not heard from MD schools here. Should I be apply to carribbean MD schools? The only reason I prefer MD over DO is that MDs can practice anywhere whereas DOs are limited. I plan to serve my mother country some day with my medical degree which won't be possible with a DO degree as of now. Any suggestions. THANKS

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AllIn4Life]

The best option for you is to retake the MCAT because your GPA is too good to pass up. As far as DO vs. MD, I am not even going to comment on which is better because when you compare US DO to Carib MD...it sparks a war on the forums. That said, you indicate that you want to be an MD so I guess the Carib MD option is better. However, let me repeat that you have a real shot at a US MD by just improving your MCAT score by 5 points.

 

[McGillGrad]

Retake the MCAT and get into a US MD school. You would have to be an idiot not to try one more time before facing the shame of being a DO or the problems with a Carib MD.

 

[JoeNamaMD]

Your GPA is excellent, you might want to take a tutoring course to raise your MCAT. If that is your only option DO is better than going to a Caribbean school.

 

[oldpro]

study and retake the MCAT IMHO Caribbean is ok though.

DO if you want ( I hate these DO vers Carib stuff)

Really you should work your tail off and do a better MCAT!

 

[AlleghenyPOD]

Stop this DO vs CaribMD comparison.

Caribbean medical schools are allopathic schools. You end up as an MD.
DOs are a totally different story.

MD is MD. DO is DO.

 

[Phoenix02]

MD is great (doesn't matter if its from the us or otherwise/don't fill you head with this inferior/superior non-sense...just work your tail off). DO is great. Whatever makes you happy.

-Mark

 

[McGillGrad]

MD is great (doesn't matter if its from the us or otherwise/don't fill you head with this inferior/superior non-sense...just work your tail off). DO is great. Whatever makes you happy.

-Mark

Seeing that a DO degree means little in Canada, it removes that options for most Canadians who flirt with the idea of someday coming back to Canada (no matter how happy it would make us)

 

[Shinken]

Seeing that a DO degree means little in Canada, it removes that options for most Canadians who flirt with the idea of someday coming back to Canada (no matter how happy it would make us)

Well, DOs are allowed full licensure in Canada with unlimited scope of practice, but that's all I'm going to say. I'll be accused of spreading false information and stirring trouble, as usual. See ya.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=107627

 

[McGillGrad]

Your link means nothing, sweetheart.

A DO means little in Canada and it means you mean little. That is why you got your little pink panties all in a bunch.

Well, DOs are allowed full licensure in Canada with unlimited scope of practice, but that's all I'm going to say. I'll be accused of spreading false information and stirring trouble, as usual. See ya.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=107627

 

[JoeNamaMD]

A DO is better to have than an "MD" from a Caribbean school. Obviously if you have an MD from a North American school it is another matter.

 

[AlleghenyPOD]

MD is MD. DO is DO. If you like DO schools so much, why wont dont you go to one, unless.....got rejected?

 

[tkim]

Here are a couple of links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_practice_rights_of_U.S.-trained_D.O.s

http://www.tugsa.net/InternationalDO.pdf

http://www.caribbeanmedicine.com/openletter.htm

Sounds tough either way to practice in Canada graduating from a non-Canadian medical school.

 

[AllIn4Life]

MD will always be an MD no matter where you get it from because I've met quite a few doctors through my previous job that are from foreign schools and offshore schools and flourishing. There is also nothing wrong with getting a DO. My opinion....get whatever letters you want.

 

[McGillGrad]

I googled the DO situation in Canada after I posted and found that DO technically practice freely in primary care, although specialties require more hoops to jump through.

For some reason, the Canadian medical establishment is very protective of their Canadian graduates because I have seen more than one European surgeon driving a taxi in Quebec.

Here are a couple of links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_practice_rights_of_U.S.-trained_D.O.s

http://www.tugsa.net/InternationalDO.pdf

http://www.caribbeanmedicine.com/openletter.htm

Sounds tough either way to practice in Canada graduating from a non-Canadian medical school.

 

[McGillGrad]

A DO is better to have than an "MD" from a Caribbean school. Obviously if you have an MD from a North American school it is another matter.

Keep whispering that to yourself while you hold oh-so-tightly onto your man-pillow while sobbing sweet salty tears onto your sexy purple negligee.

 

[AlleghenyPOD]

.......

 

[AllIn4Life]

LMFAO

Keep whispering that to yourself while you hold oh-so-tightly onto your man-pillow while sobbing sweet salty tears onto your sexy purple negligee.

 

[JoeNamaMD]

An MD degree generally makes it easier to practice overseas but don't think that medicine is lucrative outside of the US. In many other countries with socialized medicine, salaries are lower.

McGillGrad illustrated the difficulty of practicing overseas, mentioning European physicians driving taxis in Quebec. I think the only countries that are somewhat open to IMGs outside of the US are Australia and the UK, but they have issues as well. Australia gives preferential treatment to British and South African physicians but physicians from other countries are often discriminated against. Dubai and some oil producing Gulf States hire Western physicians but do you really want to live in the Middle East?

 

[oldpro]

A DO is better to have than an "MD" from a Caribbean school. Obviously if you have an MD from a North American school it is another matter.

SIGH, this is why I hate these threads, the PRO DO people come on here and kick sand in the face of the Caribbean students, because the USMD students kick sand in the face of the USDO students, Look after you get a residency it does not matter ever again, practice=practice, Physician=Physician

I'm so tired of reading how everyone has to go to a US school because "My GOD" you will never be Dr. Jarvik from a carribean school.

Well even that can be argued and there have been some really successful Caribbean grads, thing is these kind of Doctors are not the everyday Norm and all of us are smart enough to know that.

 

[oldpro]

An MD degree generally makes it easier to practice overseas but don't think that medicine is lucrative outside of the US. In many other countries with socialized medicine, salaries are lower.

Like we all care that much about $? please I'm not that shallow.
If it was only $ then I would not do this.

 

[AlleghenyPOD]

Exactly! I think this guy is going to medicine for the wrong reason.

 

[JoeNamaMD]

If I want to make money that's my right, and with the extreme cost of going to medical school, especially a foreign one, you need to make a lot of money to pay off student loan debts. In countries where there is socialized medicine, education is also highly subsidized. In many European countries, the government pays for a student's entire cost of education, even living expenses. This is also the case in Australia, where Australian students get a subsidized education from the government. So of course they should be working for less money and for a government system, since their governments paid for their education.

AlleghenyPOD, you just contradicted yourself, in a previous posting you talked about your uncle leaving Canada to work as a physician in the US to make more money.

 

[AlleghenyPOD]

Thats his own life, and stop trying to change things around, lol. Can't take the heat? Beat it...

 

[AllIn4Life]

So how would you feel when a patient walks into you office and sees your DO letters and mistakes you for a chiropractor...

If I want to make money that's my right, and with the extreme cost of going to medical school, especially a foreign one, you need to make a lot of money to pay off student loan debts. In countries where there is socialized medicine, education is also highly subsidized. In many European countries, the government pays for a student's entire cost of education, even living expenses. This is also the case in Australia, where Australian students get a subsidized education from the government. So of course they should be working for less money and for a government system, since their governments paid for their education.

AlleghenyPOD, you just contradicted yourself, in a previous posting you talked about your uncle leaving Canada to work as a physician in the US to make more money.

 

[oldpro]

If I want to make money that's my right, and with the extreme cost of going to medical school, especially a foreign one, you need to make a lot of money to pay off student loan debts. In countries where there is socialized medicine, education is also highly subsidized. In many European countries, the government pays for a student's entire cost of education, even living expenses. This is also the case in Australia, where Australian students get a subsidized education from the government. So of course they should be working for less money and for a government system, since their governments paid for their education.

AlleghenyPOD, you just contradicted yourself, in a previous posting you talked about your uncle leaving Canada to work as a physician in the US to make more money.

SO.................what are you going to do when socialized medicine happens in the USA? DO not kid yourself it's going to happen soon, way before any of us are out of residency.

 

[JoeNamaMD]

The bigger worry is not Clinton's socialized healthcare which we can say 99.9% is coming(Republicans are going to LOSE BIG in 2008) but the coming collapse of the US Dollar. Most people don't see that the Euro is going to become the new world currency, a lot of countries angry with the US are dumping dollars en masse. The two biggest holders of US dollars, China and Japan, are planning to "diversify" their reserves. To those of us who earn our living in US Dollars, this is not good news.

 

[McGillGrad]

This will reverse itself once Bush is out of office. The dollar dumping is in direct response to US foriegn policy by China.

The American economy will always be more productive than the European economy and as the EU expands, it will weaken the Euro.

The bigger worry is not Clinton's socialized healthcare which we can say 99.9% is coming(Republicans are going to LOSE BIG in 2008) but the coming collapse of the US Dollar. Most people don't see that the Euro is going to become the new world currency, a lot of countries angry with the US are dumping dollars en masse. The two biggest holders of US dollars, China and Japan, are planning to "diversify" their reserves. To those of us who earn our living in US Dollars, this is not good news.

 

[JoeNamaMD]

Not quite, the Eurozone is now growing faster than the US. Even with Bush out, the Clinton Welfare state that is coming is going to ruin the US economy. The EU isn't expanding any more, it might actually be losing one member, since its mainly a Continental union. China is partly behind the Dollar's fall, but other factors are coming into play, and yes the Euro is going to displace the US dollar as the world currency. The real reason for the Dollar's fall is the USA's massive foreign debt. The USA is no longer going to be the lone world power.

Regardless of Bush's exit, world opinion against the US is hardening like never before.

 

[jltuttle]

Caribbean MD should be your last resort.

 

[oldpro]

Caribbean MD should be your last resort.

OMG Like premeds know anything

Please

Go back to the dark side please, there is nothing wrong with the caribbean we get away from snobs and bigots there.

 

[oldpro]

The bigger worry is not Clinton's socialized healthcare which we can say 99.9% is coming(Republicans are going to LOSE BIG in 2008) but the coming collapse of the US Dollar. Most people don't see that the Euro is going to become the new world currency, a lot of countries angry with the US are dumping dollars en masse. The two biggest holders of US dollars, China and Japan, are planning to "diversify" their reserves. To those of us who earn our living in US Dollars, this is not good news.

YADA YADA YADA, I think this was said in 1929 also, the great American decline, collapse.......................... if the Euro is so great why has the UK and a few other countries refused to convert?

 

[McGillGrad]

OMG Like premeds know anything

Please

Go back to the dark side please, there is nothing wrong with the caribbean we get away from snobs and bigots there.

He's a pre-med DO. He has to believe that Carib is the last resort because otherwise, he is making a huge mistake by getting a DO.

 

[Shinken]

He's a pre-med DO. He has to believe that Carib is the last resort because otherwise, he is making a huge mistake by getting a DO.

 

[oldpro]

He's a pre-med DO. He has to believe that Carib is the last resort because otherwise, he is making a huge mistake by getting a DO.

I know but every now and then I need to vent on such statements, There is nothing last about the BIG 4, My school yes I would say its a last chance school..........................(SJSM)

 

[jltuttle]

I know but every now and then I need to vent on such statements, There is nothing last about the BIG 4, My school yes I would say its a last chance school..........................(SJSM)

I'm sorry if I offended with that remark. I believe if you work hard you can become successful as a physician at any school and I didn't mean to put anyone down who attends Caribbean schools. Forums like this are sort of a breeding ground for flame wars instead of a source of legitimate facts.

 

[oldpro]

I'm sorry if I offended with that remark. I believe if you work hard you can become successful as a physician at any school and I didn't mean to put anyone down who attends Caribbean schools. Forums like this are sort of a breeding ground for flame wars instead of a source of legitimate facts.

Yes I understand but many take a statement like "Caribbean MD should be your last resort." and run with it to say how desperate we are or how we are not qualified, truth is that any of the Big 4 you can get just about any residency and do just about anything if you apply your self, going to a US school still does not guarantee the best residencies, in fact only a few do get the best ones.

No offense but DO is not a slam dunk better then Caribbean or FMG MD, in some cases they are equal or one is better then the other, (This is why I hate these threads)

May be unbelievable to you but some of us did not want to explain to some that DO is the same as MD and go through OM and 2 Lic tests. Yeah its shallow a little but so is this DO is better then Carib MD stuff at times too.

You can correct me if wrong but DO is only awarded in the USA as a physician.

 

[Shinken]

May be unbelievable to you but some of us did not want to explain to some that DO is the same as MD and go through OM and 2 Lic tests. Yeah its shallow a little but so is this DO is better then Carib MD stuff at times too.

You can correct me if wrong but DO is only awarded in the USA as a physician.

May be unvelievable to you but some of us (like me) got accepted to a US MD school and chose DO instead.

Also, you got your information wrong. DOs have to take the COMLEX to be licensed. There are three steps to the COMLEX, similar to the USMLE. Steps 1, 2 and 3. Step 1 is taken during the 2nd year before clinicals, step 2 is taken during the end of 3rd year or shortly after the start of the 4th year, and step 3 is taken towards the end of internsthip year. This is similar to the USMLE and the MD schools. So, DOs -like MDs- have to take 3 license tests to become licensed not 2. Some people also mistakenly believe that DO students have to take both the COMLEX and USMLE to be licensed but that's another SDN myth that perpetuates itself on these pages. Perhaps that's what you referred to as the "2 lic tests"? Nope, only 1.

Also, the DO is only awarded in the USA as a physician and recognized in most countries worldwide. The MD is only awarded in the institution and country where it's awarded at, and recognized in most countries worldwide.

Yes, you read that correctly. Recognized in MOST countries worldwide. An MD from the Caribbean will not be recognized in some countries. Believe it or not (and I know it sounds outrageous) an MD awarded in a US medical school will not be recognized 100% abroad. Maybe 99% but it's not the Universal degree most people believe it to be.

It's immensely entertaining sometimes to read posts in these pages, but lately it's only been insults and aggression and I grow weary of that, plus all the misinformation spread on these pages. Whenever someone tries to tell the truth he/she is berated as a "Caribbean hater" or "liar" or "bigot". Unfortunately I'll have to use the ignore user option for a while.

Enjoy your thread. I sincerely hope that everyone in here achieves their goals in medicine, whatever those are. Peace and out.

 

[oldpro]

May be unvelievable to you but some of us (like me) got accepted to a US MD school and chose DO instead.

Also, you got your information wrong. DOs have to take the COMLEX to be licensed. There are three steps to the COMLEX, similar to the USMLE. Steps 1, 2 and 3. Step 1 is taken during the 2nd year before clinicals, step 2 is taken during the end of 3rd year or shortly after the start of the 4th year, and step 3 is taken towards the end of internsthip year. This is similar to the USMLE and the MD schools. So, DOs -like MDs- have to take 3 license tests to become licensed not 2. Some people also mistakenly believe that DO students have to take both the COMLEX and USMLE to be licensed but that's another SDN myth that perpetuates itself on these pages. Perhaps that's what you referred to as the "2 lic tests"? Nope, only 1.

How is it wrong my friend? COMLEX and USLME = 2 seperate tests I think you just like to argue and always be right. You tell us DO students have an advantage to residencies due to DO only and some MD residencies (Not all some will not match DO) if you do not take both of those tests then DO has 0 advantage and less residencies to match into.

Also, the DO is only awarded in the USA as a physician and recognized in most countries worldwide. The MD is only awarded in the institution and country where it's awarded at, and recognized in most countries worldwide.

OK MOST is not all
And I said DO is awarded in the USA for Physician, where in the world other then the USA is there a DO school that awards a DO that is Physcian?

Yes, you read that correctly. Recognized in MOST countries worldwide. An MD from the Caribbean will not be recognized in some countries. Believe it or not (and I know it sounds outrageous) an MD awarded in a US medical school will not be recognized 100% abroad. Maybe 99% but it's not the Universal degree most people believe it to be.

Tell us one country then, As far as I know the only barrier to practice is some kind of test or residency. I think you would love to believe this.

It's immensely entertaining sometimes to read posts in these pages, but lately it's only been insults and aggression and I grow weary of that, plus all the misinformation spread on these pages. Whenever someone tries to tell the truth he/she is berated as a "Caribbean hater" or "liar" or "bigot". Unfortunately I'll have to use the ignore user option for a while.

And yet you have posted misinformation right in this post. ( made a general statement and is not say it was you directly if you take everything to be directed to you then you may have a problem)

use the ignor user so you cannot read the debates. It does not stop me from seeing your posts though. So maybe you stop posting since you cannot take critisim.

Enjoy your thread. I sincerely hope that everyone in here achieves their goals in medicine, whatever those are. Peace and out.

Great, but if you cannot stand the heat then do not post things that are debatable a lot you just posted is and some just opinion not factual.


I'm tired too, as I posted, of the crap I have to read that is just plain not reality.
If I quit who will come on here to debate? Not every post DO and US MD students post here is true, in fact a lot of it is belief verses facts.

 

[oldpro]

You do not need to take USMLE to match into allopathic residencies. Some residencies want it so they can compare all their applicants directly, but if you are going into less competitive residencies, it is certainly not required.

Really? DO you know this to be true because I have always read that you need step one, in fact none of the requirements I read on the match forms said COMLEX it always said Step one and two and if it was pass, or a score?

If shrinken has a problem with debating this stuff maybe you can tell us?

Also what I posted is still not incorrect a DO student is still limited with MD residencies.

 

[oldpro]

Go back to the dark side please, there is nothing wrong with the caribbean we get away from snobs and bigots there.

OK this is not directed to one particular person and you cannot tell me after all these years that the US premeds are not Bigots and snobs when it comes to the Caribbean, I have suffered posts for years of bias crap and when I dish it back tantrums are thrown at my expense.

Many USPremeds do not care about the truth and reality that thousands of MD's in the USA are grads from the Caribbean and some are doing exceptionally well.
They do not want to believe that the US Application system can be bypassed and one can go to Medical school outside this system and still succeed, many of these past posts are misinformation and plain nasty.

So it is my humble opinion that there are number of US premeds now and future who are snobs and bigots towards Caribbean medical students, we have done something they feel is wrong and "Cheating" the system at times when it is neither. It can be harder in some ways.

what compels the DO and US MD students to post such negative comments on the Caribbean forum then? They do not attend a Caribbean school and do not have first hand knowledge of the reality.

To the US Premeds, DO and US MD students who do not like the Caribbean schools, maybe you should not just ignor user, maybe just ignor the Caribbean forum as we ignor the DO and Allopathic forum, let us discuss without tantrums.

 

[Shinken]

Moderators, is there any way that when someone is in your ignore list, their "quotes" don't appear when someone else quotes them?

That kind of defeats the purpose of the ignore list.

 

[McGillGrad]

Moderators, is there any way that when someone is in your ignore list, their "quotes" don't appear when someone else quotes them?

That kind of defeats the purpose of the ignore list.

 

[oldpro]

Moderators, is there any way that when someone is in your ignore list, their "quotes" don't appear when someone else quotes them?

That kind of defeats the purpose of the ignore list.

guess I hit a nerve?

as my 15 yr old son says "I'm taking my ball and going home"

 

[Shinken]

OK, even though this thread is much more comfortable now that certain posters that like to spread misinformation are "ignored" from my view, here's some hard data for people to ponder. A caveat: I have nothing against foreign medical grads, but when people start dissing the profession I love and spreading blatant lies, I use truth and actual data (DOs have to take both the COMLEX and USMLE to be licensed...you're kidding me, right?)

Anyway, here it is:

According to the American Medical Association, the top 20 countries where IMGs come from are:

India - 19.9% (47,581)
Philippines - 8.7% (20,861)
Mexico - 5.8% (13,929)
Pakistan - 4.8% (11,330)
Dominican Republic - 3.3% (7,892)
U.S.S.R. - 2.5% (6,039)
Grenada - 2.4% (5,708)
Egypt - 2.2% (5,202)
Korea - 2.1% (4,982)
Italy - 2.1% (4,978)
China - 2.0% (4,834)
Iran - 2.0% (4,741)
Spain - 1.9% (4,570)
Dominica - 1.9% (4,501)
Germany - 1.9% (4,457)
Syria - 1.5% (3,676)
Columbia - 1.4% (3,335)
Israel 1.4% (3,260)
England- 1.4% (3,245)
Montserrat (3,111)

According to the AMA website, this information is from 2007, pretty current. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1550.html

According the the Educational Commision for Foreign Medical Graduates, the match rate for ALL IMGs in 2007 was 47%. The match rate for US citizen IMGs for the same year was 50% (yikes!).

http://www.ecfmg.org/cert/factcard.pdf

Now, most people in this forum like to tell you that statistics for IMGs are skewed because people from the big 4 pass the USMLE at high rates and therefore match at high rates compared to other countries, and that IMGs from "other" countries (i.e. non-Caribbean big 4) are the ones that are bringing down the total average.

However, how do you explain the fact that:

1- According to the ECFMG, as a US citizen going abroad for a medical education, you might as well flip a coin for your future (50% match rate?!?!)

2- If supposedly most of the IMGs that pass the USMLE (and therefore become licensed to practice in the US) are from the "big 4", how come most of the IMG physicians in this country are from countries other than the big 4? Grenada (home of SGU) comes in at #7 (at least it's top ten), and the next "big 4" (Dominica, home of Ross) comes in at #14? If most IMGs that pass the USMLE are from the big 4, wouldn't it make sense that the top 4 spots for IMGs in the US are from Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat and Saba? Heck, there are more Russian IMGs in the US than from the big 4 Caribbean schools.

Again, I have nothing against IMGs, but if you piss me off, I pull the big gun: TRUTH. Would you rather have a 100% chance of being a physician, or flip a coin with a 50% chance (and be behind foreign medical graduates from India, Mexico, Russia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Italy, Iran (IRAN??!)...)

To the OP: choose the path that is best for your personal situation and future plans. However, be warned that a lot of the anonymous information in here and in sites such as valuemd are very biased and plain wrong. Follow the links I've provided in this thread, which come from reputable, unbiased places and make your own decision. Whatever you decide, good luck and I hope you achieve your goal.

 

[McGillGrad]

U.S.S.R. = 2007 information?

HAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!

 

[JoeNamaMD]

http://www.lycoming.edu/orgs/prehealth/MDDO.htm

Interesting poke at MD vs. DO above.

One of the top countries listed for IMGs is Montserrat, which was where AUC was once located.

As far as the Dollar vs. Euro thing, believe whatever you want but its pretty certain that the Euro is going to come out on top.

 

[oldpro]

OK, even though this thread is much more comfortable now that certain posters that like to spread misinformation are "ignored" from my view, here's some hard data for people to ponder. A caveat: I have nothing against foreign medical grads, but when people start dissing the profession I love and spreading blatant lies, I use truth and actual data (DOs have to take both the COMLEX and USMLE to be licensed...you're kidding me, right?)

Anyway, here it is:

According to the American Medical Association, the top 20 countries where IMGs come from are:

India - 19.9% (47,581)
Philippines - 8.7% (20,861)
Mexico - 5.8% (13,929)
Pakistan - 4.8% (11,330)
Dominican Republic - 3.3% (7,892)
U.S.S.R. - 2.5% (6,039)
Grenada - 2.4% (5,708)
Egypt - 2.2% (5,202)
Korea - 2.1% (4,982)
Italy - 2.1% (4,978)
China - 2.0% (4,834)
Iran - 2.0% (4,741)
Spain - 1.9% (4,570)
Dominica - 1.9% (4,501)
Germany - 1.9% (4,457)
Syria - 1.5% (3,676)
Columbia - 1.4% (3,335)
Israel 1.4% (3,260)
England- 1.4% (3,245)
Montserrat (3,111)

According to the AMA website, this information is from 2007, pretty current. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1550.html

According the the Educational Commision for Foreign Medical Graduates, the match rate for ALL IMGs in 2007 was 47%. The match rate for US citizen IMGs for the same year was 50% (yikes!).

http://www.ecfmg.org/cert/factcard.pdf

Now, most people in this forum like to tell you that statistics for IMGs are skewed because people from the big 4 pass the USMLE at high rates and therefore match at high rates compared to other countries, and that IMGs from "other" countries (i.e. non-Caribbean big 4) are the ones that are bringing down the total average.

However, how do you explain the fact that:

1- According to the ECFMG, as a US citizen going abroad for a medical education, you might as well flip a coin for your future (50% match rate?!?!)

2- If supposedly most of the IMGs that pass the USMLE (and therefore become licensed to practice in the US) are from the "big 4", how come most of the IMG physicians in this country are from countries other than the big 4? Grenada (home of SGU) comes in at #7 (at least it's top ten), and the next "big 4" (Dominica, home of Ross) comes in at #14? If most IMGs that pass the USMLE are from the big 4, wouldn't it make sense that the top 4 spots for IMGs in the US are from Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat and Saba? Heck, there are more Russian IMGs in the US than from the big 4 Caribbean schools.

Again, I have nothing against IMGs, but if you piss me off, I pull the big gun: TRUTH. Would you rather have a 100% chance of being a physician, or flip a coin with a 50% chance (and be behind foreign medical graduates from India, Mexico, Russia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Italy, Iran (IRAN??!)...)

To the OP: choose the path that is best for your personal situation and future plans. However, be warned that a lot of the anonymous information in here and in sites such as valuemd are very biased and plain wrong. Follow the links I've provided in this thread, which come from reputable, unbiased places and make your own decision. Whatever you decide, good luck and I hope you achieve your goal.

HAHAHAH Again misinformation!

According the the Educational Commision for Foreign Medical Graduates, the match rate for ALL IMGs in 2007 was 47%. The match rate for US citizen IMGs for the same year was 50% (yikes!).

This is only those who participated in the match, not outside the match as over 30% of FMG's do and US GRADS cannot do.

Again this poster wants to ignore facts and just post propaganda.

 

[oldpro]

Originally Posted by Shinken View Post
OK, even though this thread is much more comfortable now that certain posters that like to spread misinformation are "ignored" from my view, here's some hard data for people to ponder. A caveat: I have nothing against foreign medical grads, but when people start dissing the profession I love and spreading blatant lies, I use truth and actual data (DOs have to take both the COMLEX and USMLE to be licensed...you're kidding me, right?)

Of course stretching what I post and posting I said X when I said something different is a good mud slinging tech of debate but this is what I said:

May be unbelievable to you but some of us did not want to explain to some that DO is the same as MD and go through OM and 2 Lic tests. Yeah its shallow a little but so is this DO is better then Carib MD stuff at times too.

You can correct me if wrong but DO is only awarded in the USA as a physician.

then I said this in response:

How is it wrong my friend? COMLEX and USLME = 2 seperate tests I think you just like to argue and always be right. You tell us DO students have an advantage to residencies due to DO only and some MD residencies (Not all some will not match DO) if you do not take both of those tests then DO has 0 advantage and less residencies to match into.

I never said a DO "HAS TO TAKE 2 TESTS FOR A LICENSE" read the quotes and original posts, I clarified the 1st post that a DO to have the advantages they speak of they must take both tests. Boy talk about misinformation.

So please stop with the tantrums and lets debate and not insult the other,

I hope someone in Medical school can do this I know I can.

 

[oldpro]

Again, this is not true. It helps in a lot of cases, but is not required, especially for non-competitive residencies.

Here is an experience of a person
And here is a DO specifying methodology for comparing two scores

Those were just the first two results of a Google search, I am sure others can be found via searching Google or SDN.

look just because one person or two did well it still is not an advantage, why do you wnat to make it out as this is not the case? It plainly is. Many non caribbean students would point out that because one or two Caribbean Grads match into John Hopkins Surgery that does not mean that Caribbean grads will get the best residencies only that for a few the best residencies may be possible.

So I counter your post with this thought.

BTW the term Noncompetitive is not used when most argue the Caribbean residency possibilities, it is usually over Competitive residencies. everyone knows that its more then possible for Caribbean to get noncompetitive that is normal and happens most of the time.