Well, LCME-accredited medical school curriculum is standard. Moving from carib to stateside might differ. Emphasis on the "might," as I really don't know.
I transferred from the caribbean to an lcme accredited school for my MS3 year. I did some clerkships as a caribbean third year medical student so I can compare.
The education isn't that much different. I can tell you this objectively based on my student narratives, what attendings have said, clerkship grades, step 1 score, shelf scores, interactions with other MS3 students, etc. When I was starting my MS3 year at an LCME school, I was very worried that I wouldn't have the same knowledge base compared to the other students who had their basic sciences stateside. I quickly learned that this was not the case.
Caribbean students use the same books- much of medical school is about self-directed learning; since we use the same resources, two students with equal work ethic and equal intelligence will have the same amount of information coming out of an LCME school and a carib school. The LCME student will have more access to information, but it is better to stick with some solid resources during the preclinical years.
Some differences:
The shelf exams blew my mind. I did very well on them, but I wasn't anticipating such a difficult exam. The MS3 caribbean exams were not as difficult.
US schools really care about making sure you get a positive learning experience during your clerkships. They make sure you get the lectures, take the call, etc... In the carib schools, it felt like you were on your own.
A lot of time is spent (wasted?) teaching ethics and doing mock patient interviews. I never wrote a paper in the carib...I am asked to write papers about how I feel on a regular basis in the US system. 'Describe an ethical situation and how it made you feel'. These are oftentimes assigned and due right before the shelf.
When I was a carib student, some of the attendings were disrespectful in the beginning bc of where I went to school. This quickly changed when I worked with them. As a US allo student, I don't have to start by proving myself.
US students get a lot further with their complaints-when they say something, things get done. As a carib student, there wasn't much complaining....we were lucky to be where we were.
There is a lot more evaluating and feedback at US schools.
Some of the negative things US students said about DO students/carib students/PAs/Nurses behind their back caught me off guard. I have heard other students laugh at other students because they were DOs or from the caribbean and 'couldn't get into a US school'.
There are a lot more gunners at US schools. Ie 'I don't know where student xyz went, but I saw him get in the car right after rounds and head towards home....come to think of it, xyz never came back'. There were also MS3s who would round on other MS3s patients and correct them during rounds. We didn't have as many of these in the caribbean.
Residency options are more open from an allo school. When I was in the caribbean, I was worried about getting a residency in ortho/neurosurgery - 'I will go wherever they take me' mentality. At an allo school, I am thinking about where
I want to go for residency.
The resources I have at at an allo school are amazing-I can get any journal article I want online. I could not believe the amount of resources I had available to me. As a carib student, all I had was google and a couple of textbooks. The library I used in the caribbean did not have even 10% of what is available at an lcme school.
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If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
