The "down side" of Carribbian medical schools

[Illuminant]

I read few posts here and there about how difficult it is to get residency for students in Carribbean .. If possible, I want to know from students overthere right now to know what's wrong with the matching process to residencies in the US?
Can you get into the residency of your choice?
Do you get to choose the places (hospitals) where you can work?
Explain to me the matching process .. Do you get matched based on your score on USMLE .. If you get a high score on the USMLE I .. does this mean you get to go to anywhere in the US for the residency of your choice? << that's what I am thinking the process is.
How about specialities like plastic surgery or cardiac surgery .. can you pursue them after going to the carribbeans or do you only get to purse careers such as family med, derm, emmergency med ..
Finally, tell me why most applicants wish as if they were in US/Canada doin med school as opposed to the Carribbeans?



Appreciate all of your help,

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[Aphtalyfe]

I read few posts here and there about how difficult it is to get residency for students in Carribbean .. If possible, I want to know from students overthere right now to know what's wrong with the matching process to residencies in the US?

Program directors prefer to take students from US schools. Even US DO students are usually taken preferentially over Caribbean students because of their IMG status.

Can you get into the residency of your choice?

You can but its more difficult than if you went to a US school.

Do you get to choose the places (hospitals) where you can work?
Explain to me the matching process .. Do you get matched based on your score on USMLE .. If you get a high score on the USMLE I .. does this mean you get to go to anywhere in the US for the residency of your choice? << that's what I am thinking the process is.

Plenty of posts about how the match works, not going to write it all out here.

How about specialities like plastic surgery or cardiac surgery .. can you pursue them after going to the carribbeans or do you only get to purse careers such as family med, derm, emmergency med ..
Finally, tell me why most applicants wish as if they were in US/Canada doin med school as opposed to the Carribbeans?

Program directors prefer US students. That's why its harder. You have to out perform your US counterparts in order to match into the same specialties.

Appreciate all of your help,

Good Luck.

 

[dragonfly99]

derm and plastics would be extremely, extremely hard to do, or impossible, for most students from Caribbean. Even for students in US schools, many cannot get in to these residencies despite working extremely hard.

No, you do not get matched based on your USMLE score, although you are unlikely to get into a competitive residency like derm or plastics without above average board scores.

 

[235009]

generally an above average step 1 score gives you the privilege of scraping the bottom of the barrel for IM/family med/general surgery/emergency medicine residencies in the least desirable hospitals and locations. if you end up at the caribbean you will not have any shot at any competitive specialties (plastics, derm, vascular surgery, etc) ...there are maybe 1 or 2 Caribbean grads per year who match into competitive specialties but if you look at it as a percentage of all graduates you will find that the chance of it happening is close to negligible and the stats of those who achieve this are far better than their US MD counterparts who matched to the same specialty

 

[Shoushu]

generally an above average step 1 score gives you the privilege of scraping the bottom of the barrel for IM/family med/general surgery/emergency medicine residencies in the least desirable hospitals and locations. if you end up at the caribbean you will not have any shot at any competitive specialties (plastics, derm, vascular surgery, etc) ...there are maybe 1 or 2 Caribbean grads per year who match into competitive specialties but if you look at it as a percentage of all graduates you will find that the chance of it happening is close to negligible and the stats of those who achieve this are far better than their US MD counterparts who matched to the same specialty

I believe this holds true for other third-world country med school graduates. Difference is, US-IMGs from those countries don't get scrutinized or limited as much, by medical boards like CA Med Board. For ex., CA List of Recognized Schools recognize most, if not all, of the legit developing nations' schools. Most of them are public universities, not the for-profit businesses of caribbeans.

If they're American citizens, they try to come back. If not, they're top students in all those countries who can outscore caribbean kids.

 

[maxxpricey]

Being an IMG it's difficult to get certain residencies, particularly competitive ones. But this should not scare you because a competitive residency now may become less competitive by the time you're in med school. Radiology used to be hardly competitive and desirable but now it's popular because of the lifestyle and pay.

 

[redsun2]

So if one with the goal of going to family practice, then Caribbean won't be a bad choice, compared to DO?? Will students have difficulties doing rotation / residency on their desired location?

 

[maxxpricey]

So if one with the goal of going to family practice, then Caribbean won't be a bad choice, compared to DO?? Will students have difficulties doing rotation / residency on their desired location?

FM residency is fairly easy for an IMG to get into, but this doesn't mean you still shouldn't work hard for the USMLE, though I doubt you wouldn't anyway. Rotations and residencies all depend on the med school you go to.