University of Sint Eustatius

[purpletulipa]

Looking for students at this university...
I have heard some negative things about this university.

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[jms2002]

Some more negative -

this page lists medical schools with serious deficiencies as rated by American Association of Int'l Medical Graduates

http://www.aaimg.com/list/medical.html

You can find other very useful info on their site too.

 

[ken4]

I dont believe the www site is very reliable and from what I remember it is biased also.

Do your research and use these sites with caution!

 

[The Pill Counter]

Looking over the AAIMG site, it seems quite thorough, all schools have been visited, and I couldn't identify any biases. Its criteria for evaluating schools was pretty exhaustive. I don't understand how you can claim that the site is unreliable and biased.

 

[nvrsumr]

I transferred to St. E from a "better" Caribbean med school because I wanted to do all of my clinicals in the US and stay in 1 place. So I cant comment on the basic science years.


Reported failings on AAIMG web site for clinical training.

Clerkship preceptors are given academic appointments to the medical school.
-I dont know of any Caribbean school that has many/most/all 4th year attendings in US hospitals who are academic appointees-but none of the other schools failed this point. All of my attendings are affliated with a greenbook residency program.

Hospital affiliations are listed in the school catalog. Students are not expected to find their own clerkships.
-I have 40+ attendings to choose from at my 1 location. Our coordinator calls them for me to set up rotations. I know at many of the other schools theyll tell you on the phone you have to set up our own 4th year rotations, yet again the other schools did not fail this point

There is demonstrated continuity between the basic science campus and the clinical medicine program
-Not for me as a transfer, but the school I transferred from sends most students to UK for 3rd year from the caribbean-not alot of geographic continuity. Again, the other school did not fail this point.

There are sufficient clerkship and staff members to process and track all students during third and fourth year rotations.
-I have gone 63 weeks straight with only 1 week off(for last Christmas!). I have a MD who sets up all rotations here for me, sends out evaluations, collects evaluations, and sends them to St. E. He has the power to not allow weak students to start/finish rotations here and has used it

There are a sufficient number of hospitals and preceptors in hospitals with a structured teaching program to meet student needs.
-We all work at greenbook hospitals(colorado, chicago, st. louis, lousiana)-I attend all lectures, grandrounds, have a dictation #, access to all computers, very nice hospital library(with full time librarian) to which I have key for after hours use, ...

Full-time qualified medical school administrative staff are available to monitor the student?s progress on a regular basis.
-Called the dean this morning to talk about this BS website and got right thru on the first call as I always do.

Hospitals and preceptors are monitored on a regular basis by appointed staff.
-Above Dean was out here and took many of the attendings out to dinner last summer for his yearly visit. As noted above MD, who works here, is always available and monitors our progress and has the power to weed out bad apples-the medical students have an excellent reputation here and we mean to keep it that way.

I was accepted or declined expensive in person interviews to the big 3 caribbean schools. All are places that you can realize your dream of becoming a MD. I have no problem with any of them but St. E is also a solid option(unless you want to practice in NY or Cal).

I had 25+ PM&R interview offers(in 15 states) and accepted 5 at US N&WR top 20 rehab hospitals. I know another student with more than a handful of Rads interviews. ...

My understanding is the AAIMG website is maintained by the insitution St. E splintered off from several years ago and there is still bad blood. Anyone can maintain a slick web page. Read the fine print-they personally visited 30+ Caribbean schools, UK, and E. europe-who the hell paid for all of that, gimme a break.

Good luck with your choice of schools and keep your eye on the prize-the residency you want in the US.

 

[ken4]

Thanks for pointing that out about that www site. I had heard the same thing- the school branched out from that school and they established that site to "scare" students from other caribbean schools.

I am just trying to keep information on a level playing field and will tell you all how it is if you ask. Just want you all considering off-shore schools to have info. that I didn't get before going outside the US.

 

[jms2002]

Just curious - does anyone know how students from St. Eus. have done in the match? Is there anyplace we can see residency appointments? Show me that and I'll be satisfied that St. Eus. is a decent school...

 

[jms2002]

purpletulipa - more about AAIMG - they do not disclose how they are funded, except that it is private so either a really nice successful former IMG is trying to help future IMG's out or the schools pay in which case the ratings can be biased - the "factoids" and the "words of wisdom" are good advice though

regarding St. E. though, I would look at the deficiencies that AAIMG lists, and if any are important to you I'd do some deeper research to find out the validity if you are seriously considering going there

again, i'd love someone who is pro St. E. to point me to match lists for the school in the US.....

 

[purpletulipa]

Thank you everyone for your input

I called St. Eustautius and received a name of someone who is doing their residency. If you want their name let me know, give me your email address and I will email it to you.


St. E student - thank you for your input. It has been so hard to speak to any students.

 

[ken4]

If you need help answeing questions, let me know. I just finished up the first two years on the island and will be glad to help you if you need some direction.
My email is [email protected]

 

[doctamon]

Go to Scutwork.com and check out Anesthesiology. There is a St. E grad in Anesthesia at Medical College of Georgia. Check out Family Practice. There's a grad at Northeast Alabama Medical Center. There are certainly a few more out there.

Maybe the best kept secret on SDN is Dr. Cuts who is working hard to match in Rads after 240+ on Step I and II. He would be one of the best sources to speak with about St. Eustatius.

 

[skypilot]

No message

 

[ApacheIndian]

No... I am indeed a St. Eustatius MS-IV. I have to say that I'm by and large satisfied with the program they have put together. I suppose the only drawback right now to being a St. Eustatius student/grad is the relative unfamiliarity of the St. E name amongst U.S. PDs... "St. George's? Sure I've heard of it... our Rads Chief Resident is from 'ole SGU..." and "Ross? Oh sure... the R-2 giving you a tour today is a Ross grad...". Compare with "St. Eu -- what? Where? WTF!?". LOL O.k. so maybe it's not quite that dramatic but the fact that most programs haven't heard of St. E does make a difference. For this reason, I think one might fare somewhat better graduating from SGU or Ross. But hey, whichever one you choose, you should be alright... rock Step 1. 250's open lots of doors. Good luck...

 

[purpletulipa]

Thank you Dr. Cuts for your post
I feel better about St. Eus... had doubts since it was a newer school. I hear that the MCATS are not necessary for admission into this school. I am eager to apply and to begin medical school as soon as possible, which is why this school looks attractive. Did you take the MCATS? Why did you choose St. E?
Thanks again for your information.

 

[ApacheIndian]

Originally posted by purpletulipa
[BDid you take the MCATS? Why did you choose St. E?
Thanks again for your information. [/B]

I didn't take the MCAT b/c I actually started at a European med school... I transferred into St. E's 3rd year after having taken Step 1. I would have preferred to transfer into SGU or Ross, but both of them required that advanced standing transfer students do a minimum of 1 semester of Basic Sciences on their respective islands. In my case, that would have been somewhat reduntant but more importantly would have rendered me unable to make the 2003 Match. So it came down to SABA or St. E for me and I chose St. E b/c they're somewhat more flexible with where, what, and when one does rotations.

If you're considering St. E, ask yourself this: If it comes down to it, would you be o.k. with a non-competitive residency down the line... i.e. FP, Peds, IM, or Psych? B/c if your answer to this is yes, then you should be o.k. Realistically, it's tough to match into more competitive fields coming from "no-name" schools... that's the cold reality of it. Take me more example... I have 240+ x 2, almost all Honors evals, and all power LoRs, and yet, there is a very strong possibility that I will not match Rads this year. I'm not bitter about it... I put myself in this situation due to the choices I've made in the past. You're making those choices now... think long & hard, weigh pros and cons carefully, and choose wisely... it's your life we're talking about. Good luck to you.

 

[atlram]

I have a friend, a St. E grad, is a Psych resident at Medical College of Georgia. His wife also landed a succuessful Internal Medicine residency in northern NJ.

They both transferred in from an eastern european med school to finish their clinicals somewhere in the Chicago area. Eventhough they didn't spend anytime on the island, they are confident that the program is good enough to help one get an American residency.

If I don't do too well on this upcoming April Mcat, I will probably be applying there myself.

As Dr. Cuts, said, as long as you ROCK the USMLEs you are good to go...

Good luck