WELL I CAN SAY WITH ALMOST A 85 % DEGREE OF CERTAINTY THAT IS A VERY COMMEN PROBLEM . I STARTED MED-SCHOOL IN JAN 2000 , IN DAVID , CHIRIQUI PANAMA .........AT THE COLUMBUS UNIVERSITY FACULTAD DE MEDICINA Y CIRUJIA GENERAL .
WHY DID I TRANSFER ? WELL , THEY CLAMIED TO BE AFFILIATED WITH A COLUMBUS UNIVERSITY BASED OUT OF NEW YORK CITY......U.S.A. .
I AM A BIG RESEARCH BUFF SO I DID A LITTLE SNOOPING AROUND ON MY OWN , AND THANKS TO THE INTERNET ......................I COULD NOT FIND SUCH A SCHOOL .
SO MY REASONING IS/WAS , IF THEY LIED .............ONLY GOD KNOWS WHAT MAY HAPPEN DOWN THE LINE . SURE AS SAID , SOME OF THE ONES THAT SWEAR THAT ONLY THE STATE RUN UNIVERSITY CAN GRADUATE DOCTORS , CASE IN POINT HERE ( LA UNIVERSIDAD DE PANAMA ) .........NOW I AM REFERING TO THE U.P. ( UNIVERSIDAD DE PANAMA ) IN THE CAPITAL CITY ..............NOT THE COLUMBUS UNIVERSITY , DAVID CITY CAMPUS . IN DAVID , CHIRIQUI .
DAVID being the city . CHIRIQUI being the province . ( note : chiriqui is the province in panama that borders with costa rica ) . now according to this group of doctors , it was an outrage that there was a operational university in another province ..............that was NOT the university of panama .
IMPORTANT NOTE : IN CENTRAL AMERICA IT IS PRESTIGOUS TO STUDY IN THE STATE RUN UNIVERSITIES ............................PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES ARE CONSIDERED A LOWER CATAGORY .........SO IN THOERY THE UNIVERSIDAD DE PANAMA WOULD BE SUPERIOR TO A HARVARD UNIVERSITY . IN THE U.S. IT IS THE OTHER WAY AROUND .............STATE COLLEGES ARE LOWER IN CATAGORY THAN PRIVATE ONES .
ANYWAY , THE SAME GROUP OF DOCTORS THAT TRIED TO HAVE THE COLUMBUS UNIVERSITY SHUT DOWN , HAD A NATIONAL TELEVISED ....CREDENTIAL COMPARASON .................... THE PFOFS. FROM THE UNIVERSIDAD DE PANAMA vs. his or her counter parts from the columbus university . The ones that teach in columbus ( david campus , since I know nothing about the main campus in the capital city ) had better credentials .
So they are still operating . It looks like a mom-n-pop school . Nothing fancy .
They have the same pass/fail percentage rate as the ones in costa rica .
COSTA RICA .......................
SAME ODD BALL MENTALITY ........as in panama if you study in the U.C.R. ( UNIVERSIDAD DE COSTA RICA ........THE STAE RUN UNIVERSITY )
your degree is 24kt GOLD .
If you study at any other then ............................you are looked down at . Now the $1,000,000 question is ...........could it be that the education is really better either at UNIVERSIDAD DE PANAMA ( IN PANAMA ) OR THE U.C.R. IN COSTA RICA ?
well..............here is the answer . We are taught by the same profesors . YES , THE SAME ONES !
MOST PROFESORS TEACH IN AS MANY PLACES THAT THEY CAN ( MORE CHECKS TO CASH ) . SO if the same people teach..............I don?t think that people down here should make such a big fuss over the fact that the U.C.R/ U.P. confers a star studded degree . But the fact is , there is not really a match system per say , here . EACH YEAR THE GRADUATES OF THE U.C.R. OR THE U.P. ( in there respective countries ) fill all slots , and what ever is left over goes to the private universities .
How is this done ? Well easy , the C.S.S. ( CAJA DE SEGURO SOCIAL ) the social security administration in other words ...........is the big employer . So it is a chain reation effect .
To get your med. licensce , you have to do your internship ( give a free year of service ) to the GOVERMENT , which runs the C.S.S. . NO intership , no med. license . No med. license ..........no local training , no training .......NO POSSIBILITY of obtaing a specialty ( oby-gen-ent , cardiology , etc............. ) .
And you gussed it , the U.C.R IS GOVERMENT ALSO , so if the local employer is goverment and the school is goverment ........then the bias is there .
So the C.S.S. AND THE U.C.R ....................are like brother and sister . And in costa rica private health care is out of the question ........The goverment holds a monoply on insurance , most health care , through the I.N.S . ( INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE SEGUROS ) , AND YOU GUESSED THAT RIGHT TOO HAPPY CAMPERS IT IS GOVERMENT ALSO .
Now having bored you with all these details ................. the real question is " AM I SURE THAT THE METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING MEDICINE ( I MENTION ONLY MEDICINE , BECAUSE I HAVE NOT STUDIED ANYTHING ELSE ) IS BASED ON THE PRACTICE OF THROWING ROCKS IN YOUR PATH ? " ( THROWING ROCKS IN YOUR PATH , IS TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH " TIRARTE PIEDRAS EN EL CAMINO " )
FOR THE LAST 17 MONTHS , I MUST SAY THAT ...........YES IT IS . MY GIRLFRIEND SAYS .........YES , SHE HAS BEEN AT THIS FOR 32 MONTHS .
IN FACT I AM REALLY THINKING ABOUT DOING MY THESIS ON THIS PARTICULAR SUBJECT . THE HIGHEST FAILURE RATE IN PERCENTAGE , OF ANY MEDICAL SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD .
AND JUST TO SET THE FACTS STRAIGHT AGAIN ...........YOU SEE PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD HERE ....... AUSTRIA , CHINA , JAPAN , U.S. , CARRIBEAN , ETC........... I AM NOT SURE IF IT IS THE COST OR WHAT . IT MUST BE , BECAUSE I CAN SEE NO OTHER REASON .
THATS WHY I AM HERE .
IF I COULD HAVE AFFORED A US MED SCHOOL , WITHOUT STUDENT LOANS ............... COOL . I WOULD NEVER HAVE DREAMED OF STUDYING ANY WHERE ELSE .
IF NOT LOOK ELSE WHERE . HERE I HAVE NO STUDENT LOANS , NOW IN THE END I REALIZE 2 THINGS .
TO CROSS OVER ( BACK TO U.S. ) IT IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF PRAYING AND STUDYING HARD . BUT MY VIEW IS , IF YOU KNOW THAT ARE STUDYING AND ALL , THEN WHAT IS THERE TO FEAR ?
I MEAN , THE USMLE .....THEY CANT MAKE UP THINGS THAT DONT EXSIST . SO NO FEAR THERE , WITH GOOD STUDY GUIDES AND EXCELLENT STUDY HABITS ........ALL SHOULD GO WELL .
PLUS I AM COUNTING ON ONE LITTLE HURDLE , THAT I WONT HAVE TO CROSS , I DONT NEED A J-1 , OR THE H-B VISA ( I THINK THATS WHAT ITS CALLED ) CAUSE I AM A US CITIZEN . NOW THAT REALLY MEANS NOTHING , BUT HEY..............EVERY LITTLE THING COUNTS .
AND THE HISPANOAMERICANA IN SAN JOSE , COSTA RICA HAS AN EXCHANGE PROGRAM WITH JACKSON MEMORIAL IN MIAMI FLORIDA . PLUS ANOTHER WITH SOUTHERN BAPTIST SYSTEMS . SUPPOSEDLY IT WORKS LIKE THIS , AFTER YOU GRADUATE , YOU CAN OPT TO GO DO YOUR INTERNSHIP IN THE US. NOW I AM PRAYING THAT THIS WILL HELP ME ALONG MY WAY TO OBTAINING MY LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE . OF COURSE I HAVE ALONG WAYS TO GO...............SO I AM NOT COUNTING MY CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH . JUST KEEPING THE GATE WAY OF OPTIMISIM , OPEN !
NOW THAT IS WHAT THEY ADVERTISE . HOPEFULLY ANYONE WITH A LITTLE EXTRA TIME , CAN HELP TO SEE IF I CAN VERIFY THIS TO BE TRUE .
ANYWAY...............WHERE ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO SCHOOL ?
TE ASEGURO QUE LAS COSAS AQUI ESTAN SUPER DIFICL , CLARO MEDICNA ES ASI . PERO NO HAY QUE COMPLICARLSO MAS !
MOX