<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by old_one:
Let me say that I don't know much about politics, so forgive me if this question is naive.
I've heard that going to the Caribbean or Canada isn't as good as staying in the U.S. if you want to practice in the U.S.
What about OXFORD or CAMBRIDGE in England?
They have good reputations.
Are they as good as U.S. schools and looked upon as favorably?•
Canadian schools are looked upon AS favorably as US schools. However, it is extremely difficult to gain admission to one as a non-Canadian. There are multiple threads dealing with this and you will be well rewarded with a search on the topic.
In addition, Oxford, Cambridge and any of the other UK schools are well recognized in the US as fine educational institutions. Whether they are seen on-par with the US schools is a matter of debate. SOme PDs seem to prefer them - lends a bit of cachet to their residency program (can you mimic a posh Brit accent?
) and others prefer US grads. Your USMLE scores, gpa and letters will be the determining factors, not where you went to school.
It would be fair to say that going to any foreign school is not as "good as" staying in the US for residency purposes. The process to return to the states is expensive and tiresome. The process is the same for the Caribbean and UK schools but is not required for Canadian grads (ECFMG certification). The bottom line is that some programs openly refuse most apps from IMGs - regardless of the country of their schooling, this simply narrows your field of prospective residency programs. Yet, every school is able to place their residents into US programs. The onus is on you to do well.
If you are dead-set on practicing in the US, a US or Canadian school will be your best bet, followed by a commonwealth country school then the Caribbean, IMHO.
These topics have also been run into the ground and searches will yield you pages upon pages of discussion.
Happy reading!
