What is life like in a caribbean med school?

[nope80]

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I know this sounds like a basic question but for someone that has just thought about applying to St.Georges and Ross, I'm wondering what life is like down there? How it really differs from US med schools? How life is like on an island? Any information would be appreciated.

 

[erichaj]

Life for a medical student on the Island of Dominica is tough. You go to class, you come home and study. sometimes you go to the gym. Every once in while you go and have a few beers because you got tired of studying.

Thats it. Study, go to classes, study some more.

The island is poor, so there is not much to do. The food is OK. you will survive.

Between semesters you can visit some of the surrounding islands. It's relatively cheap to get there. Most go back to the States.

Lots of bugs on the island.

Just remember that you will be going there to accomplish one thing. GETTING YOUR MD.

If you don't think you can handle that go to AUC. It's on one of the most amazing island in the caribean. St. Marteen. it has a dutch side and french side. Incredible beaches, hotels, food etc.

You better have the discipline to avoid most of that during the semester.

 

[nope80]

Life for a medical student on the Island of Dominica is tough. You go to class, you come home and study. sometimes you go to the gym. Every once in while you go and have a few beers because you got tired of studying.

Thats it. Study, go to classes, study some more.

The island is poor, so there is not much to do. The food is OK. you will survive.

Between semesters you can visit some of the surrounding islands. It's relatively cheap to get there. Most go back to the States.

Lots of bugs on the island.

Just remember that you will be going there to accomplish one thing. GETTING YOUR MD.

If you don't think you can handle that go to AUC. It's on one of the most amazing island in the caribean. St. Marteen. it has a dutch side and french side. Incredible beaches, hotels, food etc.

You better have the discipline to avoid most of that during the semester.

how does AUC compare academically to st.georges or ross?

 

[utorontograd]

Life for a medical student on the Island of Dominica is tough. You go to class, you come home and study. sometimes you go to the gym. Every once in while you go and have a few beers because you got tired of studying.

Thats it. Study, go to classes, study some more.

The island is poor, so there is not much to do. The food is OK. you will survive.

Between semesters you can visit some of the surrounding islands. It's relatively cheap to get there. Most go back to the States.

Lots of bugs on the island.

Just remember that you will be going there to accomplish one thing. GETTING YOUR MD.

If you don't think you can handle that go to AUC. It's on one of the most amazing island in the caribean. St. Marteen. it has a dutch side and french side. Incredible beaches, hotels, food etc.

You better have the discipline to avoid most of that during the semester.

AUC students are experiencing a lot of crime on the island right now. Go to valuemd.com get into the AUC forum and read up on it yourself. It's not as idyllic as one might think.

Also, you'll find many threads on VMD that treat the topic of comparing one school to another.

My opinion is that AUC is definitely one of the few caribbean schools worth considering.

 

[nope80]

What about people in serious relationships or those that are married? What do your SO's do? I mean i'm assuming that life on these islands is such that getting a job like you would in a big US city is completely different?

 

[nope80]

I read the reviews on valuemd.com-all of them seemed to get pretty bad reviews except for St.Georges...

 

[McGillGrad]

I read the reviews on valuemd.com-all of them seemed to get pretty bad reviews except for St.Georges...

I am a bit confused. Do you want to become a doctor or are you planning a 2 year vacation? Who gives a rat's arse what the island is like? Go, study, kick ass on the boards and become a physician.

 

[nope80]

I am a bit confused. Do you want to become a doctor or are you planning a 2 year vacation? Who gives a rat's arse what the island is like? Go, study, kick ass on the boards and become a physician.

no way am I trying to plan a 2 year vacation! I'm all about hardwork..trust me on that..I have no problem making sacrifices-i just want to know what those sacrifices will be ahead of time. I literally just started to consider the idea of a caribbean med (like within the past 24 hours) and am just trying to get my feet wet and learn as much as possible first hand from students that go there or have graduated.

 

[Bevo]

it all depends on the school and which island you go to. It'll be an adjustment to live there.

Its not like living here in the US. The laws, the lifestyle, the conviences, etc.

It took me awhile to get used to Dominica. I hated it when I got there, hated it when I left but I delt with it in my own way. Shipped down food every semester, stuck around the school and studied a lot. I didn't really experience the island much because I was deathly scared of the way people drove there or how many people could end up on the bus at any one time.

Food could be eadible or good depending on where you went. I'd be more cautious about food around test time, buying or eating only prepackaged meals from the US.

I had an issue of getting some gastroenteritis (I think) during my first finals after eating at the shacks.

 

[McGillGrad]

I literally just started to consider the idea of a caribbean med (like within the past 24 hours) and am just trying to get my feet wet and learn as much as possible first hand from students that go there or have graduated.

Understood. Then first off, do not listen to what 90% of the people on valuemd have to say. They are either chronic complainers or people who have never attended, such as you and me. Either way, get a feeling for the type of island and the vibe of the school but ignore the rumors and jaded perspective of many of the posters.

In short, Bevo spells it out pretty well.

 

[nope80]

it all depends on the school and which island you go to. It'll be an adjustment to live there.

Its not like living here in the US. The laws, the lifestyle, the conviences, etc.

It took me awhile to get used to Dominica. I hated it when I got there, hated it when I left but I delt with it in my own way. Shipped down food every semester, stuck around the school and studied a lot. I didn't really experience the island much because I was deathly scared of the way people drove there or how many people could end up on the bus at any one time.

Food could be eadible or good depending on where you went. I'd be more cautious about food around test time, buying or eating only prepackaged meals from the US.

I had an issue of getting some gastroenteritis (I think) during my first finals after eating at the shacks.

Okay, I have a few pretty naive questions here...when you say you had to ship food down...are there grocery stores there that are relatively similar to the ones in the US? What types of food did you have to ship (like canned food)? Is this what most people do?

Also how is housing in terms of quality and safety?

Also, do most people work together and try to support each other (academically and emotionally) through this? I'm just trying to get an idea about what the social environment is like...

 

[RaaMD]

May I ask where people mostly study? I know that might seem like a dumb question. But for me, having a place to study outside of the home is important. Is there a library that people frequent that's appropriate for studying and is quiet and are there coffee shops and cafe's, and are there 24-hour study places? Thanks.

 

[erichaj]

I am a bit confused. Do you want to become a doctor or are you planning a 2 year vacation? Who gives a rat's arse what the island is like? Go, study, kick ass on the boards and become a physician.

Exactly.

and by the way, the crime on AUC can't possibly be worse than the crime in NYC or any other big city in the USA. There are no guns there.

McGillGrad is right, if you want to be a doctor get you butt in there and get it done. It's 16 to 20 months.

 

[medschool22]

AUC students are experiencing a lot of crime on the island right now. Go to valuemd.com get into the AUC forum and read up on it yourself. It's not as idyllic as one might think.

Also, you'll find many threads on VMD that treat the topic of comparing one school to another.

My opinion is that AUC is definitely one of the few caribbean schools worth considering.

Stop trying to spread fear.

If you were a regular contributor, you'd know that they were isolated incidents that happened to occur to a few students.

 

[RaaMD]

Coud someone reply to my post in this thread. Much thanks.