What is so bad about Caribbean Medical Schools?

[leenaaa]

Hi there! Just out of curiosity, what is so bad about Caribbean medical schools? If you want to practice family medicine, is it really so bad to go to one of the big 4 Caribbean schools?

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[klever]

Their attrition rate is atrocious, which means that a lot of people that are going in aren't even finishing which is unusual for accredited U.S. med schools. I don't exactly know the reasoning, but at face value it shows there are a lot of problems that are making people drop out once they go to a Caribbean US med school

 

[PuzzlesMD]

Their attrition rate is atrocious, which means that a lot of people that are going in aren't even finishing which is unusual for accredited U.S. med schools. I don't exactly know the reasoning, but at face value it shows there are a lot of problems that are making people drop out once they go to a Caribbean US med school

Part of the reason quite a few people drop out is that caribbean schools oftentimes take everyone and their mother. With less stringent screening, many less-prepared applicants will get admitted despite not being able to handle the rigor of medical school.
Part of the problem is that everyone thinks they are special, and that they “can beat the odds.” And while some definitely can; not *everyone* can.

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

There's also clerical issues with getting in rotations, financial aid hiccups, finding places to stay, possible language barriers, storm / internet / power issues, and you are totally at the behest of the school's administration.

There can also be other issues because even is it's a US territory, you won't have the same protections as a US citizen. Check out Caribbean

 

[Moko]

Hi there! Just out of curiosity, what is so bad about Caribbean medical schools? If you want to practice family medicine, is it really so bad to go to one of the big 4 Caribbean schools?

Caribbean schools have much higher attrition rates and lower match rates. So out of 100 students who start at a Caribbean school, only around half will end up matching to residency (often to the least desirable programs and/or locations). The other half? 6 figures of debt with no new discernable skillsets to help pay it off.

The "Big 4" Caribbean schools have slightly better statistics (the analyses I've seen put their success rates around 60%), but even then, you're rolling dice. Every student who starts off at a Caribbean school thinks that they will be among the 50-60% who succeed as long as they work hard. Many of these students will be sorely disappointed, and in a much worse financial situation.

With more US MD/DO schools opening up, outpacing the supply of residency slots, these numbers may look even more grim in the future. Just my thoughts.

 

[Goro]

The point isn't that there are successful Carib grads. The point is how many additional obstacles to success you face by going to a Carib school.

The pool of US applicants from the Caribbean is viewed differently by Program Directors. The DDx for a Caribbean grad is pretty off-putting: bad judgment, bad advice, egotism, gullibility, overbearing parents, inability to delay gratification, IA's, legal problems, weak research skills, high risk behavior. This is not to say that all of them still have the quality that drew them into this situation. There is just no way to know which ones they are. Some PD's are in a position where they need to, or can afford to take risks too! So, some do get interviews.

Bad grades and scores are the least of the deficits from a PD's standpoint. A strong academic showing in a Caribbean medical school does not erase this stigma. It fact it increases the perception that the reason for the choice was on the above-mentioned list!

Just about everyone from a Caribbean school has one or more of these problems and PDs know it. That's why their grads are the last choice even with a high Step 1 score (more problematic now since Step 1 is P/F).

There was a time when folks whose only flaw was being a late bloomer went Carib, but those days are gone. There are a number of US med schools that will reward reinvention.

It's likely you'll be in the bottom half or two thirds of the class that gets dismissed before Step 1. The business plan of a Carib school depends on the majority of the class not needing to be supported in clinical rotations. They literally can't place all 250+ of the starting class at clinical sites (educational malpractice, really. If this happened at a US school, they be shut down by LCME or COCA, and sued.

The Carib (and other offshore) schools have very tenuous, very expensive, very controversial relationships with a very small number of US clinical sites. You may think you can just ask to do your clinical rotations at a site near home. Nope. You may think you don't have to worry about this stuff. Wrong.

And let's say you get through med school in the Carib and get what you need out of the various clinical rotation scenarios. Then you are in the match gamble. I don't need to say a word about this - you can find everything you need to know at nrmp.org.

You really need to talk to people who made it through Carib threshing machine into residency, and hear the story from them. How many people were in their class at the start, how many are in it now? How long did it take to get a residency, and how did they handle the gap year(s) and their student loans? How many residencies did they apply to, how many interviews did they get, and were any of the programs on their match list anything like what they wanted?

A little light reading:

The PD's guide tells you how how leery PDs are at even considering Carib grads:

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-PD-Survey-1.pdf

‘It’s Tough to Get Out’: How Caribbean Medical Schools Fail Their Students (Published 2021)

The institutions are expensive, often operated for profit and eager to accept applicants. But graduates have trouble landing residencies and jobs.

www.nytimes.com

Million $ Mistake

"Why didn't I Match?"

The ugly truth about Caribbean medical schools

 

[cincincyreds]

Hi there! Just out of curiosity, what is so bad about Caribbean medical schools? If you want to practice family medicine, is it really so bad to go to one of the big 4 Caribbean schools?

It's a setup for failure. The match rate into a residency is very low. And now with Step 1 being a pass fail exam it is gonna be even tougher to secure a residency spot. Also there are more US med schools now which will make it even harder to match from an offshore medical school. My advice is up the GPA and MCAT and get into a US medical school

 

[deleted1139416]

Hi there! Just out of curiosity, what is so bad about Caribbean medical schools? If you want to practice family medicine, is it really so bad to go to one of the big 4 Caribbean schools?

If you want to practice family medicine, then why not just go DO? You get to stay at in the United States, you will have a school that actually support you, you get to have US clinical experiences, and can get rotations through VSLO/VSAS.

 

[2024 or 5 ?]

I understand what people are saying. But I have met many doctors who graduated from these schools and are doing quite well. Even some teaching at medical schools. Wondering if it is really that bad for smart hard working who did not get into med school in the US. Like the majority of applicants?

 

[deleted1139416]

I understand what people are saying. But I have met many doctors who graduated from these schools and are doing quite well. Even some teaching at medical schools. Wondering if it is really that bad for smart hard working who did not get into med school in the US. Like the majority of applicants?

The rapid expansion of DO schools as well as number of seats in current MD schools has outpaced the expansion of residency spots. IMGs have been increasingly pushed out of the MATCH game and now hover at around a 50% match rate - keep in mind that these are the people who actually made it to the end to be able to participate in the match. Seems to me like you just want the MD title. Which is fine because it’s your life, so it’s your choice. It’s just extremely ridiculous to spend more money and more time on a degree that will give you less benefits.

 

[PuzzlesMD]

I understand what people are saying. But I have met many doctors who graduated from these schools and are doing quite well. Even some teaching at medical schools. Wondering if it is really that bad for smart hard working who did not get into med school in the US. Like the majority of applicants?

Survivorship bias + things have grown increasingly difficult for IMGs, so just because your odds were decent 20 years ago, doesn’t mean they are still that good today

 

[2024 or 5 ?]

The rapid expansion of DO schools as well as number of seats in current MD schools has outpaced the expansion of residency spots. IMGs have been increasingly pushed out of the MATCH game and now hover at around a 50% match rate - keep in mind that these are the people who actually made it to the end to be able to participate in the match. Seems to me like you just want the MD title. Which is fine because it’s your life, so it’s your choice. It’s just extremely ridiculous to spend more money and more time on a degree that will give you less benefits.

Heavens no! I don't just want the MD title. I have not been accepted, and really want to be a practicing doctor. I think that is most everybody who spends thousands of hours to become a doctor.

 

[deleted1139416]

Heavens no! I don't just want the MD title. I have not been accepted, and really want to be a practicing doctor. I think that is most everybody who spends thousands of hours to become a doctor.

If you are serious about going to a DO school, PM me and I will help you.

 

[2024 or 5 ?]

Thanks

If you are serious about going to a DO school, PM me and I will help you.

Thanks so much for this offer. I only applied to MD's this year. On waitlists. If I don't get in, going to take a year off, retake MCAT, and include DO schools at that time.