What's wrong with Caribbean Medical Schools?

[LittleRichard]

http://tinyurl.com/35fa8yh

/thread

Haha, your cute search brought up this very thread, you big d-bag.

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[BlackPanties]

I think the question is... what's right with them? I'm joking... sort of. I think you have gotten good answers from this thread. It seems Caribbean schools are a last, last resort. You want the US MD!

 

[45408]

You'd automatically discredit someone or accept someone simply based on the med school that they attended and not base your decision on their past performance. Ha. Such an amateur way of thinking.

The med school they attended is pretty strongly indicative of their past performance, because no one will go to the Caribbean if they can get into a US MD school. If they couldn't get into a US MD school, that indicates poor performance in their past.

Your post just imploded.


You can become a good doctor after graduating from a Caribbean school, but it's an uphill battle compared to the US MD grads.

 

[WingedOx]

Xenophobia. Such an excellent quality to see in a person.

acting holier than thou while still a pre-med... just what I want to see in a doctor..

sadly there's a large grain of truth in the "it's not the USA." The LCME in the US and Canada rules with an iron first, and that's a damn good thing. When someone attends an American medical college, they know for sure that the school meets at least a minimum set of standards. That's really not the case outside our shores. Even in places like India that have some excellent institutions producing quality graduates, there are still schools that serve as "degree mills" with no admission standards...especially for American students who pay plenty of $$$ to attend.

If you talk to any residency director from a school that accepts foreign graduates, they're pretty good about knowing which schools are solid and which aren't. There's plenty of foreign talent out there, and I've worked with some fantastic foreign residents, but when I see an American-raised individual go abroad for med school, my first thought is "run away!"

 

[ILikeDrugs]

The med school they attended is pretty strongly indicative of their past performance, because no one will go to the Caribbean if they can get into a US MD school. If they couldn't get into a US MD school, that indicates poor performance in their past.

Your post just imploded.


You can become a good doctor after graduating from a Caribbean school, but it's an uphill battle compared to the US MD grads.

Not really. The poster that I was replying to was talking about the quality of a physician. Does it really make sense to judge a practicing EM physician on their med school, or on their performance as an ER physician (margin of error) and/or board scores or even their step scores? I just think that this whole "I would never be treated by a carib grad and only be treated by an American med school trained physician" is a bit neurotic and anal. I'd rather have a carib physician who has great board scores and a low margin of error treat me, than an American med school grad who has a large margin of error and poor board scores. But hey, if that's what that guy chooses, so be it.

acting holier than thou while still a pre-med... just what I want to see in a doctor..

sadly there's a large grain of truth in the "it's not the USA." The LCME in the US and Canada rules with an iron first, and that's a damn good thing. When someone attends an American medical college, they know for sure that the school meets at least a minimum set of standards. That's really not the case outside our shores. Even in places like India that have some excellent institutions producing quality graduates, there are still schools that serve as "degree mills" with no admission standards...especially for American students who pay plenty of $$$ to attend.

If you talk to any residency director from a school that accepts foreign graduates, they're pretty good about knowing which schools are solid and which aren't. There's plenty of foreign talent out there, and I've worked with some fantastic foreign residents, but when I see an American-raised individual go abroad for med school, my first thought is "run away!"

Holier than thou? LOL. Ok. "Still pre-med". Yeah, Ok. I've been on my own for about 10 years now and have been a full time working adult for that many years. I'm not some financially dependant 20-year-old kid. The whole "If its not American, it ain't nuthin" crap is just that, crap. I'm sure Canadian, French, English trained physicians are just as good as American trained physicians.

As far as your last statement is concerned, you never know what life circumstances led someone to the carib. Perhaps, the life cards that one was delt weren't so great. Maybe someone had to support themselves starting at 18 and had to sacrifice studying time in order to pay the bills -- something not many pre-meds have experience with. Maybe a 3.0 with a full time job was the best that they could do. Maybe they don't have the funds to pay for a post-bac. And no that isn't my life story. So if you're thinking that that's the reason why I have the opinions that I do, you're wrong. I actually have a competative GPA for a US MD. This whole "I'm going to discredit someone without even knowing them" is a bit childish. Maybe you still have some growing up to do.

 

[FIREitUP]

Every educational system has a bottleneck of sorts. For domestic medical schools the bottleneck is the admissions process. Once you gain admission you can be confident that you have the intellectual aptitude to complete the training, and the school has made a significant investment in you. In other words, from that point forward the educational structure is rooting for you to graduate and move on.

Caribbean medical schools, on the other hand, put the bottleneck at the other end of med school. Admission standards are low, getting through is a free-for-all, and landing a residency can be challenging.

That said, if you are contemplating going the Carib route, you should pause and consider the circumstances behind this decision. There are some people who are very bright and capable, but they perhaps blew a few semesters of undergrad for the usual reasons (blonds and brew) and don't feel like doing years of GPA repair. These folks tend to come through Caribbean training just fine, graduate, match, and get on with their lives.

If, on the other hand, you are not a competitive candidate for domestic schools because you are lazy and/or not-so-bright, going Carib will eat you alive. As they say, garbage in, garbage out.

So, before taking the plunge you need to have an honest conversation with yourself, and see if you're more in the expediency camp or the wing-and-a-prayer camp. The schools will be happy to take your money either way.

[/endthread]

What an excellent answer from someone who did not find it necessary to resort to condescension.

 

[WingedOx]

Holier than thou? LOL. Ok. "Still pre-med". Yeah, Ok. I've been on my own for about 10 years now and have been a full time working adult for that many years. I'm not some financially dependant 20-year-old kid. The whole "If its not American, it ain't nuthin" crap is just that, crap. I'm sure Canadian, French, English trained physicians are just as good as American trained physicians.

As far as your last statement is concerned, you never know what life circumstances led someone to the carib. Perhaps, the life cards that one was delt weren't so great. Maybe someone had to support themselves starting at 18 and had to sacrifice studying time in order to pay the bills -- something not many pre-meds have experience with. Maybe a 3.0 with a full time job was the best that they could do. Maybe they don't have the funds to pay for a post-bac. And no that isn't my life story. So if you're thinking that that's the reason why I have the opinions that I do, you're wrong. I actually have a competative GPA for a US MD. This whole "I'm going to discredit someone without even knowing them" is a bit childish. Maybe you still have some growing up to do.

once again, I'll ignore the holier than thou-ness

but first for all, Canadian docs aren't considered "foreign" in our system based on the fact their schools are LCME (same with puerto rico). And western european docs aren't the ones coming over in droves, so they're really an outlier as far as this discussion is concerned.

and I'm not agreeing with the team america world police in this thread. Certainly if a program encounters an AIIMS graduate and a Southern Illinois (just to pick a school at random), the foreigner probably has an edge in that situation, but let's not pretend that the extra hoops put into our system for foreign grads aren't put there for a reason.

 

[Mikey Lite]

I've been itching to share this story:

A family member works at a medical school and deals with students coming into their programs (residency, med students, etc.). I asked if it would be a good idea to apply to Caribbean schools because my stats were some what low, and I love the Caribbean. I was told that someone pretty high up's son went to a Caribbean school and that they were going to attempt to let him take some MS3/MS4 rotations at this med school school. It lasted about 3 weeks. They said he was completely incompetent. One attending just made him hold the clipboard for the other (real) medical students. Basically, from my experience, as well as from what others have said on here, Caribbean schools are a joke with lower standards, less challenges, and substandard curriculum. The admissions rates for Caribbean students into residencies are extremely low, if existent at all, with only the very top students landing very uncompetitive residencies in the US. Basically, don't waste your time and money.

But thats the same thing for every school, you're always going to find slackers or poeple who just don't get it, not every one from the school is going to be clinically inept. Blame the student not the school.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

inb4necrobumpfacepalm

 

[Ost3oclast]

Sigh.....

 

[tiedyeddog]

But thats the same thing for every school, you're always going to find slackers or poeple who just don't get it, not every one from the school is going to be clinically inept. Blame the student not the school.

School teaches the student, blame the school.

Awesome necrobump, btw. My opinion from three years ago still stands.

 

[Dox4lyfe]

Nothing Wrong with with Caribbean Medical Schools,
Caribbean Islands have some of the the World Class Medical schools, and Caribbean medical schools are known for the quality education and hospitality they provide in order to bring to the world a class of amazing doctors that can serve the world.

Medical schools recognized by their local governments that award the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program, Premedical Program, Basic Science program, Clinical Rotation, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees.
To study Medicine in the Caribbean is the best Place. Medical Universities in the Caribbean are recognized World Wide. Caribbean Medical Universities are highly equipped with advanced Medical Facilities for a contemporary medical standard.

ADVANTAGES TO BEING A CARIBBEAN MEDICAL STUDENT
1.Serene Environment
2.Better Clinical Preparation
3.Diverse Clinical Rotations
4.Post-grad Flexibility​

cool

 

[21Rush12]

This thread is four years old, and your other comment on the mayo vs. Ohio thread was resolved weeks ago.

What is the expression? "Back in my day, trolling was an art form?"


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[ChymeofPassion]

4.Post-grad Flexibility​

You're right! I've heard its so flexible a lot of them don't even use their MD. They could become baristas or cashiers!