Working in the carribean

[Libanbolt]

Hello I'm new to this site. I am a pre med interested in being doctor similiar to most users on this website. But i am really interested in working in a different country besides the US.


I have read multiple articles and threads about individuals going to Caribbean med schools, but haven't really seen a thread yet where someone actually stayed in the carribean after they finished school there. I know the Caribbean is considered a last resort option for school, but actually working and living in the Caribbean sounds amazing. I plan on applying to all of the medical schools in my states and a couple out of state and maybe 1 school in the Caribbean. But i that's far way considering im in my third year at a community still finishing up my most of my pre reqs courses(changed majors and dropped two courses and slacked) and i currently have a 2.8 GPA overall.

My question is do a lot of foreigners who go to Caribbean schools as a last resort actually apply to residency programs in the Caribbean, or do most just focus on residency programs in there home countries. Are residencies difficult to obtain in the Caribbean and also could a Caribbean MD work in south america.

Overall the trend i have learned so far from this website is that it is easier to attain a residency for an individual who went to a medical school in that country where the residency is offered. I lived in the US all of my life and i am really considering moving to countries in the Caribbean and in south america. some individuals think i'm dumb when i talk to them about the idea of working as a doctor outside of america considering that america pays doctors pretty well. But for me personally i never cared about being rich. All of the career choices i ever consider made decent pay. I just want to be comfortable. The specific countries i considered were Barbados, Bahamas, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Chile, panama, and the virgin islands

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[Chondroclast]

The pay for physicians is extremely low in the Caribbean compared to the US/Canada, so basically 99.99% of US/Canadian students going to med schools in the Carib do not/cannot afford to do residency and work in the Caribbean. If you get a full scholarship to SGU/Ross and have zero debt, then sure it might be an option for you. But if you are taking out loans and going to a for profit carib school, you'll have around 300,000$ in debt. You'll never be able to pay it off living in the Caribbean. I'm an SGU student, and things aren't cheap here on the island. If you want to live here in a decent house in a good area, it is very expensive. Utilities are expensive, and food is expensive, so you really wouldn't be able to survive with the loans.

I'm not sure if you've ever lived in the Caribbean, but things are quite different. Yes, the weather is nice and the lifestyle is relaxed, beaches are amazing, but being a doctor here (from the US) for a lifetime career... that would really be for the very rare individual to chose.

My suggestion- if you have a 2.8 gpa (science), then SGU/Ross is even a far reach (unless your MCAT is very high). Get your GPA up before you graduate, or do a masters and get that science GPA way up, go to a US school. If you need to go to the caribbean and it's your last resort, then go to SGU or Ross, and do your residency in the US, practice for a little while, pay off debt, and then you can always do medical missions or work in the Caribbean here and there.

If you can't get a residency in the US, then usually those students apply off cycle, or an independent program, or wait till the next year and apply again. Going to a caribbean residency because you didn't get into a US residency is really unheard of. That's why step 1 is crucial, which is why your undergrad science gpa and MCAT is crucial.

 

[Libanbolt]

The pay for physicians is extremely low in the Caribbean compared to the US/Canada, so basically 99.99% of US/Canadian students going to med schools in the Carib do not/cannot afford to do residency and work in the Caribbean. If you get a full scholarship to SGU/Ross and have zero debt, then sure it might be an option for you. But if you are taking out loans and going to a for profit carib school, you'll have around 300,000$ in debt. You'll never be able to pay it off living in the Caribbean. I'm an SGU student, and things aren't cheap here on the island. If you want to live here in a decent house in a good area, it is very expensive. Utilities are expensive, and food is expensive, so you really wouldn't be able to survive with the loans.

I'm not sure if you've ever lived in the Caribbean, but things are quite different. Yes, the weather is nice and the lifestyle is relaxed, beaches are amazing, but being a doctor here (from the US) for a lifetime career... that would really be for the very rare individual to chose.

My suggestion- if you have a 2.8 gpa (science), then SGU/Ross is even a far reach (unless your MCAT is very high). Get your GPA up before you graduate, or do a masters and get that science GPA way up, go to a US school. If you need to go to the caribbean and it's your last resort, then go to SGU or Ross, and do your residency in the US, practice for a little while, pay off debt, and then you can always do medical missions or work in the Caribbean here and there.

If you can't get a residency in the US, then usually those students apply off cycle, or an independent program, or wait till the next year and apply again. Going to a caribbean residency because you didn't get into a US residency is really unheard of. That's why step 1 is crucial, which is why your undergrad science gpa and MCAT is crucial.

Thanks for the info. also one more question, how much are physicians/surgeons making in the caribbean. I tried to search it up but cant seem to find a certain number. Usually what pops whenever i do search it up, i just recieve info of caribbean medical schools

 

[NotAProgDirector]

You keep talking about "the caribbean" as if it's a single place. It's a bunch of islands, many of which are their own countries. Many are very impoverished. The ones that are the most stable / best off are Puerto Rico, The US and BVI, St Martin, and Cuba. There are minimal health facilities on most of these islands, most people with any significant health problem are flown to PR, Florida, or perhaps Cuba. There aren't many training opportunities in the Carib - there are "internados" in PR, and there's good medical training in Cuba. But, overall, if you work in healthcare on most of the islands there, you're not going to be successful financially, if that's what you're asking.

 

[Chondroclast]

Thanks for the info. also one more question, how much are physicians/surgeons making in the caribbean. I tried to search it up but cant seem to find a certain number. Usually what pops whenever i do search it up, i just recieve info of caribbean medical schools

I have a close friend in my class that is from Grenada. We talked about this a few months ago when I first met him. I asked him if he wants to practice here and he said no, because the pay is horrible. He said in Grenada, physicians make around 5,000-6,000 US a month, and a little higher for surgeons. That is pretty good for Grenada locals, but very low for US standards. He said he wants to practice here, because he has a full scholarship to SGU and no debt, but yeah, imagine graduating SGU with 300,000$ in loans, plus all the interest... you basically would be living paycheck to paycheck living here making 5-6k a month with loan payments around 3k a month. A decent 1 bedroom apartment is around 1500 US with utilities. Food is expensive, cars are expensive, gas is more, everything is more here. You wouldn't have much savings and it would be a bit rough.

 

[Chondroclast]

You keep talking about "the caribbean" as if it's a single place. It's a bunch of islands, many of which are their own countries. Many are very impoverished. The ones that are the most stable / best off are Puerto Rico, The US and BVI, St Martin, and Cuba. There are minimal health facilities on most of these islands, most people with any significant health problem are flown to PR, Florida, or perhaps Cuba. There aren't many training opportunities in the Carib - there are "internados" in PR, and there's good medical training in Cuba. But, overall, if you work in healthcare on most of the islands there, you're not going to be successful financially, if that's what you're asking.

When I mentioned the Caribbean islands, I meant the smaller islands, sorry. I don't really think of cuba and PR as Caribbean islands, as it's more developed and yeah, you'd make a bit more money working there as a physician. I meant smaller islands such as Grenada, Dominica, barbados, trinidad, st. kitts...

 

[Caribpro]

5-6K a month in Grenada is the TOP 1%. That is a very large amount of money there and you would be more than fine. Having the insane loan debt from SGU would be your only issue, but anyone who goes into that much debt for medical school deserves to be poor.