Caribbean medical schools..

D

dallas_the_tiger

100+ Posts
Anyone know how these schools work? My sister in law will be starting at a med school this coming summer in Nevis. Hasn't ever taken an MCAT and was accepted in a month or two. Basically she got a whim to go to med school and was accepted into this one. Starts in a couple of months..

There has to be a catch, methinks.... Are they accredited?
confused.gif
 
Med Schools in the Caribbean are "for profit" schools. Some are accredited, some aren't it all depends on the school.
Gotta pass the USMLE though, and US med schools tend to have ~90% pass rate for Part 1, while foreign schools have like 60-90% pass rates for Part 1.
If she wants to continue in the field she'll have a tougher time getting good US residency positions compared to someone with a comparable resume from a US school.
 
sounds more like an email scam than a medical school, but hey it isn't Hollywood Upstairs Medical College, so maybe it its the real deal
 
Most american residencies don't take foreign medical graduates, unless it is a less desirable program with a bad reputation or is on probation by the residency review commitee. Your sister will have a hard time competing to get back over here for her training unless she is in the 95th percentile on her class rank and boards. These students can occasionally scramble into open spots across the nation once the programs fill up with american graduates on match day. However, only the best ones have a chance.

Once she gets done with her training, there are a lot of physician groups that are hesitant to hire a doctor with this background, so she may have to practice in another country or start her own practice after training. Our group of ER docs has precisely 0 foreign medical graduates out of around 80 docs. We had one doc that graduated from Guadalajara and lasted 6 months in our group.

Overall, in hidsight she probably should have taken the MCAT and tried to get into a US school (MD or DO) instead of going to a 3rd rate medical school on the islands. It is probably a little late for that, so just tell her to make the best grades possible and don't have high expectations of getting back to the states for residency if she is not in the top of her class.
 
She could also try to do some post-doctoral research in the US after she graduates to help get some good experience stateside before she starts her residency.
 
Your sister never took an MCAT? I don't know if I would trust a school that would accept a person who never even took that test. I have to agree with earlier posters and say that she would be better served studying hard for the MCAT and taking it or doing research. That way she can at least see where she's at with regards to school. If she has already gone to law school I'm sure she'll rock the english portion and she'll mostly have to concentrate on the sciences. As for caribbean schools, the best ones are SGU #1 and Ross prolly #2. I would personally recommend staying in the states however because in state tuition in TX is much cheaper than those foreign schools because medical education in TX is subsidized.
 
Based on my extensive knowledge (see below), I believe the students arrive, are greeted by the faculty and then wackiness ensues.

41N6AV0CNCL._AA280_.jpg
 
HMD hit it. FMGs are doomed to spend their entire careers being viewed and treated by many institutions as second-class doctors.
 
roundrobin, that was one of the worst movies of all time, and that is saying something.
pukey.gif
 
it all really depends on the program. some schools require you to do all 4 yrs of school outside the us, in their own hospitals. others schools will let you finish your final 2 years in the us, at certified hospitals. when it comes to the clinical aspects, the last 2 years are the most important, so its beneficial to be able to complete them in the us.
 
The School in Nevis I think is associated with Saba. Saba has a good reputation as far as Caribbean medical schools. The school in Nevis (I think Medical Univ. of the Americas or something like that) is easier to get into because it is fairly new. Later, after it is better established, it may reach Saba standards (which is in the top 3 in the Caribbean). From Nevis, you will not be able to practice in every state. I don't know the details, but I think California is off-limits. Not sure about New York either. As for Texas, I think it is on a case by case basis. It is difficult to get through the system and most people aren't able to practice in Texas from what I understand.
 
california and texas are the hardest states for foreign grads to get a license from. they would have to practice in another state for a few years beforehand.
 
I doubt it pod. The pay isn't that great. On the other hand, it would be pretty fun for a 1 yr. sabbatical. The downside is that many of the schools operate on trimesters (ie. yr. round). Plus, I think you would have to get use to old, smelly cadavers kept semi-fresh in formaldehyde in a humid, warm environment. And perhaps, 1 cadaver for 10-15 students.

Speaking of... Why don't schools use cadavers like those in the human exhibit? It seems to me that one can learn better from well dissected cadavers with differentiated/colored veins, arteries, and nerves. Basically, I think we might be too wed to the traditional way of doing things. Learning through dissection seems a little archaic to me, especially when many of the kids don't take the time to read Grant's beforehand.
 
They cant be all all bad. I met last night with a physician who is fairly prominent with a major pharma company who was telling me he took attended med school in the caribbean. I also work with a physician who is a National Key Opinion Leader in his field who attended med school in the caribbean. I imagine it is a tougher road to acceptance in the US medical community, but it can be done.
 
In my opinion, the two greatest mistakes in modern medical education are (1) inadequate emphasis and subpar standard in teaching/grading physical examination skills, and (related) (2) insufficient focus on gross anatomy, especially cadaveric study. I agree that BodyWorlds-style cadavers would be a valuable adjunct to what goes on. I disagree that dissection is outdated. Medical students need to learn what lies beneath the skin in front of them. For most MRIs I see ordered, a good physical exam based on detailed anatomical knowledge would have been better and far less expensive. Learning anatomy and exam skills the right way is difficult, time-consuming, and worth it.
 
Let me chime in here.

The head of the NIH is a foreign medical grad. He did medical school in Morroco/Algeria (cant remember which), and then came to Johns Hopkins. He eventually rose to the chairman of radiology, and then Bush appointed him to NIH.

So yes, its true that FMGs can do well in the states.

HOWEVER, for every Elias Zerhouni success story, there are thousands of FMGs who either fail to get a residency slot in the United States, or even if they do get one, are forced to work as some low level primary care doc in a rural area where nobody else wants to go.

The number of US medical schools is expanding like gangbusters. Since 2001, there are almost 40 new or planned medical schools opening in the next 5 years. Thats the greatest increase since the pre-Flexner days.

Once all these med schools open up, it will be a lot easier to get in. Currently about 50% of all applicants get rejected. Once these new programs come online, I predict the accept rate will jump up to 75% or so. Thats basically equivalent to law school accept rates.

Another consequence of all these new american medical schools coming online is that the days of FMGs coming to the USA is coming to an end. The number of residency slots is capped by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and hasnt changed since then. With all the new american medical grads coming out, the slots that were unfillled that used to go to FMGs will now be going to american grads, essentially pushing FMGs out of the market.

If I was thinking about med school, I would just hold off and wait for some of these new programs to open, then it will be substantially easier to get in and you wont have to worry about goin to a foreign med school
 
lgp, I'm not sure we disagree. I think anatomy is extremely important, but I don't think it is taught very well. It seems more trivia based at many schools than anything else. For example, what is the oddity of the nerve? What needs to be added is more clinical relevance, like drawer sign, what is it testing and what is the underlying anatomy of the test. Or what the anatomy is behind a subdural hematoma. Sometimes it is important that a nerve runs first superiorly and medially and then travel across laterally and then travels back superiorly, but sometimes it is just asked because it is a difficult thing to keep track of. The more important factor in this is that 2 years down the road no one will remember the path if it isn't clinically relevant.

As for dissection, I would never under any circumstances get rid of it entirely. However, a lot of times dissections at tables aren't good and it is hard to find certain structures. It would be nice to look at a plasticized cadaver to see where the structure should be. Nowadays, people probably use Rohan more than Netter's or Grants. Obviously, there is benefit to seeing first hand what something should look like without having to rely on teacher assistance to find it.
 
This thread is full of misinformation. I know a ton of people from UT who went to "sunny" schools and now practice in the US. Your relative is going to be FINE. One of the partners at my firm sent his daughter to Nevis to the 6 year program (the one you enter if you have not taken the MCAT) and she is now an Anesthesiolohist in Chicago.

It is true that she will not get the top notch residencies but she will not have any trouble landing an internal medicine, family practice, anesthesia or even peds spot. She will be fine.
 
I don't think FMG's will ever become obsolete. I bet they'll actually become copious if socialized health care is passed.
in broad terms- there's a mild stigmata. if they're good at what they do, no problems. personally, i've known some that run circles around US trained docs. I've known some that I wouldn't want to tie my shoes.
no matter where you go to school. if you blow step one up, you're gonna get to do what you want. I have also noted a trend of increasing FMG's in academic medicine. I also saw those same FMG's lobby for FMG's to match in their programs.
 
Gross lab is a bonding experience like no other. Like pelvic exam day, when a string broke and one of my tank mates almost caught an inverted roundhouse kick to the face. Or the day when I took a piece of adipose tissue to the face ("Holy **** dude..there's a fat chunk in your eyelashes!").


Yeah...good times.
 
We need to make a differentiation here between US citizens who go to the Caribbean and true foreign medical graduates. Some of the best doctors in this country are graduates from medical schools in Iran, India, etc. like my dad who is one of the top cardiologists in the country.

Until those new schools open, the Caribbean medical schools are an expensive, but good option if your heart is set on becoming a doctor. You have to get awesome grades and nail your USMLE in the top 1-2% to get a good residency.
 
I'll chime in with my anecdotal evidence: I know 2 doctors here in Houston who went to med school in Granada. Both got residencies at Creighton and one is now a surgeon and the other an ob-gyn.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top