How do they work? Is it easy to gain residency in the US and how hard is it to actually get a job as a doctor when done w/ the program? I know someone here has done the carribean route. I’m just trying to widen my consideration base.
Oh…and job market there…what can the hubby do to keep us fed and a roof over our heads while there?
My advisor says I start the application process next year, soooo…yeah.
USG and Ross students match into many competitive residencies. Here is a list of Ross’s residency appointment. http://www.rossu.edu/medical-school/files/ 2009Resi…
Where you do your residency will be largely a function of your grades as USMLE scores. Both SGU and Ross accredited in all states (they are the only two, I believe) meaning you can practice anywhere.
With respect to “how they work”, my understanding (via pre-med advisor) is that they offer the same clinical curriculum as allopathic schools in the states and then you will do rotations at their partner schools in the states.
IDK about hubby getting a job in a Caribbean country. Though I will say, most Carib MD programs are as expensive as private MD schools in the states. Ergo, you’re looking at taking on significant debt from tuition. I don’t think cost of living would be a significant concern if you decided to go that route.
That said, it’s most advantageous (at least to my knowledge) to go to one of the accredited Caribbean schools, and their admissions requirements are comparable to a lot of D.O. schools in America. (E.g. SGU avg. gpa is ~ 3.3 and MCAT ~ 25-27). If you’re worried about your hubby having a job while you’re in school you might be better off trying for a D.O. program here. JMHO.
Boobs, search for postings by DRFP, a 4th year who went to a Caribbean school. He hasn’t been on the forum lately–suspect he’s slightly busy with rotations right now.
The bottom line is, you and your spouse will be better off staying in the U.S. for your medical education. The old limitations of the D.O. pathway are fading into history and it makes more sense to go to a D.O. school in the U.S. than to attend a Caribbean school.
Two or three of the Carib schools are pretty good–Ross, SGU, and one more I can’t remember–something school of the Americas? These schools are becoming more respectable in the eyes of residency programs. However, you will still be at a tremendous disadvantage come residency time and will be considered a fill-in who takes the unwanted spots after the domestic applicants have all been taken care of. At least, it has been that way up until recently.
Also, the Carib schools are notorious for not supporting their students. They have a huge attrition rate that they tend not to talk about when they publish their statistics. The marginal students (and there are a lot of them who try the Caribbean route) tend to flunk out. I’ve heard it’s as high as 40% of the class. This can be depressing just in itself, and the schools tend not to be great about counseling and otherwise helping their students to succeed.
By contrast, domestic MD/DO programs assume that if you got in, you are generally qualified to be a physician, and they will help you through, sometimes encouraging you to take a leave of absence if you have health or other problems, but the end goal is to get you to that graduation ceremony and into a successful residency.
As for working there–not likely. These are poor countries and a lot of stuff is imported from the mainland at inflated prices. Your spouse would be better off staying at home and keeping his job. It’s only for two years, and then you do your clinicals in the U.S. The weather is supposed to be nice, and the scuba diving and all that, but I have heard it’s generally a miserable experience. You will be working very, very hard and the local amenities are not too attractive.
Caveat emptor. There is a website valuemd.com that hosts a pretty active discussion board on Caribbean schools. It’s worth visiting and learning about other people’s experiences. By all means, investigate it, but set your sites on a domestic program if at all possible. Best of luck,
Three of my colleagues decided to attend SABA back in 2003 and are now in residency. I would be happy to give you their contact information. Jeff Ventre is an R2 in PM&R at LSU, Rui Domingues is an R2 in EM at Lincoln in NY,and Scott Jones is doing a combined FM/Neuro residency at Mayo - Scottsdale. The advice they gave me was that it was faster because they didn’t have to wait an extra year, but very difficult in regards to faculty support, student loans, and family life. Please let me know if you would like their e-mail addressses…
Thanks for the input. My desire is osteopathic school quite honestly, but I want to be a doctor regardless. I was just talking to a few students who are matriculating into med school next year and they all said they sent out 20+ apps and only gained 1 or 2 interviews. Kind of has me scared. I don’t care how I get to practice medicine, as long as I still have a marriage in the end. So I figured I should at least give a look and see what they are about.
Don’t sweat it yet! Maybe they were applying to all the top programs with mediocre GPAs and MCATS. Who knows. . .
The one girl I know was all A’s except a C in calc. She applied accross the east coast and ended up getting into osteo school.
Right now I’m exploring. The big push is MCAT next year. So plan and study this summer and see where it takes me.
I think that you are jumping the gun here. There will be plenty of time to think about what medical school to go to once you get all of your ducks in a row so to speak.
I realize that you like to plan ahead, however it may be counterproductive because it may get you nervous and affect your grades right now.
My advise would be to plan next semester and stop right there. Remember this is a marathon and not a sprint. Finish the pre-reqs, take the MCAT, get the score, and then decide.
Perhaps this may make you feel better, One of the EM docs I shadow and volunteer with chairs the admissions committee, and he told me that they admitted a 40 y.o. student last year, no waitlist with a 2.8 gpa and a 24 MCAT. Sounded a little fishy, but I have no reason not to believe him
Ask him what he did to make him stand out so much at the interview lol.
In my surfing the internet, I found 2 very intersting blogs by students studying medicine in the Caribbean:
http://www.islandmedstudent.com/home/
http://www.doctorsofthecaribbean.com/