While most secured residencies in primary care specialties such as family medicine and emergency medicine, students also matched into anesthesiology, surgery, and other specialties. Njambi Mathenge. A proud SGU alumni, Dr. Mathenge is an example of how a Caribbean medical school can provide the opportunity for students to create their own success. This sounds a little worrisome when you hear graduates talk about the importance of individual attention. But getting enough instruction is as much about faculty size and the way the program is designed as it is the number of students.
Find out how students from different schools fare on these exams, then weigh their performance against the corresponding test data from the US or Canada. In the U. Graduating from any of these medical schools will allow you to practice medicine, perform surgery and prescribe drugs in all 50 states in the U.
For Caribbean schools, it is a little bit different. The Caribbean schools are unofficially ranked into three tiers top, mid and bottom.
Instead, it is based on approvals and accreditations. For students who are considering studying in the Caribbean, the accreditation of the institution is essential to consider if they are planning on practicing medicine in the U.
For example, California keeps a list of foreign medical schools that have been approved by the Medical Board of California. The Big Four and a few other Caribbean medical schools are approved to practice in California, but the list is limited.
Before enrolling in any international medical school, it is essential to weigh your options carefully. Think about what type of doctor you want to be and where you want to practice medicine. The road to becoming a doctor is long, expensive, and arduous, and the choice of a medical school to get you there should be meticulously researched and planned. This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. Doing a clinical rotation in the U.
Rolling admissions Unlike U. This allows you to start medical school right away and is especially helpful if you are waiting to hear back from U. Cons: 1. When understanding these numbers especially in light of the huge price tag of foreign schools, you will be paying a lot of money for something that is far from a sure thing. Limited options for residency If you go to a Caribbean school, you are severely handicapping yourself if you are trying to match into very competitive specialties such as head and neck surgery, dermatology, plastic surgery, urology, orthopedic surgery, radiation oncology, and others.
One Caribbean school graduate whose blog post , although biased, I recommend reading if you are interested in Caribbean schools wrote a thorough blog post about his journey of trying to match into orthopedic surgery. He went through the fire of competition, had an amazing CV and board scores but still was unable to match.
For Caribbean medical school graduates, it can be challenging to match into the most competitive specialties. However, for students who want to pursue a different specialty, like internal or family medicine, a Caribbean medical school might be a good option.
The most competitive specialties to obtain residency spots are Surgical subspecialties Head and Neck Surgery, Neurosurgery, Urology, Dermatology, etc , Radiology, and Interventional Radiology. One Caribbean school graduate wrote a blog post that detailed his journey of trying to match into Orthopedic Surgery. He had an amazing CV and board scores, but still failed to match. Many of these schools hide their match lists, which is a big red flag. If you desire to enter a competitive specialty, think twice before attending a Caribbean school because it will be nearly impossible to obtain a residency spot as a foreign graduate.
Do your research on each foreign medical school. Even if schools post match results online, you must interpret them carefully. You want to see what percentage of students matched successfully to categorical positions, which are specialty matches, and which guarantee board eligibility.
If you want to work as a US MD, make sure you attend a school with a strong tradition of matching well. You often have to coordinate your own clinical rotations. Mentorship and career guidance is lacking. You should be prepared to work at least twice as hard as a US medical student. A few Caribbean schools offer clinical rotations in the US for the third and fourth years. Doing a clinical rotation in the US is a huge pro when trying to apply to US residency.
There is a huge difference between a school that has established connections with US hospitals and a school that simply allows its students to rotate in the US since students arrange the rotations themselves! For example, California keeps a list of foreign medical schools that have been approved by the Medical Board of California. The Big Four and a few other Caribbean medical schools are approved to practice in California, but the list is limited.
Lastly, not many international medical schools have accreditation and connections to offer US federal financial aid. Therefore, you will need to figure out how you will finance your education. Typically, schools that have their students rotate in the US also have financial aid connections. Have any questions about Caribbean or international medical schools?
Learn to be Savvy!
0コメント