[jaserion]

anyone? can you tell me your experience, advise and recommendation for schools? i'm too lazy to study for the MCAT, and it's not needed in some of these schools. i want to get into it right away. i do have graduate degrees in chemistry and biolgy, so i'm not worried about relearning the science.

thanks.

[nabutes]

http://www.valuemd.com/

[schadenfreude]

If you're too lazy to study for the MCAT, gross anatomy's gonna be a bitch.

As for Caribbean schools, I know good docs from AUC, Ross, and St Georges, but they didn't exactly sleep in a hammock on the beach for 2 years, either. (Last 2 years generally done in the US). Med school is tough, and for some may not be worth the hard work considering the way the industry is headed (stagnant pay and increasing bureaucracy).

[BMWdmk]

finish fast but cost more

[jaserion]

thanks, and unfortunately, i'm quite serious. i'm currently employed as a pharma development project manager with a major pharma co. my experience has been in clinical r&d specifically in oncology. the reason i want to pursue md now is because i want to take care of my family after what i've seen in recent days after my mom's stroke. these dr's, nurses and cna's are horrible, nor do i trust their care.

[TiAg335i]

I wouldn't bother...Caribbean medical schools don't guarantee you a residency anywhere in the United States, and if you do find one, it's not going to be any good.

Find another career if you can't find the motivation to study for the MCAT. What you fail to realize is the MCAT is indirectly designed to weed out people like yourself. It's just the harsh reality of it all.

I am planning on going to medical school in the U.S. and am busting my ass to study for the MCAT. The best things in life take sacrifices, studying for the MCAT is one of them.

[The_Blob]

Carribbean medicals schools don't have much cred. They're known as the last chance med schools and they don't look good if you want to get into an elite specialty.

[ideliver]

Originally Posted by jaserion

thanks, and unfortunately, i'm quite serious. i'm currently employed as a pharma development project manager with a major pharma co. my experience has been in clinical r&d specifically in oncology. the reason i want to pursue md now is because i want to take care of my family after what i've seen in recent days after my mom's stroke. these dr's, nurses and cna's are horrible, nor do i trust their care.

If all of this is true...then why are you going to cut corners in your medical education???

Are you sure that 4 yrs of medical school...3 to 7 yrs of residency (and maybe then a fellowship)...are what you really want to do...

Finally...physicians generally do not have immediate family members as patients...too many ethical problems...

[schadenfreude]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

Carribbean medicals schools don't have much cred. They're known as the last chance med schools and they don't look good if you want to get into an elite specialty.

Like I said before, I do know some good docs from those schools, but they had to bust their asses to get that way. You can get a spot in ortho, plastics, etc, from the Caribbean, but you won't be able to walk into a top residency spot without some serious hard work.

You get out of med school what you put in, and I'd be willing to bet it's the people who didn't take it seriously who let your family down with your mom's stroke care.

[firstkill]

yup where u go to medical school doesnt really matter. the more top tier the school the easier it is for a good residency but if u work hard u can get into anywhere.


fk

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

Carribbean medicals schools don't have much cred. They're known as the last chance med schools and they don't look good if you want to get into an elite specialty.

very true. Where you do your residency matters far more than med school, but you'll have a very hard time getting into a top residency from a last chance school. And that means you'll have a hard time getting the choice jobs. Where you train stays with you long after your first job out of residency / fellowship. Oh, forget a good fellowship if you go to Last Chance Medical College.

[Alpine]

As a student who studied for 7 months for the MCAT and is currently applying to US MD schools, I have a few opinions on the subject.

If you're not willing to study for a test, how do you plan on succeeding in a career where you are constantly studying new procedures, medications, and research so that you are always at the top of your game? For a physician to keep up, one must continually attend seminars and read primary literature. If you have the audacity to think you're willing to learn for the rest of your life, but not willing to learn for an entrance exam, then I don't think your future is bright at all.

To answer your question, to include all Caribbean schools in one category is unfair. Do a little research and you will find that only a few give an MD degree that will allow practice inside the US. The one's that do not require the MCAT are most-likely the schools that the US does not recognize. Take a look at the Big 4. You must take the MCAT, but you only have to do better than a monkey to get in.
The problems with Caribbean schools are residency and prestige. 95%+ of available residencies in the United States are taken by graduating U.S. MD students. Roughly 4% is then taken by U.S. DO students. The remaining residencies are left over for Carib and foreign med students. These spots are only filled by the best of the best, and unfortunately, Carib schools aren't exactly known for their high USMLE Step 1 scores, which means odds are HIGHLY against you to get one of these competitive residencies.
Prestige, IMHO, is superficial. The Big 4 really do prepare students for a career in medicine, but they just don't have a good reputation because of certain schools who will literally let a monkey with a checking account matriculate. While in the real world, nobody knows where a physician graduated medical school, but in certain cases, the difference in gaining a patient's trust is determined by the credibility of their medical school. I've talked to people who feel this way, and it annoys me, but that's just how it is.

My advice to you:
Take the MCAT. If you really don't want to study, then don't. But take it. If you do well, go US MD. If you do ok try US DO schools. If you suck it up, THEN try the Big 4 Carib schools. If you score lower than a monkey, please do not be a physician.

Research www.studentdoctor.net. Read up on everything you want, because it's a forum bigger than bimmerpost^2.

[jaserion]

damn, you guys are a tough bunch. lol! thanks nonetheless. i guess that i have to start planning my after work and weekend studying time.

[Hawkeye]

One of my friends ex-bfs got into one of those med schools with sub par stats... about a year after he started he found out that he never actually graduated and got his undergrad degree. IMO, those schools are a joke, and so are the people that go to them.

[nissan]

I know 2 ppl that are currently at SGU and they are bustin their asses with studying etc. It's not easy and not all the Carib. schools are a joke. 1 of them absol. hates it just bc of how $hitty the environment really is. It's not exactly like going to a med school here where the facilities are up to date etc. However, it's what happens after you grad from there which should be of concern considering how hard it is to get residency. Some Carib. schools out there 'guarantee' a US residency, I'd be highly skeptical of their claims.

[IWearScrubs]

So, let me get this straight, you want to be an MD so you can provide better care than the professionals you recently had occasion to see working, but you don't want to put in any of the hard work to do it?

I think I can feel my malpractice insurance rates going up already...:

If you are not willing to put in the time, to put in the work, and to dedicate the next 10 years of your life to becoming a competent Doctor, perhaps you had better not even start.

[CnoteMD]

I should start out by saying that even though I went to a US medical school, I know a few Caribbean medical schools graduates who are actually very good physicians. However, your reasoning for going to one of these schools lets me know that you probably shouldn't even consider medicine as a profession.

This is NOT the career choice for someone who is interested in taking the "easy" way out. Trust me, there isn't one. Graduating from a caribbean medical school puts you in an immediate disadvantage when it comes to residency. The statement about the medical school doesn't matter as much as the training program is true as long as you are talking about a US medical school.

If you want to go into any competitive subspecialty, most will not even consider you if you aren't from a US medical school. And those that are considered typically have outstanding credentials (i.e. several years of research and considerable publications).

If you are serious about becoming a physician, go ahead and put in the work now and you (and your patients) will see the benefits later.

[Brunotheboxer]

why not just skip medical school altogether. You can get most of your supplies from Home Depot and practice medicine in your basement. Fuck if you want to be a gynecologist you could probably get by with a decent shoehorn.

[gadget]

Can you tell us your name,

I'd like to know to ensure i don's go to you....



Cheesy joke:

What do you call a doctor that graduated a the botom of his class?

- I don't know, but he could be your doctor.

[TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by gadget

Can you tell us your name,

I'd like to know to ensure i don's go to you....



Cheesy joke:

What do you call a doctor that graduated a the botom of his class?

- I don't know, but he could be your doctor.

That's a pretty dumb joke, considering it takes balls and extreme perseverance to even get into a U.S. medical school. I would say the vast majority of matriculated students at U.S. medical schools were at the top of their graduating undergraduate class.

OP - IMHO your only real option is to start studying for the MCAT..there is truly no way around it if you want to be a successful doctor. Suck it up.

[Neurorad]

idiot

[Alpine]

Originally Posted by Neurorad

fucking idiot

lol Neurorad I was going to PM you to get your thoughts on this topic, but clearly you beat me to the punch. Care to expound on your deep thoughts?

Putting the incredible slacking of the OP aside, have you come in contact with any Caribbean MD's in your current hospital?