Medical Education US

IS it easier to get in? is it cheaper?

Here are the two MAJOR benefits:

1. Perhaps the greatest benefit these schools offer is that otherwise qualified students, who are dedicated and determined to successfully complete the rigors of a superior medical education, get the chance to attend medical school and become physicians. American schools, with their limited number of available positions, actually prevent many capable candidates from attending.

2. MOOLAH- The cost of a Caribbean medical education is a fraction of the cost of U.S. medical schools. Tuitions form a MAJOR component of American schools expenses. Therefore they're some of the most expensive in the world. Not the same for Caribbean med schools

You should seriously consider getting into a Caribbean med school...

Of course, the biggest drawback is that it is much MUCH more difficult to get a decent residency slot if you graduate from a Caribbean medical school. Also, the quality of the education and the quality of your co-students is not as good as at a US medical school. If you aren't qualified to get into a US medical school, I think you may have more luck first trying osteopathic programs before considering the Caribbean. Of course, if you can get into a US medical school, that is by FAR the best option if you want to have a career as a physician.

thanks for you insight mr. administrator. But for many students financial considerations are sometimes the most important ones. Education in the US is very expensive and with so many years of med schol it can take maximm toll. But you're points are definitely valid too. Guess these are very useful insights for an aspiring medical student.

All the best y'all...

So is it so difficult for Caribbean Med school students to get residency in the US? What if i finally decide to do my med school in the Caribbean what are the potential obstacles i will face in becoming a US certified physician?

soledadboy wrote:So is it so difficult for Caribbean Med school students to get residency in the US? What if i finally decide to do my med school in the Caribbean what are the potential obstacles i will face in becoming a US certified physician?

Decent Caribbean schools (Ross, SGU, AUC, AUA...etc.) tend to have 90% Residency match compared to the general IMG match rate of 50%.

Of course the more competitive specialties like plastic surgery, dermatology, opthamology..etc. will be next to impossible for off-shore students to get right out of school. But NOT impossible to get as fellowship(s). And also of course any student's first priority should be seeking admission to a US medical school. Caribbean (US-modeled) schools should be viewed as an excellent second option.

Tipton wrote:Decent Caribbean schools (Ross, SGU, AUC, AUA...etc.) tend to have 90% Residency match compared to the general IMG match rate of 50%.

Tipton,

I'm curious where you get your statistic that coming from a decent medical school gives you a 90% residency match? If you look at the 2007 NRMP data, specifically on the third page in table 2, you see that the matching stats are:

US Senior students: 93.4% match
Canadian Students: 64.5% match
US Physicians: 45.4% match
Osteopaths: 68.8% match
5th Pathway: 49.3% match
US Foreign Graduates: 50% match
Non-US Foreign Graduates: 54.5% match

So, to me it appears US foreign graduates matched WORSE than non-US foreign graduates. I would hate to spend 4 years of medical school to have a 50% chance of matching in ANY program. The match statistic doesn't give any indication of what choice a person got. I would strongly suggest that anyone looking at these options get the actual match statistics from the program before enrolling - not only getting the match percentage, but also getting what level choice the person got and in what fields.

I am actually surprised that there is such a big difference between MD programs (93.4%) and osteopathic programs (68.8%). I find it hard to believe that Caribbean schools really match 90% of their graduates when osteopathic programs don't do that well, and somehow the overall US foreign graduate statistic is only 50%.