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Post by Admin on Jan 11, 2016 10:08:47 GMT -4
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Post by Randy Lindgren on Jan 12, 2016 11:32:43 GMT -4
I think its great that some people can have a 'second chance' at becoming a physician if they aspire to, but this assumption that the overwhelming majority of caribbean medical students are only there because they didn't get into a U.S. school because of their grades, test score, or english proficiency alone really needs to change and i think it will. Personally, I never applied to a U.S. school despite having graduated with honors, and test scores that made my application very competitive. I don't like how complicated the process is, I didn't like that I would have had to wait around for the odd end of the year for the next years application process, and truthfully I just don't really care about being at a U.S. medical school at all. I liked going away to the caribbean and although some aspects are challenging to deal with compared to being a U.S. graduate, I think that obtaining a residency in an area in which you are passionate in is almost inevitable for someone who is determined, motivated, and persistent...maybe just easier if you paid a million dollars
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Post by Ajouka Jeyakumar on Jan 12, 2016 14:01:03 GMT -4
I am so grateful for Caribbean medical schools, especially the pre-med programs offered. I had the opportunity to go straight to the pre-med program at AUA-AICASA after only completing one year at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Once realizing Medicine was the path for me, I didn't want to spend another 4 years just trying to complete the requirements to get into Medical School. Within 2 years I completed pre-med at AICASA and started Medical School when I was only 21 years-old. The pre-med program was very structured towards preparing me just for Medical School unlike the undergraduate degree I left in which I would have had to take a lot of medically unrelated courses over a span of 4 years. The program was amazing and I felt very prepared and confident beginning Med 1 compared to a lot of the other students who didn't have the same background. I was already exposed to much of the Med 1 Curriculum and was already accustomed to the island life. Since I realized my passion at a young age, I was able to take this risky path and go in the directions of my dreams without having to worry about Physics or Calculus on the MCAT affecting my future probability of becoming a doctor. We didn't need to take the MCAT at the time. We just needed a certain cumulative GPA at AICASA to get into AUA which was still competitive enough to keep us driven. We began as a class of 26 students and only 7 of us successfully completed the program in time with the necessary GPA. The 7 of us then began Med 1 with about 400 other students thirsty for a MD. It was a very tough journey but I somehow always remained confident enough to push through. After Med 5 however, I was very stressed than most when the time came around for Step 1. I was not only a Canadian Caribbean Medical Student, but if I had failed or done poorly I would have had no back-up plan unlike others with a degree. Fortunately everything worked out accordingly. I still remember the feeling of viewing my Step 1 score for the first time and telling myself "I did choose the right path, I am comparable to American Medical Students, and my Step 2 and 3 scores will only be better!"
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Post by Deepa Joseph on Jan 12, 2016 23:28:51 GMT -4
I am so glad I chose this path in my life. I started my pre-med in Manipal, India straight out of high school. I was very sheltered and entered the school blindly. I really didn't know what I wanted to do career wise at that point. After two years in Manipal, our program got transferred to Antigua and I started basic sciences at the age of 20. My peers and I from Manipal didn't know what to expect when we entered this island. Most of the students had done their undergrad and were more experienced when it came to study skills. I really didn't think I would make out of the first exam in one piece. After struggling through the first exams, not only did I learn how to study in medical school, but how much I wanted to exceed. I realized I wanted to make it and become a doctor. Although I miss Manipal, I am so grateful that the program got transferred to AUA because I feel that the teachers and the learning methods were so much better. We were spoon fed in Manipal, and that's not how medical school is supposed to be. After two years on the island, I made it out alive and I am content with where I am today in life.
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Post by Tuong Nguyen on Jan 13, 2016 8:21:58 GMT -4
I can identified with Ms. Vidulich in the article. My age was close to 40s when I started applying to medical schools. My MCAT scores was not that great for the verbal sections. But my GPA was high enough though. Needless to say, I couldn't get into most US medical schools. I started to apply for Non US schools and they are willing to accept me for which I am really glad. However, all of these Non US schools are for profit, so they pretty much accept anyone. I noticed the retention rate are really low as compared to US schools. For example, my admitting class has 110 students. By the time we reached 5th semester, the class ends up about 52 students. Also, the curriculum were different as compared to most US schools. The Non US schools still using the traditional method of classroom/lectures while some US schools are using group interactions. For me, I would prefer the group interactions, it requires more learning and reasoning techniques. I have two brothers who went to US schools and they are using the group interactions and their step scores are in the 90s.
In addition, living on the island was very lonely and isolated. At the beginning, some students including myself were probably having culture shock. So, in the first few semester, it was very difficult for me to adjust to living on island life and studying at the same time.
If you ask me if I would do it over again, I would say that, if you are young, improve your MCAT scores and try your best to stay in US schools as possible. But if you are nontraditional students like myself and this is what you really want to do, then go with Non-US schools.
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Post by Adham Saleh on Jan 13, 2016 9:42:22 GMT -4
“If somebody is gracious enough to give me a second chance, I won't need a third.” A quote that was said by Pete Rose, he was an extremely successful baseball player and manager. This quote came to mind as I was reading this article. In life, every person has their own set of problems and difficulties, and rarely people have the same complications. There is no set blueprint where if a person were to follow in order to be successful and fulfill their dreams, each person might encounter different obstacles. People may encounter setbacks where it might alter their path and make it even harder for them to achieve their goals. Thus, if a hardworking individual is given a second chance, they would honor the opportunity and strive to work even harder in order to fulfill their dreams. Programs in the Caribbean are willing to provide medical students with a second chance to pursue their dreams. All in all, Caribbean medical schools may lack the prestigious name or teaching methods, but when students come back to the US they write the USMLEs and are measured by this standard test and compete with medical students who attended schools that may have initially rejected the Caribbean medical school, and as mentioned in the article many are able to put up a good fight. I do stand for people having a second chance, as Pete Rose stated, the third one will not be required.
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Post by Ezekiel udoh on Jan 13, 2016 10:57:20 GMT -4
The phrase 'second chance' is truthfully derogatory. However it's not much of a surprise the term is being used.Caribbean medical schools as a whole presents different challenges ranging from the culture to the weather to the teaching methods. I dare say that in majority of these so called "second chance" schools,their systems are much more difficult to scale through because most of them purposely raise the standards and difficult levels of their projects and examinations in a bid to be seen as competitive as medical schools in the US. The learning environment might not be as condusive comparatively,some of their teaching methods might be too traditional and yes their products are sometimes considered half-baked BUT it all comes down to the student's determination and zeal to pursue a career they hopefully have a passion for.As is already happening and will continue to happen these "second chance" schools keep producing students with outstanding Boards exams scores and gradually increase the ratio of students getting into the medical system here in the US.A couple more years (give or take 7 to 10) years from now.Second chance medical schools might just be the norm.But that's non of my business though I'm just here sipping coffee. ? ☕
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Post by James Bassford on Jan 13, 2016 11:48:25 GMT -4
I think this article is beginning to shine light on the fact that most stigmas about Caribbean schools are diminishing. It is no secret that the AAMC has called for more medical student spots in the US for the past 20 years with only a nominal response by the US schools. This truly leaves out applicants who, under more available spots, would have been offered a spot in a US school. Some of my fellow classmates had grades better then their friends who got in to US schools, sans the inside connections that their friends used to get in. I think we really need to look at how the students from the Caribbean have actually helped answer the call for more PCPs in our country. Family medicine, peds, psych, IM-outpatient are all fields with high FMG physicians. Moving forward it will be interesting to see if the stigma remains after the schools get better and better.
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Post by Vandana Yanamadala on Jan 13, 2016 14:06:25 GMT -4
I do not think Caribbean Medical schools are a second chance for everyone. Some people utilize them similarly to six year american med programs. The stigma of Caribbean schools isn't anything new, I think a lot of it comes from how they've been perceived historically. Not a lot of people acknowledge how hard some of these programs have worked in order to gain credibility and set solid standards to compete with American med schools. Also, I think it is interesting that we have have a hierarchy among Caribbean schools and put schools down for not being legitimate enough. So I'm not terribly offended if Caribbean schools are viewed differently. We are different. Similarly, DO programs have a stigma for not being MDs. But at the end of the day, we all apply for the same match. You get what you put into any program.
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Post by Diana Khaw on Jan 13, 2016 18:46:44 GMT -4
Caribbean medical schools are a business that seems to be on the rise. They profit whether students make it to the end, quit after one semester or get kicked out. Regardless, it give students who want to become a doctor a chance to attend and complete medical school, whether they got rejected from US medical schools or they opted for a faster, cheaper alternative for an education. Medicine doesn’t change depending on where you’re obtaining the knowledge. And it still takes hard work, dedication and sacrifice to become a physician. I hope in the near future people will remove these negative thoughts about foreign medical graduates. The important thing is whether the person you call your doctor is knowledgeable, well trained, and care about you as their patient to do what is best for you.
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Post by Elvin Frempong on Jan 13, 2016 19:11:28 GMT -4
To become a doctor, you must trust yourself and avoid naysayers. By doing this, you increase your odds of securing the desired success you aimed for. Where you go to school however, dictates the ease with which most students can obtain success by officially matching. The Caribbean needs to be looked at as an opportunity, a ticket, a chance to equal yourself with those students who for the most part have guaranteed their positions in residency by virtue of being a member of a statewide institution. The quality of education often times falls short, not because the professors in the islands are lacking but the resources with which they can pool from are. I can only hope, that students begin realize the political nature of securing residency. USMLE scores matter, but knowing a Program Director personally, matters more. When one can learn to play the game, it does not matter what school the individual went to, in the end, its playing the game that does.
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Post by Rebekah Amarini on Jan 13, 2016 22:27:20 GMT -4
One thing that I thought was particularly interesting from the article is that hospitals in the Caribbean while they aren’t equipped with the same technology that would be found in a U.S. Hospital, they are very patient orientated which makes the Dr./patient rapport stronger. There are also opportunities to learn about different things in the Caribbean that you wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to in a U.S. medical school. In our 5th semester in St. Kitts we went to the local hospital the same way St. George students did in the article, the patient that we were assigned to that day had a high fever, muscle and joint aches, and a rash she was diagnosed with the rare mosquito borne viral disease called Dengue fever.
Dengue fever is rare in the U.S. however it is endemic in tropical and subtropical areas. The illness can be as mild as the symptoms our patient had to being as severe as shock leading to serious bleeding. This exposure to tropical illness was a unique aspect of training in the Caribbean which can benefit our career. Some of these illnesses we saw there we may not see ever again or at least it will be an unlikely occurrence in the U.S. It also wasn’t uncommon for a student to suffer from food poisoning after eating cafeteria food or H. pylori after drinking contaminated water, or even to be stung by one of the largest poisonous centipedes called Scolopendra Gigantea known as a predator on the island, preying on poor innocent Caribbean medical students trying to enjoy their lunch at the picnic tables.
There were many other lessons learned from studying in the Caribbean outside of the classroom. How to adjust on a remote island with no car, family, friends, or even Dunkin donuts were all things many of us missed. One thing that came from it is appreciating the little things and taking nothing that we are blessed with in the U.S. for granted even something as simple as air conditioning.
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Post by Olubukola Falade on Jan 14, 2016 0:29:55 GMT -4
Most students in these "second chance" schools are not "second rate", some of them are just not connected enough to get into US medical schools and some others really didn't apply to US schools. It is noteworthy that these students have to go through several rejections, culture changes, more competition in classes and second rate stigma amongst so many other things in the quest to become Doctors. All of these shape these students to be more mentally tough and willing to acquire knowledge unlike their US counterpart with a chip on their shoulders. Level of education isn't faulted contrary to popular opinion because these schools raise their level so their students can do better than US students on the board exams to have match opportunities. I'm convinced that if intense studies and comparative performance analysis are done,it will show that these students should be given more credit and opportunity to show their wider array of skill set and change popular belief.
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Post by Ravneet Dhaliwal on Jan 14, 2016 4:40:09 GMT -4
Although the title refers to caribbean schools as a second chance, I personally do not take it as an insult. The reality is that caribbean medical schools provide an alternative avenue for those students who may have not met the qualifications for US schools. I personally have friends and family who have attended foreign medical schools and are now practicing physicians in the U.S. I never really gave much thought on the validity of foreign medical education. Many caribbean students match yearly into competitive residencies with above average exam scores, which goes to show the quality of education. Despite the many challenges of living offshore, I believe at the end it makes a student stronger and more resilient when they return back to the U.S. The famous saying is that it easier to get into a caribbean medical school, but way harder to make it out.
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Post by Pari Patel on Jan 14, 2016 17:24:14 GMT -4
This article brings to light a topic many of us Caribbean medical students have faced whether it from patients, US medical students or even practicing physicians. There is an associated stigma to have gone to the Caribbean for medical school. We face questions of inferiority. However, after deciding to go to a Caribbean medical school I knew that I would be able to pursue my dream of becoming a doctor so I don’t let the negativity affect me. As I face questions about my knowledge base and training, I know that I received a great education and clinical skills. I have known many friends and family who went to a Caribbean medical school who have matched into great specialties. The article states that 53 percent of US citizens who attended foreign medical schools (including the Caribbean) were placed through the NRMP compared to 94 percent of students from US schools. This number is scary and definitely shows the difference in match rates. However each individual is different and your performance throughout medical school, interest in the field, grades, step scores and clinical evaluations can really help you stand out and reach the goal of matching.
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