The choice for me was simple, I want to keep NY and TX open for possible licensure. I would like to attend a school with greenbook options to increase my chances for licensure and residency. For residency, you never know where you'll end up and with the majority of positions available on the east coast, it would be better decision to attend a school with at least NY approval. For Texas, you need greenbook for cores (and electives if under the 130 minimum of medical curriculum.) I've been notified from other VMD members that having board certification after you are all done could bypass the greenbook rule in Texas, not sure though.
IAU does not have:
- approval from any state.
- all the greenbook (ACGME) clinical rotations.
So far, IAU has only Internal Medicine and Family Practice available for rotations that qualify as ACGME. We are missing pediatrics, surgery, psychiatry, and obstetrics / gynecology. Many states require at least the cores to be greenbook. These 48 weeks of "cores" make up the 3rd year of medical school (ideally) and are what is needed to take Step Two (greenbook or not.) The last 36 or so weeks make up the 4th and final year while you are busy interviewing to match into residency.
It's already hard to get residency as a foreign graduate, imagine trying to do it coming from a lower-tier school without any state's approval. Several people think that passing USMLE will make everything all better. I've broke into the 90's for step one and haven't been able to successfully transfer anywhere. Here's a list of programs I've contacted and got denied for various reasons including "not taking credits from IAU/carribean schools, must have MCATS/prereqs, no spots available this year, or not taking advanced standing transfer students:"
U.S. Schools
Drexel (PA)
New York Medical College
Tulane (LA)
Marshall (WV)
George Washington (DC)
Northeastern Ohio (has a crazy $600 3 day interview with videotaped doctor-patient set up)
Indiana (IN residents only)
Brown (RI residents only)
Chicago Medical School
Mercer (GA residents only)
University of Vermont
University of Wisconsin
East Carolina University (NC residents only)
University of Wisconsin (WI residents only)
Columbia University (2nd year only)
Mount Sinai
All 5th Pathway programs
Carribean Schools
Ross
St. George (SGU)
Saba
MUA
St. Mathews (SMU)
The last option I have is AUC (which has already told me that if given admissions, I would still have to repeat 5th semester on the island) which I still have pending paperwork to turn in for completion of the application. I also have an interview with AUA next week. With either choice, I'll still have to file additional paperwork (~30 forms) for Texas and there's 99.9% chance of no licensure in California since I completed some of my medical education and at non-approved school. I didn't care about California anyways.
Not that there's anything really wrong with IAU, they have been trying to improve all the years. They have added Baton Rouge as a ACGME clinical option and have invited NY for state approval last year. I am not aware of another school that has attempted NY approval recently in the Carribean. But IMO, I think students should not use short cuts and try SGU, Ross, AUC, Saba, AUA, MUA (probably in that order) if you wanted to go the Caribbean route and maintain open options for licensure in the U.S. (SGU, Ross and AUC are 50-state approved). Or go California approved school like Saddam University Saddam College of Medicine in Iraq
