To Those Looking for a Good School

[FutureStudent]

For the past few weeks, I have been carefully looking for the Caribbean medical school that I will apply to. I don't want to begin school and have problems from classmates (whiny students, angry students, etc) or lack of school support that might slow down my education. I tend to not get politically involved with the problems perceived by others-I study hard, do my work and follow rules. I am interested in a school that has a good track record when it comes to USMLE scores, good faculty support for the student and willingness of the students to study, learn and succeed.
I am disappointed in many of the replies to my questions posted through the forum to other schools in the Caribbean. It seems the students are hostile and possibly not too bright (from what I see of their spelling, choice of words, etc-they sound more like street thugs than physicians). In their writings they want to pick fights, downgrade others, accuse each other of blah, blah, blah, blah. It brings to mind an immature, unsettled person, with too much of Daddy's money, demanding an MD degree in exchange for the same.
Because I have limited funds, (I have worked and saved for 5 years to enter medical school) I am very careful about my future medical school. So today I have contacted residency programs in New Jersey, New York, Texas, Arizona and Washington and have spoken with their program directors. The residency program directors were all very frank about Caribbean schools, much of which was not good (and now I see why after my experience with previous postings). All of the above spoke highly of St. George's and the professional manner of residents from St. George's. I was given the names of 3 graduates from St. George's that have completed IM residency and IM specialty fellowships (Infectious Diseases, Cardiology and Nephrology). I have spoken with all 3 on the phone today and they were fantastic! Very encouraging. Now I think have found my Caribbean medical school.
Please do you investigation wisely and thoroughly before signing the paperwork to enter medical school.

[stephew]

to be honest, when choosing a med school, the whiney factor should come behind the following:
1) board scores
2) percent who make it to boards with class
3) states you can get licensed in
4) fields the school places people in
5) then consider cost, lifesyle and whine factor.

calling up program directors is a reaosnable way to go about assessing the impressions PDs have of sgu. However, there's a lot of important stuff that gets left out by that assesment.
you want to engage in practical reasoning, its not like chosing the appropraite frat. having said that, I think sgu does stack up well. but you may have arrived at a good place by a questionable route.

[jaywalk81]

also i wouldnt judge how a school is by the way the students type and spell. yes, they should follow all the grammars, but who really do follow on a forum when most ppl are typing as they type in a chatroom.

[FutureStudent]

to be honest, when choosing a med school, the whiney factor should come behind the following:
1) board scores
2) percent who make it to boards with class
3) states you can get licensed in
4) fields the school places people in
5) then consider cost, lifesyle and whine factor.

calling up program directors is a reaosnable way to go about assessing the impressions PDs have of sgu. However, there's a lot of important stuff that gets left out by that assesment.
you want to engage in practical reasoning, its not like chosing the appropraite frat. having said that, I think sgu does stack up well. but you may have arrived at a good place by a questionable route.


Actually, I tried numbers 1. and 2. I asked this same question of at least 5 schools on this forum "What is this school's pass rate for USMLE Step 1?". I got one decent reply "around 70-80%" which is not believable-passing scores are delivered to the school (unless the student requests not) and are high priority to all medical schools, but particularly to Caribbean schools who always have to "prove" themselves. "70-80%" is not a valid answer....("68.3%" or "73.9% on the first try with a success rate of 90% overall" is a valid answer). So that was no help. Sorry to say, I could never get a real answer from this forum or from anyone at any school's "home office".
I checked out number 3. long before joining this forum. I also checked out licensing in UK, US and Canada for Caribbean IMGs. I did my homework.
Number 4. Apparently that changes with many schools from term to term. One month they are accepted, the next banned, and the next-right back into the hospital. Must have something to do with payment (or non) of fees? insurance? who knows...
On to number 5. The whine factor. Maybe this has to do with stress levels? Maybe sour grapes. Pure miserable? Whatever the reason, I found most of the participants in most of these forums to present themselves as suspicious, ("I think you are hired by another school to make us look bad") rude and immature.:cry:
Nuff said.

[rokshana]

Actually, I tried numbers 1. and 2. I asked this same question of at least 5 schools on this forum "What is this school's pass rate for USMLE Step 1?". I got one decent reply "around 70-80%" which is not believable-passing scores are delivered to the school (unless the student requests not) and are high priority to all medical schools, but particularly to Caribbean schools who always have to "prove" themselves. "70-80%" is not a valid answer....("68.3%" or "73.9% on the first try with a success rate of 90% overall" is a valid answer). So that was no help. Sorry to say, I could never get a real answer from this forum or from anyone at any school's "home office".
.

while you would think that this is something that would be readily available, it not so easy to find. While the scores are reported to US schools, i'm not so sure that they are automatically released to the foreign school(we had to send a faxed copy of our step I report to the bayshore office-I'm sure they eventually get them,but...and on top of that many schools won't separate out 1st time takers percentages from overall, so it can be dicey trying to get that info.

[cavalletti]

Thanks futurestudent. Useful insight.

[Sam2004]

I am disappointed in many of the replies to my questions posted through the forum to other schools in the Caribbean. It seems the students are hostile and possibly not too bright (from what I see of their spelling, choice of words, etc-they sound more like street thugs than physicians). In their writings they want to pick fights, downgrade others, accuse each other of blah, blah, blah, blah. It brings to mind an immature, unsettled person, with too much of Daddy's money, demanding an MD degree in exchange for the same.

I must be really burned out or something because I found this post offensive.

I don't understand how you can post online and criticize people for being hostile and then call them thugs and not too bright in the same breath. Plus , I don't know of anyone in my class who is here on "Daddy's money" as you put it. We're all in debt and we will all continue to be in major debt for years to come. And some of the brightest doctors in the world make spelling mistakes -- so let's not go there.

If you want to choose a medical school, go with your gut. You're going to have good and bad people in every class, at every school. You can't get around it. I realize you saved a lot of money and want to make a wise choice, but so did the rest of us. You did your research and one of the schools should be calling your name by now. Go there. You'll like some of the people in your class, and yet, you may not like some others.

It's just how it goes.

Good luck.

[July2006]

FutureStudent,

I was really trying to help you when you came on the MUA-nevis forum. You're questions were a shock to me because no one I know who is attending either Saba or MUA had raised the issues you raised. I spent a lot of time researching on the school I will be attending in May 2007 and I find it to be one of the best Caribbean school. So when I read your questions I was completely thrown off guard since, like you, I had spent many hours researching.

For the others please read this and see if I or the others were as bad as he had made us to be. http://www.valuemd.com/medical-university-americas-mua-nevis/121752-true.html

I am sorry to say this but I think you're looking for problems. I can't even imgine why. Regardless, I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

July

[medic]

FutureStudent,

I was really trying to help you when you came on the MUA-nevis forum. You're questions were a shock to me because no one I know who is attending either Saba or MUA had raised the issues you raised. I spent a lot of time researching on the school I will be attending in May 2007 and I find it to be one of the best Caribbean school. So when I read your questions I was completely thrown off guard since, like you, I had spent many hours researching.

For the others please read this and see if I or the others were as bad as he had made us to be. http://www.valuemd.com/medical-university-americas-mua-nevis/121752-true.html

I am sorry to say this but I think you're looking for problems. I can't even imgine why. Regardless, I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

July

I did not see anything too bad in what he asked or in the other people's answers. Maybe his tone was a bit weird, but this is a forum, people type quickly and you cannot really tell how their questions are asked. Plenty of misunderstandings, even in this forum here. It's all good.

[stephew]

actually by number four i dont mean clinicals; i mean residencies.

[stephew]

while you would think that this is something that would be readily available, it not so easy to find. While the scores are reported to US schools, i'm not so sure that they are automatically released to the foreign school(we had to send a faxed copy of our step I report to the bayshore office-I'm sure they eventually get them,but...and on top of that many schools won't separate out 1st time takers percentages from overall, so it can be dicey trying to get that info.
agreed. it should be readily availabel but for whatever reason its not. the us schools dont both with this because people dont use the usmle score as a decision maker typically. it doesnt make sence to as much for us school.s

[summerwind]

I don't understand why, in this day and age of computers, that the USMLE scores can not be tabulated and reported by the testing body. Students would then be able to use these scores as one, very valuable, tool to evaluate potential foriegn med schools.

[drnick07]

I don't understand why, in this day and age of computers, that the USMLE scores can not be tabulated and reported by the testing body. Students would then be able to use these scores as one, very valuable, tool to evaluate potential foriegn med schools. Politics. And no school would allow their scores to be posted without a chance to filter them. If scores are not readily available, then one must wonder what they're trying to hide.