SGU vs Technion

[spishan1]

Hey guys, I'm having this dilemma of deciding which school is better St. George's University or Technion Medical Institute of Technology in Israel. I got accepted to SGU for their Global Scholars program where I would study my first year at Northumbria in Newcastle, England and the 2nd year in Grenada and the 3 and 4th years in the states. Technion is all 4 years in Israel. I think Technion is the better choice slightly but not sure. What you guys think. SGU and come back to states after 2 years or Israel for 4?

[sleebs]

Take technion, hands down. If I am not mistaken you'll have one or two Nobel prize laureates at your disposal if not teaching you. At least that is what they told me during my interview and my research on them.

If you want additional information you can PM me.

Hey guys, I'm having this dilemma of deciding which school is better St. George's University or Technion Medical Institute of Technology in Israel. I got accepted to SGU for their Global Scholars program where I would study my first year at Northumbria in Newcastle, England and the 2nd year in Grenada and the 3 and 4th years in the states. Technion is all 4 years in Israel. I think Technion is the better choice slightly but not sure. What you guys think. SGU and come back to states after 2 years or Israel for 4?

[cooolguy]

where do u plan on practicing? It doesnt matter if two nobel laurettes are teaching you...basic sciences is nearly the same everywhere...my two cents

[Kongakut]

I would check out the technion forum too - its under Israeli med schools.

[RussianJoo]

if you plan on getting a US residency and want to practice in the US go to SGU. doing clinicals in the US is a huge advantage. Israel has a totally different health care system, and PD's want to see that you have experience with the US health care system. No one gives a crap who taught you basic sciences and coming from a foreign school they won't even really look at your basic science grades, they will only care about your step1 scores. Plus don't they teach you in hebrew? or at least you'll have to learn hebrew for the clinical years, not too many Israelis speak english.

So bottom line if you want to practice in the US, you want to have as much exposure to the US healthcare system as possible and do as much of your training in the US as possible. That being said out of foreign med schools only caribbean schools offer that exposure.

[spishan1]

I do want to end up in the US health system but the courses in Technion are taught in English.

[Kongakut]

But what about clinicals? Will you be rotating through Israeli hospitals? I think that is what RJ was talking about - you would not be able to understand your patients.

[EpiJunky]

As long as you can practice in the states, which I'm almost positive you can as I have friends who went to technion, go with technion...

[RussianJoo]

As long as you can practice in the states, which I'm almost positive you can as I have friends who went to technion, go with technion...

so why do foreign grads try to do observerships and try to do rotations in the US.

I think doing rotations in the US is a huge advantage for SGU students, you get US attendings to write you letters or rec, and if the pd's know those attendings it's a lot more meaningful then dr. so and so from isreal. Also if you're familiar with the way US doc's write progress notes and the way things are done in the US you won't need time to adjust.

in isreal you have to write your progress notes in hebrew( the national language) good luck passing step2cs if u have never written a note in english before, or if you have never taken a history in english before. Also it's most likely too late to learn all the acronyms when you're already a resident.

SGU trains doctors for the US, does technion? I don't think so. I think technion trains docs for isreal.

[RussianJoo]

plus another big issue is that isreal is in constant threat from the Muslim countries that surround it. residents of the country get issued gas masks, I know cause i have family members living there. Car bombs and suicide bombers are a constant and a real threat, that's why you get searched every time you enter a public place like a mall.

on the other hand SGU has hurricanes, but I would rather take the chance that a natural disaster like a hurricane strikes then some guy blowing up the bus that I am riding or the restaurant that I am eating lunch in.

[cooolguy]

i think that the previous post on this thread is out of line

[sleebs]

Clinicals, however, are conducted in Hebrew and you will be rotating through the major hospital in Israel. IF I am not mistaken you will be required to take a medical hebrew course.


I do want to end up in the US health system but the courses in Technion are taught in English.

[EpiJunky]

While I do not want to stray off-topic from the OP's topic, I just have to say that Israel is not what it used to be in terms of terrorism. Yes, there are neighboring countries that are hostile to Israel, but having both family and friends there, and having been there last year, I can say that it is quite safe.

There will always be parts that are somewhat unsafe (northern area as well as the south near the gaza strip) but its much better than it used to be. Dont forget, there are unsafe parts of the U.S. as well, such as baltimore (which I lived near for quite sometime) among other places.

From the technion's website for language:

http://teams.technion.ac.il/images/bulet.gif Language
Students accepted into the program will be tested to evaluate their knowledge of Hebrew. It will be required of students having an inadequate knowledge of Hebrew to attend a preparatory Hebrew course before beginning the clinical studies. Hebrew studies will continue throughout the first year. If proficiency is not mastered by the end of the year, students may be required to take additional Hebrew studies during their second year of studies in Israel.
The program is taught in English in both the preclinical and clinical years. All syllabi and all examinations, whether written or oral, are conducted in English. It should be noted, however, that knowledge of Hebrew at a conversational level is essential for effective communication with Hebrew-speaking patients. The students must know enough Hebrew to be able to take the medical history and converse with their patients at the time of the first clinical year (i.e., during the third year of study). Inability to properly communicate with patients during the clinical years may significantly detract from the learning process.

International medical graduate program offers American MD & MD PhD courses (http://teams.technion.ac.il/curriculum.htm#f)

[12345can]

I would check out the forum as Kongakut suggests. There seems to be some pretty unhappy students, for reasons that have nothing to do with language or security issues.

On a side note, I use to work with many colleagues in Israel and all of them communicated in English very well.

[spishan1]

Just to get 1 thing clear...all this this is an israeli school....the program is geared towards american students. This program has a class size of 30-40 american students whom most of them end back up in the states. So although the clinical years are in israeli they still prepare you for america.

[lionelsoe]

Stop insulting Muslims on a public forum
Nothing will happen there
NYC saw far worse attack than Isreal ever did ,
All labenese med schools closed down when they were bombed to the ground by Isreal
Never before Isreali schools had to close,
Isreali med schools are of very high quality and seen very positively by Program directors.

Dont write it off just because the security issues
Isreal is very safe ( except at the border towns)

It's a new world now
No country will ever attack Isreal
Only bordering occupied terratories will try desperate little rocket attacks

RussianJOO Stop insulting Muslims on a public forum
lets be nice to everyone

[dunsoon]

Technion is a highly regarded medical school and graduates from there are viewed in a very positive light by program directors in areas of the country that have alot of Jewish or Israeli people. If you plan on trying for residency in NY or NJ and want to learn Hebrew anyway, then Technion is the obvious choice. SGU is a Caribbean medical school that is not highly regarded except as one of the better Caribbean medical schools (which is not saying much for most people). But if you want residency in a place like Kansas or Missouri, it may be a better choice.

[EpiJunky]

I believe the technion is well regarded, and while you may face ignorant people in parts of the U.S., I dont think that should stop you from going to Israel and studying there...

[RussianJoo]

Stop insulting Muslims on a public forum
Nothing will happen there
NYC saw far worse attack than Isreal ever did ,
All labenese med schools closed down when they were bombed to the ground by Isreal
Never before Isreali schools had to close,
Isreali med schools are of very high quality and seen very positively by Program directors.

Dont write it off just because the security issues
Isreal is very safe ( except at the border towns)

It's a new world now
No country will ever attack Isreal
Only bordering occupied terratories will try desperate little rocket attacks

RussianJOO Stop insulting Muslims on a public forum
lets be nice to everyone

i am not trying to insult muslims. but it's a truth, isreal is a dangerous place, just like the rest of the middle east. far more dangerous than the Caribbean.. It has nothing to do with muslims or whatever. if the Russians were or Christians were suicide bombing I would say that. This is a fact I am not some kind of racial slurs. And I'll admit that it doesn't happen often but it happens a lot more often the Grenada getting hit by a hurricane.

Also if the OP was asking about Lebanese medical schools i would say the same thing that it's not as safe because of the israel bombing them.

[RussianJoo]

Why don't you just compare the residency placement of both schools, and if you can practice in all 50 states coming out of tech... If everything is similar and you want to learn hebrew go to tech. you asked for peoples opinions an my opinion is that it's better to go to SGU, and if you want to practice in the US I would pick SGU over any other medical school except US schools, Canadian Schools and Puerto Rican Schools.

[lionelsoe]

I agree with RussianJoo then