Recent Spartan Grad

[greendogz]

Ok, so there's been a lot said about what Spartan is and what Spartan isn't. Most of what both sides are saying is true. Yes, it's possible to attain a medical degree and prestigious residency from Spartan, I'm living proof of that. However, at the same time, medical school shouldn't be a painful and tireless venture where you have to kick and scream to get anything done.

Basic sciences on the island were fun, but as medical education goes almost useless. I passed the boards because I had plenty of outside help and focus. Students who post that they have a MAJOR anatomy exam are laughable. Sorry, not to appear arrogant or insulting, but anatomy with Dr. Babu was a joke, as were most of the first tri classes. Basic sciences at Spartan was unfortunately about getting past exams and guessing the particular mood of the professor and had little to do with actual studying or medical intelligence. I imagin people will say that you can just study hard and you shouldn't need past exams, but I honestly challenge anyone to admit that they NEVER used past exams on the island. Secondly, did those who actually do well on the island do well on the Boards, by and large no, because Spartan basic sciences weren't really a measure of anything.

As for rotations, PASS BOARDS!!! If you don't, consider your entire clinical experience to be a waste. Jackson Park in Chicago is simply a money making program, as are many of the hospitals out there available to those who have not passed boards. I had my Step I from the beginning, but in some cases I was still stuck doing rotations in 3rd rate hospitals. Another poster argued that even with the additional clinical fees Spartan students pay less than other schools' tuition, which is true, but those schools have REAL rotations with REAL hospitals to rotate through. St. Georges, Ross, AUC, Saba all have dozens of hospitals across the US. Many posters also say that Spartan has plenty of hospitals....WHERE?!?! I've asked on the old forum the names of these hospitals, but no one can name any. When I've called other hospitals that take Carribean students, they say no because Spartan has no contract with them and that they already have too many students. I'll start a new topic and post a bunch of clinical sites myself.

As for the admin, I have never met a bigger bunch of complete imbeciles before in my entire life. There is absolutely no communication within that office between the various workers and simply paperwork like loan applications and rotation requests take 2-3 times longer than even seem possible. Raj, Sheila, Yahel, Dr. *******, frankly none of them have a clue, and don't even get me started about the workers on the Island.

Ok, so enough ranting already. Good points about the school, your free to do what you like, pass, fail, live, die, the school doesn't really pay any attention to you. If you have the ability to set up your own rotations, QUALITY rotations, you have it made at this school. Passing boards, in the three semesters around my own, less than 2 dozen have passed, only half on the first attempt. That's among ~120 students, you can do the math yourself.

Now I know that everyone likes to think that their focussed, hard workers, better than the others, but can you honestly tell me that 100 students out of 120 are weak and stupid?

Well, that's my 2 cents for now. I'll post that list of clinical sites ASAP.

Greendogz

[Beaker]

let me get this straight. u cheated by memorizing answers from past exams but u blame the school for not preparing u??? did i miss something? if u chose to actually STUDY for the exams maybe u would have learned something. aside from that i agree that spartan doesnt prepare u enough for step 1 and u really should study more than just enough to pass the tests there. u should also take a kaplan review course.

your also right about the admin taking a long time to do everything. i think most carib schools have this same problem.



As for rotations, PASS BOARDS!!! If you don't, consider your entire clinical experience to be a waste. Jackson Park in Chicago is simply a money making program, as are many of the hospitals out there available to those who have not passed boards. I had my Step I from the beginning, but in some cases I was still stuck doing rotations in 3rd rate hospitals. Another poster argued that even with the additional clinical fees Spartan students pay less than other schools' tuition, which is true, but those schools have REAL rotations with REAL hospitals to rotate through. St. Georges, Ross, AUC, Saba all have dozens of hospitals across the US.

thats pretty funny considering all of those schools that you mentioned have students doing rotations side by side with spartan students at jackson park hospital but the difference is that u pay less at spartan. if anything than those schools have more affiliations but they also have many more students. spartan has classes of about 40 students where a place like ross will have hundreds in each class. so it makes sense that they would need more hosptials. but i agree that those other schools have more affiliations which are better quality. but at spartan at least u have the option to set up your own rotations just about anywhere u want or u can go where they send u. its up to u.

As for rotations, PASS BOARDS!!! If you don't, consider your entire clinical experience to be a waste.

of course its a waste. most schools wont let u start clinicals at all before u pass step 1. spartan will at least give u the option but only at sites that dont require your scores. these site r usually not as good as the ones that do. but your complaining b/c those sites that r nice enough to let u start before passing the boards arent that good. no one is forcing u to start before u pass. so if thats the problem than take time off to pass step 1 and than start at the better sites.

another questionable point of yours is the step 1 pass rate. how would u know what the pass rate of 120 students is? r u trying to tell me that u personally spoke with 120 students after they left the island, took the exams at random times, and then each separately called u to tell u whether or not they passed??? come on?!?. the simple truth is that no one knows what the pass rate at spartan is. spartan doesnt even know this. they just started to collect this info and its to soon to know.

please dont post the clinical sites coz this just potentially raises the costs for clinical students. see my other post for explanation.

i'm glad u graduated so congrats for that dr. i'm sure it wasnt all pleasant and theres much to complain about. but u should be happy that u passed the boards on 1st try, did US clinicals, and have your m.d. all this and for cheaper than other schools. spartan might not be as good as other schools in some stuff but they dont rip u off and u eventually end up in the same place - an m.d. practicing in the u.s. i'm sure lots of folks wouldnt mind switchin place with u :wink:

peace

[former student]

Unfortunately greendogz hit the nail right on the head. Most students that went through the program feel exactly like that. Students without outside help or knowledge on how to succeed toward residency are at the mercy of the school, which is not a good thing.

Studying medicine is difficulty on it's own, and it's more challenging when students are hindered by it's institution due to lack of motivation or "know how" about grooming the student for success and, by making the medical process more difficult than it should be by getting in the way of the student who is trying to help themself.

Maybe students are too passive, and should as a collective demand what they are entitled to get for there $30,000. Not settle for mediocre instruction and assistance from administration??? (more prone to work as a large group), don't try this as a lone martyr (possible repercussions).

Sometimes it's better to pay the extra money to get the assistance and guidance you need to make it. Your goal is to become a licensed physician and it's NOT easy. Without ouside help, I never would have made it to residency..because my school couldn't guide me.

As far as not mentioning the clerkship spots, the other schools already know about em' it's no secret.


FORMER STUDENT

[Beaker]

i'm not sure how i landed on this side of the arguement coz i usually side with the students but i'm not sure i can agree with everything u guys r sayin.

Studying medicine is difficulty on it's own, and it's more challenging when students are hindered by it's institution due to lack of motivation or "know how" about grooming the student for success and, by making the medical process more difficult than it should be by getting in the way of the student who is trying to help themself.

i agree 100%. spartan should work harder to help groom the students for success. i think this is also true for most carib schools. the admins seem nonexistent once u graduate and finish paying.

Maybe students are too passive, and should as a collective demand what they are entitled to get for there $30,000. Not settle for mediocre instruction and assistance from administration???

what exactly do u think your entitled to for only $30,000 aside from "mediocre instruction and assistance from administration"? do u realize how little 30 grand for a 4 yr m.d. degree is? from what i hear ppl like u did make demands and they recently responded by finally raising tuition a little for the 1st time in like 10 yrs. they supposedly already started making improvements with this money with new tech equipment and stuff. so i guess u got what u wanted but i'm sure now some ppl will complain about the tuition increase :? . i guess u cant make everyone happy.

Sometimes it's better to pay the extra money to get the assistance and guidance you need to make it.

i again agree with u and now u will pay some extra money (still the cheapest i know of) for that. but for some ppl they might want to spend even more money to go to a school that gives even better guidance. but i think that most ppl that go to spartan know that they pay very little and expect less in return. yet others go to spartan and pay very little but expect the same or more in return :roll: ???

As far as not mentioning the clerkship spots, the other schools already know about em' it's no secret.

i very strongly disagree with this statement. the ones they know about r the ones that cost spartan students money to attend (coincidence? :roll: ). but i know MANY spartan clinical students who didn't pay a dime (aside from tuition of course) for rotations. guess what most of those sites did have u.s. students but not any other carib students there. its not because the other schools chose not to be there. its b/c the spartan students knew to keep thier mouths shut and save money. i've also literally seen places where spartan students r the only ones and didnt pay money have another carib school (ross in this case) find out about it and come in with big $ offers. the d.m.e. there said that they were offered big $ for exclusive fmg rights to the hospital but said that if the spartan students can pay the same money they can stay. so yes other schools know about some hospitals which have resulted in increased prices for spartan students. but no they dont know about all of them and this is why lots of students still dont pay for clinicals. so please dont post these sites for the sake of future clinical students.

its like i said to greendogz theres lots to complain about. but in the end u should be happy that u saved lots of money and still graduated with an m.d. and can proactice in the u.s. lots of folks would be plenty satisfied with that :wink: .

peace

[former student]

Dear Beaker,

Don't get me wrong, not trying to convince you to take one side or the other. Just passing on recent experiences from upper classmates and alumni's before you. At least you and others will know ahead of time of what you'll need to do when the time comes. Eventhough $30,000 isn't alot of money for medical education compared to other institutions, it's still your money that your paying for services rendered. Regardless of the cost.

You've mentioned a few times that SHSU is still the cheapest that you know of. Yes that's true, but it doesn't mean anything if you can't practice medicine.

As far as students attending Spartan and expecting more. I believe students expect what they advertise.."LET US MAKE YOUR DREAM A REALITY" or shsu's mission and objective "ENTER AND COMPLETE POST-GRADUATE MEDICAL TRAINING AND QUALIFY FOR LICENSURE", that's all they want, and that's what every student/graduate should get for their $30,000.

You do have a point about the clinical posting, if that contributes to SHSU student's getting their fee's increased then we should keep it on the "down low".

Oh! by the way, I'm elated that I've saved lot's of cash, graduated, earned my M.D., and now pursuing my specialty, and I do have to thank SHSU for the opportunity. :D , but on the other hand I am part of a minority group. Thanks for the chat.

FORMER STUDENT

[currentstudent]

oh my lord!.......u all should be thankfull that you got ur M.D. and are Doctors in the USA.....if it were not for Spartan U would NOT be an MD at this point........Stop complaining and be thankful for what u have achieved......u people make me sick!......there are students who would kill to be in your position!.....THINK ABOUT IT!

[former student]

Correction on your part,

If it wasn't for me, I wouldn't be a practicing physician in the USA. Not Spartan ...me. Keep in mind, anyone can get an M.D. even from Spartan, The trick is getting residency. You will learn this as you go further in your studies.

What is sickining, is that your predicessors are trying to help you be a little more aware of potential shortcomings so you can have less problems
and make it. Sure students would love to be in my shoes, but they are not going to be in my shoes unless they know what they need to do to get there. You just keep this in mind "There are alot of spartan graduates not
practicing" Ask yourself why and if you want to be one of them.

F.S.

[former student]

My last post was intended for current student NOT future student..My bad.
Sorry.

F.S.

[Doc]

My last post was intended for current student NOT future student..My bad.
Sorry.

F.S.

former student:

Actually, my bad :oops:. futurestudent has been using this site since he was a prospective student, so his screen name was appropriately "futurestudent". Earlier today, I offered to change his screen name for him to better reflect his status, so he chose "currentstudent". However, this is the same user. Normally users are not permitted to change screen names to avoid having the illusion of multiple users with the view of only one person. However, we can occassionally do this manually for users by request. I suppose we will need to change his name to "graduatedstudent" in a few years :lol: .

Sorry for the mix up and I hope this clears it up for you.
futurestudent = currentstudent

[Kirst]

Actually, I was pleasantly surprised with Spartan and how friendly and helpful the staffs were over the phone. Shiela and Dr. Pablo already know me by the name and answer my calls with a loud welcoming "Well Hello! How are you?"

Interesting indeed, I'm definitely at more ease with them than I am with any other administration I came across.

[former student]

Dear Kirst,

Don't be depressed:

Don't let that little incidence scare you off. St. Lucia is not a customer service oriented country, but you will get over that in due time. Plus remeber what I said in a earlier post:

ADMINISTRATION/STUDENT ASSISTANCE
Most student are not satisfied with the service they receive. The staff is not professional or knowledgable as most med schools about medical school affairs.

This will be small potatoes for you after you get used to the way of life there, on one hand it can be quite nice to live simply for a change.

Just send your package to the U.S address and save yourself some time.

I would call them first to be sure 505 589 1372

FORMER STUDENT

[Kirst]

I inquired about the ethnic diversity on the island and in school, and I was told that the atmosphere is very multicultural and supportive. Phew~!

[emerson24]

I'll let you in my circle ;-) I don't really care if you have four heads...after all I have three *smacks knee. Doesn't sound like it will be a problem. Just the vibe I have gotten.

[greendogz]

I think I'd be lying if it didn't help to be Indian. The indian profs are generally more chummy with the indian students and give them more leeway, but regardless if you're black/white/chinese etc. etc, as long as you work hard you'll be treated well. Don't let your race be a deciding factor in the school that you choose.