Confused!

[currentstudent]

After seeing the remark on CNN about Spartan I am very concerned! I am a 3rd year medical student at Spartan Health Sciences University. I have passed my USMLE and am starting clinical clerkships in four weeks at a hospital here in the USA. The description of Spartan given on CNN was totally false. The school is not a one building or one room facility! That is besided the point however. The thing that makes me a little nervous is that CNN is talking about Spartan in a negative light. I am hoping to get a residency in the 2007 match and I am now questioning if I will be able to do so with all this negative publicity coming out about Spartan and other foreign medical schools. It is true that the USA could NEVER ban all foreign grads but they can ban all Spartan grads which scares me. Why is CNN talking about Spartan? There must be a reason! This scares me very much. I am thinking of other options with respect to medical schools now. Maybe transferring to another school in another country (Australia, etc) would be the best option for me. Anybody who is objective have any advice?

[ASIANDOC]

on CNN headline news they been running [of course all over the world] all day bad publicity about "carribean medical schools" and UAG malpractice case,they did not name any carribean school but they did name Guad,you can do whatever you want but if I was you I will go to an approved school preferably out of the carribean,things going downhill too fast and the owners of the new and unapproved schools has not blinked yet! I am afraid if the FSMB uses CA reports then Its over, I do not blame school officials but students who things buisness is as usual and everything is fine [denial], I am considering Czech to repeat everything.

[mindprobe]

I think if I could count how many times you have said on this board that you passed Step 1 I would be a millionaire. The interesting point is that you have never divulged your score.

[pitstar]

After seeing the remark on CNN about Spartan I am very concerned! I am a 3rd year medical student at Spartan Health Sciences University. I have passed my USMLE and am starting clinical clerkships in four weeks at a hospital here in the USA. The description of Spartan given on CNN was totally false. The school is not a one building or one room facility! That is besided the point however. The thing that makes me a little nervous is that CNN is talking about Spartan in a negative light. I am hoping to get a residency in the 2007 match and I am now questioning if I will be able to do so with all this negative publicity coming out about Spartan and other foreign medical schools. It is true that the USA could NEVER ban all foreign grads but they can ban all Spartan grads which scares me. Why is CNN talking about Spartan? There must be a reason! This scares me very much. I am thinking of other options with respect to medical schools now. Maybe transferring to another school in another country (Australia, etc) would be the best option for me. Anybody who is objective have any advice?

Best solution ...transfer to a non-Carribean school (India, Australia, UK)

[wcb22]

the FSMB already has 7 or 8 states (and CA is not one of them) that have agreed to allow regional accrediting bodies to evaluate foreign medical schools, in our case, CARICOM is our accrediting body. EACH STATE acts independently from the other. granted, some states have followed the CA guidelines. but hell will freeze over before every state agrees that CA has the fiat command on which schools are approved and which are not.

[sean]

Hi guys,

Just some comments..I also saw the CNNHN piece and it seemed to focus on FMGs in general and UAG in particular. There was no mention of Spartan in the piece that I saw. There was a quiz question on the CNN LouDobbs website but as far as I know it wasn't on the show. The question also seemed to be somewhat dated (perhaps old information). Also another note...as far as I know Spartan grads cannot currently get licenses in TX, CA, IN, and TN. Don't know of others (check for yourselves). - S

[ahsan]

Spartan is not banned in the states we are talking about. it is just not approved for some reason or eligibility criteria spartan could'nt fullfill.
The term banned is wrong. No state body can ban any institution unless for a gross ineligibility or misconduct or fraud.
Cal approval committee's finding is 20 years old and the way CNN has put it raises doubts about the credibility of the report itself. Who knows with what ethics and credible source CNN has carried that story, I think all Spartanites should call or send an email to Lou Dobbs.
The Admin should also initiate their efforts at the earliest. Just Hope.
Ahsan

[Kirst]

Spartan is not banned in the states we are talking about. it is just not approved for some reason or eligibility criteria spartan could'nt fullfill.
The term banned is wrong. No state body can ban any institution unless for a gross ineligibility or misconduct or fraud.
Cal approval committee's finding is 20 years old and the way CNN has put it raises doubts about the credibility of the report itself. Who knows with what ethics and credible source CNN has carried that story, I think all Spartanites should call or send an email to Lou Dobbs.
The Admin should also initiate their efforts at the earliest. Just Hope.
Ahsan

the sad thing about your suggestion is that the students have to make the initiative as the administration doesn't seem to have flinched a bit.

just hope? yup that's what we have been doing. we're actually exceptionally good at it i think, we are very well trained on that concept from day one.

first trimester students, my boyfriend and myself included, are still holding our breath for our loans to be disbursed, money that teri wired to school's account back in december. 75 days and going strong. i'll get my money soon, next week, they say. but then wait a minute... they've been saying that every week i called these past 2+ months!

i wonder if it's even legal for school to be holding the money hostage from the students for over 10 weeks since its disbursement from teri.

teri already took the cash out of its pockets, but students are finding themselves digging debts, begging friends and family, and/or selling assets to account for the unwarned and prolonged delay in actually seeing a dime of the money that left from teri's hands 10 weeks ago. heck, i'm running out of excuses to tell my parents as they question me why the school is not releasing the fund. well if i knew the reason i don't think i'd want to be here.

the tradition isn't new, this delay happened every trimester i was here. i have it programmed in my head that i won't see the money until the 6th week in to the trimester. and for a decent reason too, they say it's because students may run with the money without paying tuition for the trimester if the fund is released before the 6th week in. but hey it's taking 10 weeks this time and um, i think i have the right to be curious about the status of my money.

or... maybe i don't!

to prospective students, please have enough money to live on for first two of the four months in a trimester, even if you qualified for a teri loan.

[LindaK]

Sean,
As a TN resident, I'm curious what the basis is for your inclusion of TN on the "banned' list. I'm trying to keep up with TN regs, and I don't see anything that precludes a Spartan grad from licensure in TN. I know of the recent case regarding one Spartan Grad, but that doesn't seem to me to make all grads ineligible. I'd appreciate any further info you have!

[ASIANDOC]

Its unfortunate that Spartan going downhill like that,I know so many good doctors practicing in the US from spartan in addition of what I read here about the good alumni,who runs the school,when I go to their website I read under administration 2 guys and 4 librarians names,is the library that large to need 4 librarians?and why librarians considered administrators?just want to understand the roots of the issue and may be we have suggestions to all the schools to improve.what I saw on CNN its really depressing because they labled all carribean schools collectively and that was unfair to many good ones like SGU because the public will only remember the big titles and not individual schools,I believe the good schools [the big 4] should rebuttal the CNN report.

[sean]

Hi Linda,

I don't think I wrote "banned" anywhere in my note however I was referring to the recent case of a Spartan graduate who appeared in front of the TN state board. Apparently, the graduate was told that Spartan did not meet the "substantial equivalence" criteria. You can check this for yourself on the Tennessee State Medical Board website as the minutes of all board meetings is posted so this is public knowledge. The graduate apparently withdrew his application rather than risk the probability of denial of licensure. So my inclusion of TN was based on this. If u have anymore up to date info, I will gladly change my list. Note that I'm a Spartan grad. too, so I'd love to be wrong on this point. - S

[ASIANDOC]

I did my clerkship long time ago with spartan students and 3 grads who trained with me spartan grads not only practicing in TN but trained at Vanderbilt ,one that I keep in touch with is a faculty at Vanderbilt,few others in private practice.recent Spartan applicant must have other issues or they changed the laws.

[wolfvgang22]

Well, I didn't see anything on CNN today about IMGs, so maybe they've moved on and forgotten about it. I think maybe it was a slow news day.

[ASIANDOC]

I wish the report was about IMG's,it was very specific and clear to the viewers around the world about "carribean medical schools" and questionable standards,the issue is much bigger than for people to forget.the serious schools like SABA and possibly St Mathews[although St Mathews still have longway to go and as of now they have same disapproval states like Spartan[CA,IN,TX] but KS ok with Spartan not OK with SMU, I believe if Spartan had intentions for long term plans they would have reshaped their faculty,builded 4 additional classrooms,started with NY approvals...etc.but I think most smaller schools they like to invest with the minimum $$$and get most $$$ & if it does not work out then they move on with another investment with students and alumni will be left in the cold.
my personal feelings that half of the carribean schools will collapse in one year due the the strom comming our way from the regulators soon.

[ASIANDOC]

CURRENTSTUDENT
my humble personal advise to you to try hard to transfer anywhere except the carribean and Mexico[due to the negative media attacks],try Spain,Czech,Italy,Egypt,anywhere,you have passed the most difficult test and you seem caring and smart by passing difficult exam like this[I know because I took it,took all IM GI boards but that part of USMLE was the most difficult between all exams].

[currentstudent]

Can anyone tell me of specific schools I should transfer to out of the carib that will grant me advanced standing? I would appreciate any information.

Thanks,

Currentstudent

[sean]

Hi,

Just a thought on the issue of "tranferring". If any portion of your education is from a school that is disapproved, then usually your entire education is disapproved. If you start over, of course, this wouldn't apply. This is general statement, however, u can check with the state board of your choice. - S

[ASIANDOC]

I can't remember the names but I am going on vacation in June to Asia,I saw in the local newspapers many offices charge few hundred dollars to get acceptance to schools[most are CA approved] but lower standards than the carribeans however the key word "approved" and no one interested in travel to evaluate such schools.I will bring the names with me in June.in the meantime stay on the internet search all schools,e mail director of admissions,even if you have to study different language in my opinion is better than being called "suspect"[I am talking about all schools mentioned in the article entitled "suspect MD's",its very embarrasing.
good luck

[wolfvgang22]

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