Hi there,
Just a quick Question about Med school in the Caribbean. I have been accepted to both Ross and St. George's, which one would you go to as a Canadian? Would you go at all?
Please RSVP,
Cheers.
P.S. These forums are very imformative, great job (whoever started it, and whoever maintains it!)

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Thanks for the Reply DrB, but I heard that it is difficult to come back to North America to work after doing your Med school/rotations in places like England, Ireland, Australia, etc...Or do you plan to practice there?
Why did you decide to go there after one semester at SGU (after spending approx US $ 19,000 for one semester)?

On another note let me post this question that I asked on the Ross Forum:
"I've been accepted for the Ross and SGU class starting Sept '03, and was wondering about residency after graduating. I've been doing a lot of research on this topic, and it looks to me as though it is eventually possible, but only after a long fight with a lot of governing bodies.
Are there any Canadians at Ross or SGU, or in fact anyone who knows about the difficulties for Canadians, that have any suggestions or tips?
I would really appreciate your comments.
Cheers. "

As Canadians, the problem we face is the need for visa sponsorship by a US hospital for residency. Still, it's totally doable, and Canadians from Ross and SGU have no trouble in getting whatever they need to do residency in the states. Our choices of sites will be limited however to those hospitals willing to provide sponsorship.

If you think you might want to return to Canada someday to practice, I recommend taking the appropriate exams while completing med school and residency. These include MCCEE and MCCQE parts 1 and 2. After completing an approved US residency, you are eligible to write the Royal College certification exams. To practice in Ontario, however, you need either a year of Candian medical practice somewhere else in the country, or a year of postgrad training. All this is a big pain, but it can be done. Also, Ontario has a program whereby they repatriate Canadian doctors in recent medical practice that are currently abroad. This is in addition to the 2 other IMG programs offered in the province.

While I agree Australia, Ireland, etc have fine medical education systems, I feel that you would be at a disadvantage to Caribbean students. Not only is the curriculum not US-based making Step 1 harder to do, you would not do clinicals in the US, which is a big deal. Residency directors like you to do at least your cores in US hospitals. Of course, you could set these up yourself, but I would imagine this to be a complete nightmare.

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CanIMG
Moderator - Canadian IMG and Immigration Visa Forums

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I have just completed the match, and got my number 1 choice spot. I am just finishing at Ross. DrB states that its not that important to do rotations in the US. I was told at numerous interviews( I had 26 total!) that they wouldnt even consider anyone who did not do at least 1 year in the US. I also have numerous friends who are MDs from schools in south america, with USMLE scores for the steps above 240, and not a single one got interviewed. they called programs and where told they needed US experience. they are all now doing externships in miami and st louis. this is a total of 7 people, so its not a really small number. as for canucks at Ross and SGU, there are numerous at Ross. And none have had any problems getting residency spots. I am sure the programs in australia, as well as in england and ireland are good, but if they cant put you in a US hospital for a year, I wouldnt even consider them.