How come no one mentions Italian med schools or even U.K. or

[sohomale]

How do the top Italian, U.K., and Irish schools compare to the top 3 in Caribbean as far as securing a top residency in the U.S.?

How does the med school process differ when comparing Carib schools to Italy, UK and Ireland?

It seems logical to me that since some of the med schools in Italy and UK have been around longer than any of the presitgious ones in the U.S., they would be far superior in credibility and respect than the Caribbean schools.

Any opinions?

[Miklos]

How do the top Italian, U.K., and Irish schools compare to the top 3 in Caribbean as far as securing a top residency in the U.S.?

How does the med school process differ when comparing Carib schools to Italy, UK and Ireland?

It seems logical to me that since some of the med schools in Italy and UK have been around longer than any of the presitgious ones in the U.S., they would be far superior in credibility and respect than the Caribbean schools.

Any opinions?

Actually, it has been discussed, but here are my 2 cents.

My opinion is that the best way to a US residency outside of US/Canadian allopathic and US osteopathic schools is via the Big 3.

Why?

Look at the stats. The ECFMG does not publish (someone please correct me if I am wrong) USMLE performance data by school. It does, however, in its yearly report publish the total number of ECFMG certifications gained by each country as long as more than 50 certs are awarded. See http://www.ecfmg.org/annuals/2002/certstan.html Table 4 for the raw information.

Note the number of certs awarded to

Dominica (Ross): 393 (-4) = 389
Grenada (SGU): 384 (-5) = 379

versus

Ireland: 64 (-12) = 52
UK: 44 (-60) = n.a. this shows that many UK citizens getting certs are getting educated outside the UK
Italy is not listed as it has fewer than 50 total certs in 2002.

Notes: I have not listed the Netherlands Antilles, as one cannot tell how many of the 259 grads are from AUC and how many are from the rest. I placed the number of local citizen graduates (not knowing which school they attend) into brackets and subtracted them.

The point is that the Big 3 have roughly a 25 year history of getting their graduates into US residencies. They successfully navigate the barriers that state licensing boards continue to throw their way and make it possible for their graduates to get licensed.

As prestigious as some European schools may be, I do not believe that they prepare you for practice in the US BECAUSE their mission is to prepare their graduates for practice locally according to their local traditions, etc.

(Note: I DO NOT make a value judgement here about which system is better.)

For additional reasons, please see my recent posts on the Eastern European forum.

Miklos