CAHSU (Belize med school) and St Mary's school of medicine

[wcb22]

HiShirlee,
the school is Central America Health Sciences University (Belize Medical College)... it's listed with the World Health Organization, tuition is $6000, clinicals, $6000 (in mexico), in the states clinicals are $8000 (per semester) i believe. housing is upwards of $600/month in belize. this may be for dual occupancy. i think you may be able to split that in half if you are a single student and can room with someone. cahsustudent knows more about the housing because he is there right now and i am not.
i will be visiting the Juarez, Mexico campus in a week. so i'll post about that too later.

[wcb22]

cahsustudent,
you know better than i do about those unqualified individuals being there at CAHSU. whoever they are, they better have a slick plan when it comes to getting licensed in the states. (maybe they don't plan on practicing in the states?). this is all i know about that... they told me i have to complete ALL the premed requirements before graduating from CAHSU, preferably before entering med school as it will be very busy, of course. they said they will accept students who have completed 70 or 75% (i can't remember which one) of the premed courses to be accepted.
believe me, i have done my homework on all this med school business... i have called the state medical boards myself. i have mentioned CAHSU specifically (after describing the whole system of the school, along with its other location in juarez, mexico). they keep going back to being ECFMG certified, passing USMLE step 1,2,3 (which, of course, we can and will do). if you want to practice in CA, NM, KA, TX, and maybe a couple more, then go to Ross, Saba, SGU or AUC. the states i want to practice in (mostly west U.S.) are okay with this school.
anyway, i do appreciate your last post, and hopefully we can be more constructive from here.

[cahsustudent]

Hey, I am thrilled that they told you to have the premed courses taken. I want them to upgrade their standards so that a degree from there really means something. I was just saying that historically taking those classes has not been required. As to the high school students going there, I have no idea what they are going to do and I fear they have been misled, whether intentionally or not I don't know. I greatly appreciate the homework you've done on what states accept cahsu. I didn't know enough about the whole admission to practice topic to check on it before I started and now I'm too far in to get out. You provided more information on that topic than the school does.

Assuming the first term courses don't change before you get there in September, you will have anatomy, biochem, histology and embryology. If you are lucky Dr. *** will still be there. Belize administration does not like Dr. *** because he is very student oriented, wants you to do well and is the most entertaining and knowledgable prof you will have. You will learn more from him than several other profs combined. There are other very good profs if the administration in Belize does not run them off. Also assuming the biochem prof doesnt change, although he is brilliant, he can't teach worth a damn and you will have to teach that topic to yourself. You will have the same problem with some other profs. But, again, there are some VERY GOOD profs.

The rent on the housing is $675 U.S. and yes you can have a room mate and split costs. Whats messed up though is, they will not allow 3 students in a 3 bedroom house so that you could cut expenses even more. You just have to wonder why they are like that. Rumor has it that that is because the HMFIC gets kickbacks from the landlords. I can't prove that, but I've heard it. I also have it second hand, but I beleive the people who told me that the school was reportedly kicking three students out of one of the houses after the third student moved iadamant that 3 students could not live in a house. So they all three just found another place. They said it was unbelivable how they were treated. Doesn't that raise your curiosity and add fuel to the fire about the kickback rumor? In fact on your first day they will have orientation and give the chance to ask questions. Ask them if 3 can live in a house and split the rent. Hopefully that has changed and they will say yes. But all this happened just last term. If you can get there early and deal with a landlord direclty and not go through the school, you can get a much better deal. I do think you will want to stay in Los Lagos as it is the closest to the school and really there just aren't any other good options. I will also be interested in your posts regarding the Belizean people and how you are treated.

So, if my original posts came off hostile, which apparently they did, I apologize. I was just trying to be helpful and prevent people from making the same mistakes that many others have made so that you can get the very real benefits of cahsu while avoiding the baloney that is created by the guy in charge of the Belize campus. I was trying to be helpful. If I make future posts, I will be careful to point out what I know first hand and what I have heard from others and my opinion of their credibility. I guess what it boils down to is, the main problem with the Belize campus is the guy in charge and I guess thats ultimately what I was trying to warn about.

Again, and sincerely, good luck . . .and learn those amino acid structures!!

[wcb22]

that must be frustrating... i am married so it won't affect me, but for single students, i think that is unfair treatment.
my brother is big into real estate. i think i might even look into purchasing real estate out there in belize, especially in a place so infiltrated with rich americans (or in the amount of loans they can take out). my bro said that he's been doing some searching on great international deals, and belize and new zealand are some of the best potential places to have property because of the tourism increase.
i'll look forward to dr. ***. thanks for the post.
because you are in belize (right?), if you have any questions about any state that you are interested in getting licensed in, i'll call them myself (if i haven't already) and give you an update.
-thanks for all the info cahsustudent

[cahsustudent]

Speaking of real estate, I was shocked to see the actual condition (very poor) and locations (very poor) of real estate for sale versus what is on the internet. DO NOT buy anything there without seeing it and doing some very good research. The corruption of the government and the instability of the banks cause me great pause. I am sure there must be some nice places because I keep hearing there are but I have yet to come across them. Plus, the government just instituted some much higher real estate taxes, especially on land close to the shore. Also, do not expect to see nice caribbean water off of the mainland. You can see some green water in the distance, but right off shore it is kind of nasty . . .as is all of Belize City. I think you will be shocked at what a cesspool Belize really is. There are some pretty places, and I have to admit I didn't get to the tourist areas, but the people of Belize ruin the whole experience, at least in Belize City. I hear there are nice people in Belize, I just didn't meet them . . .at least in Belize CIty. One of the best real estate deals you could do is to buy houses in Los Lagos and rent them to CAHSU students. The problem is the shcool won't send the students your way because the guy in charge there sends the students to the houses owned by the politicians whose approval they need to keep the school charter.

As to profesors, I'm telling you, Dr. *** is beyond fantastic. The biochem guy is very smart but do not plan on learning anything in his class unless you have some biochem background and can somehow make some sense of the droning of an East European guy. If you have no background in biochem I have really bad news for you.

Finally, the point of my even starting to post on here was just to warn people that the dean of the Belize campus is full of fecal matter and to not trust anything he says. He does his best to isolate himself from students, he is a control freak and manages his staff by fear and intimidation. I personally just do not like people like that. He told me many things that just were not true and I know of other students, especially transfer students, who have just been flat out lied to. My original post seemed to offend another poster here which was not my intention, I was just trying to give future students a realistic picture of what to expect versus what they will told by the school stooges. As with most schools, you will learn from some profs, and some you won't. I'd say go, just don't expect an exciting time in Belize.

[cahsuimg]

hi
I am a graduate of CAHSU. I have read the comments of both wcb22 and cahsustudent. Well, here is my input:
As far as admission goes, your dog could get in only if he/she could afford the tuition. You have to understand that this is a business establishment first, then a "medical" school.
Some of our instructors could hardly speak english, and the ones that could, would not even bother to prepare a lecture. They would just show up and talk about whatever came to their mind.
The class sizes are small and because of that every little situation becomes personal. I was actually physically attacked by a female classmate for reasons that I had nothing to do with, and ofcourse the school did not do anything about it, since they don't want to lose any students.
I could go on for hours, but I think that you get the idea. However If you do end up in any caribbean school, you should lower your standards. and realize that you are just paying to get a M.D. degree so that you can take the US boards; so you have to do the work on your own. I passed all the steps (1, 2 , CSA & 3) on the first attempt. I did not take Kaplan. and matched for july of 2004 in IM with my third choice. I am sure that I would have got my first choice had I graduated from a school with a good reputation.
and wcb22, I don't mean to offend you, but I hope that you work for the school or you are getting something in return for saying the things that you do, cause otherwise you are in denial and it will cost you in the future.

[Pageantnurse]

Thank You for the honest and concise post

[wcb22]

cahsuimg, i'm not offended. it's good just to get more opinions, first hand. i don't work for the school; i'm going there in september. i've heard both good and bad about the school. it's good to hear both sides.
so you passed all 3 steps first try... you have some experience behind you, maybe you could enlighten us.
if you could do it all over again, what would you have done differently?
now that you are almost at the end of residency, are you worried at all about permanent licensure?
other insights?

[cahsuimg]

These might help:
1- Do not rely on the instructors. Do a lot of reading on your own.
2- Get a copy of "first aid". For every subject that you study, refer to first aid and see what areas they concentrate on. Make sure that you understand those perfectly.
3- Internet is a great resource, use it. There is a site called "web path". it is excellent.
4- Do not use review books as your main source.
5- Do a lot of questions. In my opinion the boards are not just a test of knowledge, but also a test of indurance. It is also a test of common-sense.
6- after you finish your basics, make sure that you do at least half of your rotations in the united states. There are a few reasons:
a- you want to learn how the american system works
b- you want to learn to do a complete history and physical
c- you will need some recommendation letters from american doctors
d- rotations in mexico are a waste of time
e- and mainly because you want to learn
7- when it comes to your classmates, just remember that it is for a couple of years, and do ot let little things bother you.
8- keep working hard and you will get there.

I guess the only thing that I would have done differently would be to at least try and get into an american or canadian medical school. At the time, Belize just looked more convenient.

You also had a question about permanent licensing. Well, I'm not there yet. I am just starting my residency. I did not have any problems getting my residency license and I don't think that getting the permanent one would cause any problems.

good luck

[cahsuimg]

These might help:
1- Do not rely on the instructors. Do a lot of reading on your own.
2- Get a copy of "first aid". For every subject that you study, refer to first aid and see what areas they concentrate on. Make sure that you understand those perfectly.
3- Internet is a great resource, use it. There is a site called "web path". it is excellent.
4- Do not use review books as your main source.
5- Do a lot of questions. In my opinion the boards are not just a test of knowledge, but also a test of indurance. It is also a test of common-sense.
6- after you finish your basics, make sure that you do at least half of your rotations in the united states. There are a few reasons:
a- you want to learn how the american system works
b- you want to learn to do a complete history and physical
c- you will need some recommendation letters from american doctors
d- rotations in mexico are a waste of time
e- and mainly because you want to learn
7- when it comes to your classmates, just remember that it is for a couple of years, and do ot let little things bother you.
8- keep working hard and you will get there.

I guess the only thing that I would have done differently would be to at least try and get into an american or canadian medical school. At the time, Belize just looked more convenient.

You also had a question about permanent licensing. Well, I'm not there yet. I am just starting my residency. I did not have any problems getting my residency license and I don't think that getting the permanent one would cause any problems.

good luck