And I would also add the QUALITY assurance as well. Its very clear that AUC and Ross has a huge overlap in hospitals. Ross just has more, in general, crappy ones. Nearly all the quality Ross sites...AUC has also landed affiliations. Nearly all the crappy Ross sites...AUC has wisely avoided affiliating with them. Whether this is by choice, by necessity or by plain dumb luck...the fact that AUC has less US clinical sites at this time is not a big deal.

The UK affiliations, however, are a big deal. As I have applauded SGU for looking out for their students, I would also have to applaud AUC in doing the same.

the ACGME cores have a hard time filling up????

this is to ANYONE who can answer...im a little unfamiliar with this but from what i've read thus far i assume that if you do your cores in the UK, there wont be any licensure problems with the states who are a bit of a pain...am i correct???

please dont flame as i'm a prospective student just getting all my facts together before making any decisions i may have to make regarding my future!! thanks

jekyll, you crack me up.

why?????????????????????? cause of what i said above? im not too familiar with how the clinical process works so im learning! PEACE!

No there will be no problem so long as the program has accreditation from the governing body in the UK(GMC I think- correct me if i'm wrong) which is the equivilent to the LCME in the US.

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Again I would have to agree. If I'll be taking the United States Medical License Examination Clinical Skills Assessment, and will be practicing medice within the juristictions of the United States, I'd do all that's necessary to do my rotation in the United States. As someone previous mentionedd that they had to do, I'd fill out paper work, go the extra mile, if I have to, to rotate at a ACGME accredited hospital even if it's not ROSS affilitated but it's in the United States.
It all makes logical sense...when we were applying to medical school, our first choice was obviously to go to a school in the US, but since we couldn't, we're going to a school that has the same curriculum as those in the US. If it is so vital that our training is as similar as possible to our US counterparts, why would I go to the UK for CORE rotations?
Perhaps...I should have gone to a 'real' foreign medical school to begin with? One which wouldn't prepare me to pass the USMLE's step 1, do my rotations at their hospitals and pray I'd pass Step 2/CSA, and then maybe by the grace of God get a residency in the US.

first it hasn't been called the CSA in the last 3 years- its Step II- CS and its named so because everyone has to take Step II CS, not just FMGs(that wat was the CSA was for- it was a different test).

the reason to do a rotation outside of the US? Because, like basic sciences, the object isn't to just learn the material for a test in class, or even just the material emphasized on Step I, its to build a foundation of knowledge that will help you be a better doctor. Sure there are people who memorized everything and can spit out material that will do well on their tests, but if you understand, really understand the material from the 1st 2 years of medical school, you will be able to score well on step I- you don't need to be taught to the boards. Unfortunately most of us don't take the time to do this- so we need the focus a med school and review classes give to teach us to the boards. So while it will make it easier to do well on step II,to do US rotations, learning the basics of clinical medicine and learning them well can be done in any rotation, anywhere. In fact, from what my friends who have done rotations in the UK have said that the art of medicine, the ability to take a thorough history and clinical skills are much more strongly emphasized in the UK than in the US(where diagnostic labs are used more than hands on diagnositic techniques). Will this help you on Step II? Maybe not directly, but it will make you a better doctor- and that's the real point, isn't it?

During a foreign away rotation can be a great learning experience (many US students do them as well).

The point isn't that a non-ACGME rotation will give you a crappy experience or not enough education (the same could be said of an ACGME rotation as well), but that it makes paperwork and fufillment of residency and later licensure requirements easier.

And actually if you really want a crazy good Step score- you should probably go to an Indian med school and then take the steps - seems the method of study required for the Indian schools is ideal for step study- they have some CRAZY high scores!

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Does anyone know anything about the system taught in Indian med schools? Why would their scores be higher.

Ironically...the material covered in Indian medical schools (majority of them) is actually outdated. Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology are not covered in detail at all. And after speaking to many FMGs from India... they tell me how their basic science knowledge is really lacking.

Reason for high scores: A lot of them are naturally brilliant! (Only the top 1% of the top 10% high school students in India have a chance of a good medical education)
...Plus FMGs get almost 1 year of down time to study for the USMLE exams. Most of them just memorize the Kaplan Notes verbatim.....trust me...I have seen this first hand!

Note: PDs do know about the extra time the FMGs get...and take it into consideration when evaluating an applicant doing US rotations while taking the boards. (PDs have told me this!!!)

because of that pyramid system of education they can memorize Kaplan (and everything else) and spit out everything verbatim- they have been trained to do that since they were little (I remember seeing my cousins bedroom walls plastered with notes- they live, eat and breathe school!!).
But remember they usually take all three steps at once! and still get those crazy numbers.

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GI Elective [x].......Wards [x]
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MICU [x] .............CCU []
Wards [x] ............PGY 1 1/2 []
Elective!![x]..........Move Complete[]
VACATION!!!! [x]