Thread: My visit to Spartan Health Sciences University

Hello,

My son is a student at American University School of Medicine (AUA). I am a practicing radiologist at UCLA. I graduated from St.George's School of Medicine in the early 80s. Before my husband (retired trauma surgeon who graduated from Spartan), my son, and I decided what school my son would attend we visited the major caribbean schools (SGU, Ross, Spartan, Saba, AUC, AUA, and St.Matthews). We were happy with all the schools we visited. We spent a few days on each island, attending classes, meeting with administration, etc.. The time my husband and I spent at Spartan was very satisfying. My husband graduated many years ago from Spartan Health Sciences University and he was quite satisfied with the improvments the school has made. As I posted in the AUA forum, Spartan was very similar to Saba School of Medicine with respect to facilities, administration, etc.. The majority of what is written on all these forums is hogwash in my opinion! My husband and I visited Spartan for two days and we were happy with the way things were conducted. We met with both deans of the school and a few faculty members and they all were very knowledgable persons who taught their subjects well. What I would like to say is that you can indeed come out of Spartan and succeed. Yes, times are changing but I believe Spartan will be around for many years longer. My husband, a retired trauma surgeon, is considering taking a teaching position at Spartan for part of the year. Spartan has been around for many years, and it will continue to graduate doctors for many more. We considered sending our son to Spartan however, he was insistant on attending AUA as many of his friends are in attendence there. If my younger daughter were to want to attend Spartan I would be totally supportive. As for California issues. I sat on the Medical Board of California for a few years and I know that Spartan was not approved for licensure by the state of California. From what I saw however, I do believe Spartan could apply and gain approval by California in the near future. Like I said earlier, Saba and Spartan are very similar. They look the same, the students looked the same, the classes were conducted in the same manner, and we were satisfied with both schools. If Saba can receive approval by California, then Spartan should be able to as well. When we spoke with Spartan administration they clearly stated that seeking California approval is in their "not so distant" future. I am confident that Spartan will receive California approval in the next few years. I have sat on the Medical Board of California so I would strongly advise alumni and students to not worry-Spartan will be around for a long time and students will be able to practice in the majority of states without a problem. My husband was the best trauma surgeon at his hospital, and in our old community! Several of his friends (Spartan and Ross graduates) are also doing very well and continue to make priceless contributions to medicine through their service. Bottom line is DO NOT WORRY!

Thank You,


AUAparent

Perhaps you didn't read my post. St. Maarten never took us in, they saw dollars and it was obvious. I never sponged off of any of their resources. In fact, I added a lot of money to their economy which came from the US. If you think I was a parasite, you are an economic moron. As for being a rich brat, my background is blue collar. I put myself through undergrad and I put myself through med school. Where is my "elitist" attitude?? I think you need to go look up the word.

Please, tell me, what did St. Maarten do for me, other than let the school build a building. These islands know that med schools are good for their economy. G

Originally Posted by teratos

Perhaps you didn't read my post. St. Maarten never took us in, they saw dollars and it was obvious. I never sponged off of any of their resources. In fact, I added a lot of money to their economy which came from the US. If you think I was a parasite, you are an economic moron. As for being a rich brat, my background is blue collar. I put myself through undergrad and I put myself through med school. Where is my "elitist" attitude?? I think you need to go look up the word.

Please, tell me, what did St. Maarten do for me, other than let the school build a building. These islands know that med schools are good for their economy. G

Actually, it is this relationship between yourself and the school profiteers that is at dispute. An ethical person (esp. an MD) would show respect to the natives and "return in service." For we are here to serve the people and provide medical service (but ofcourse in the US we are here to make money ...).

IN the future please show a little respect to this host country (whatever it may be), because once again it allowed this school to exist an allowed you to earn your certificate of MD.

Originally Posted by teratos

They won't let students even set foot in the hospital. . G

So you can't even enter a hospital in the country in which your are learning ? Even they realize the standards (or the lack of ).

Originally Posted by auaparent

Hello,

My son is a student at American University School of Medicine (AUA). I am a practicing radiologist at UCLA. I graduated from St.George's School of Medicine in the early 80s. Before my husband (retired trauma surgeon who graduated from Spartan), my son, and I decided what school my son would attend we visited the major caribbean schools (SGU, Ross, Spartan, Saba, AUC, AUA, and St.Matthews). We were happy with all the schools we visited. We spent a few days on each island, attending classes, meeting with administration, etc.. The time my husband and I spent at Spartan was very satisfying. My husband graduated many years ago from Spartan Health Sciences University and he was quite satisfied with the improvments the school has made. As I posted in the AUA forum, Spartan was very similar to Saba School of Medicine with respect to facilities, administration, etc.. The majority of what is written on all these forums is hogwash in my opinion! My husband and I visited Spartan for two days and we were happy with the way things were conducted. We met with both deans of the school and a few faculty members and they all were very knowledgable persons who taught their subjects well. What I would like to say is that you can indeed come out of Spartan and succeed. Yes, times are changing but I believe Spartan will be around for many years longer. My husband, a retired trauma surgeon, is considering taking a teaching position at Spartan for part of the year. Spartan has been around for many years, and it will continue to graduate doctors for many more. We considered sending our son to Spartan however, he was insistant on attending AUA as many of his friends are in attendence there. If my younger daughter were to want to attend Spartan I would be totally supportive. As for California issues. I sat on the Medical Board of California for a few years and I know that Spartan was not approved for licensure by the state of California. From what I saw however, I do believe Spartan could apply and gain approval by California in the near future. Like I said earlier, Saba and Spartan are very similar. They look the same, the students looked the same, the classes were conducted in the same manner, and we were satisfied with both schools. If Saba can receive approval by California, then Spartan should be able to as well. When we spoke with Spartan administration they clearly stated that seeking California approval is in their "not so distant" future. I am confident that Spartan will receive California approval in the next few years. I have sat on the Medical Board of California so I would strongly advise alumni and students to not worry-Spartan will be around for a long time and students will be able to practice in the majority of states without a problem. My husband was the best trauma surgeon at his hospital, and in our old community! Several of his friends (Spartan and Ross graduates) are also doing very well and continue to make priceless contributions to medicine through their service. Bottom line is DO NOT WORRY!

Thank You,


AUAparent

How do we know that this isn't just some fabricated person? I don't believe it until this person is proven to be real.

You are certainly jumping to conclusions, aren't you? You are assuming that I somehow exploited the local populace for my own gain, while the truth is I got along just fine with them as I rented their real estate, and bought food at their shops, rented cars from their businesses, and ate at their restaurants. How is anything I said unethical? I recognize a symbiotic relationship between myself and those on the island. I never said nor implied anything disrespectful about those on the island. You make it sound like they took me in, fed me from their table, gave me their beds, etc. As a doctor you need to think in an analytical manner. G

Originally Posted by teratos

You are certainly jumping to conclusions, aren't you? You are assuming that I somehow exploited the local populace for my own gain, while the truth is I got along just fine with them as I rented their real estate, and bought food at their shops, rented cars from their businesses, and ate at their restaurants. How is anything I said unethical? I recognize a symbiotic relationship between myself and those on the island. I never said nor implied anything disrespectful about those on the island. You make it sound like they took me in, fed me from their table, gave me their beds, etc. As a doctor you need to think in an analytical manner. G

No, they probably never did any such thing...but please be respectful to these folks. But again, you won't heed my advice, let alone understand it.

Why this distain towards your host country ? Remember...they did accept you (not literally) when your own country threw you out. Peace.

Originally Posted by pitstar

Originally Posted by teratos

You are certainly jumping to conclusions, aren't you? You are assuming that I somehow exploited the local populace for my own gain, while the truth is I got along just fine with them as I rented their real estate, and bought food at their shops, rented cars from their businesses, and ate at their restaurants. How is anything I said unethical? I recognize a symbiotic relationship between myself and those on the island. I never said nor implied anything disrespectful about those on the island. You make it sound like they took me in, fed me from their table, gave me their beds, etc. As a doctor you need to think in an analytical manner. G

No, they probably never did any such thing...but please be respectful to these folks. But again, you won't heed my advice, let alone understand it.

Why this distain towards your host country ? Remember...they did accept you (not literally) when your own country threw you out. Peace.

I call troll.

every semester, auc now has food drives for the sxm red cross and raised last semester about $10,000 worth of canned foods. the sga is now doing that every semester. we have cupecoy beach cleanups and lagoon cleanups. we volunteer at diabetes clinics.

that is as much as any med student can do.

and technically, our host country is.......wait..... get ready for it........ THE NETHERLANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

st maarten is under the control of a 1st world european country.

hey pitstar, have fun in your unapproved startup bulgarian medical school...........lololololol

Originally Posted by pitstar

No, they probably never did any such thing...but please be respectful to these folks. But again, you won't heed my advice, let alone understand it.

Why this distain towards your host country ? Remember...they did accept you (not literally) when your own country threw you out. Peace.

You are making things up. Nothing in my posts implies either distain, or disrespect. My country didn't "throw me out", I couldn't get into med school in the US. There is a big difference. A physician should try hard not to be judgemental. You aren't doing a very good job in that category. You are so anxious to pin the "ugly American" label on someone, that you just interpret things the way you want to see them. I don't expect you to understand. You certainly don't show much insight in your responses. G

the following are quotes from pitstar doing a search on value md

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Having done my residency in the US (having graduated from a Canadian Medical School), my experience was very different.
I applied for and obtained a J-1 visa with the help of the Student Affairs Office at the Medical School. I started residency right after medical school. Also to obtain a SSN, I went to the local office in the US 1 week prior to starting residency and obtained it right there.
Of course this pre-911 and things might be different now. Anyways, ask your medical school to help expedite things.

I don't know how hard it is to obtain a US residency having graduated from a Carribean School. However, I graduated from a Canadian Medical School, and basically I could go wherever I wanted. It seems the US programs have high esteem for Canadian Medical Schools (and rightly so).
However, returning to Canada may be more problematic. I you have strong references you can return to canada to pursue further post-graduate education. Having done 4 years of residency in the US, I was sucessful in obtaining a fellowship program in Canada and currently working on my second fellowship.

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as you can see...... at that time...... he thought that he was a MD already and in fantasyland went to school in canada......... but the next few quotes show how this guy has no credibility
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Actually I hope to be attending Varna very soon

Actually Varna is a very well respected Medical School. They recently opened an office in Toronto, so attending this school is as good as attending a Canadian/US school. ALthough it is very tough to get into. Wish me well.

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so as we can see........the famous pitstar went to a canadian medical school, did residency in the us, then decided to go to an unapproved ee med school....................how funny............

pitstar.......please come downfrom the clouds