Seems like you both are getting quite defensive. No one is insulting you or your degree. But the fact remains that there is a stigma against the caribbean wheither you or I like it or not. And the fact that I have been reminded of this stigma by program directors, PD secretaries, and the like many times is not something I have to be licensed to express. Congrats to you for being finished and licensed, I am very happy for you, but that does not make your opinion or experience any more valid than mine.

__________________
BTS4202
St. Christopher's COM
4th Year
http://www.mdparadise.com

"If there really is a God, He has a lot of explaining to do"
- Dennis Leary

You aren't going to escape the stigma. You delude yourself. That's all i have to say about that......G

__________________
AUC Class of '99
Bored certified
I may be a jerk, but I'm a Jedi jerk like my father.

Some say I look like Buzz Lightyear....
(They're right)

DISCLAIMER: I have no financial stake in ValueMD, or any medical school.

You have succeeded despite the increased stigma, to pretend there isn't one is deluding yourself.

__________________
BTS4202
St. Christopher's COM
4th Year
http://www.mdparadise.com

"If there really is a God, He has a lot of explaining to do"
- Dennis Leary

it is true that we are a senegalese college...but the fact of the matter that we have been in UK for 2 yrs, studying, going to clinics, going to labs...

Picard said that you would be laughing stock if you claim to be from a UK college... well, you see, we dont claim to be from a UK college, we are from a satellite campus which is setup in UK. Now if you ask me that sounds a lot better than being from an island... And senegal is not pasted on your head when u are in the wards, and u have been trained in UK (i wish people get this)

I know other members on this forum claim this campus to be a loophole, but we have been here ~5-7 yrs now. If there was a loophole there I am pretty sure GMC (which is far more aggressive than the EE/ Carib. MC) would have done something by now, but on the other hand, they have accredited our grads to be able to practise in UK.
Also, most Caribbean IMGs initially entered US through loopholes and majority still are...

When colleges like SGU and Ross first opened in Caribbean they were scrutinized (no licensed grads for 5-6 yrs, loopholes, this that...) ... AND st chris is one of the only new colleges pushing that limit by setting up a campus in a developed country, so ofcourse people are gonna be critical.

wow!
thanks a lot for your comments... and sorry for stirring up controversy like eminem...didnt mean too, heh

picard, i did not know that once you graduate, the certificate says "senegal" and not U.K...Senegal and Caribbean...not a big difference, IMO...

and yes, there IS a stigma attached...for example, if you had a choice between an Indian Doctor, and one from Carrib...who would you pick to treat you...? regardless of the fact that Carrib graduate probably aced his USMLEs...its just the whole idea that caribbean school are looked down upon COMPARED to others...

I dont know...plus, i was not going to "hide" and lie about where i went to school (thats IF i go to Luton)...i thought that a U.K Certificate is granted...whatever...i read earlier, that which school you go to has absolutely no effect in terms of how people treat you...coz we know, 50% of the people dont even have a BSC...meh

what that bts guy said is not universally true. my uncle is a PD in a large University-based orthopedic surgery program. When his program sees "Caribbean" on an application they think "grit, determination, endurance, dedication," which plays in the applicant's favor, not against it. The fact so few Carib grads, or IMGs in general, match in his program is so few who apply have the numbers that are needed for that highly competitive specialty. I've had that conversation with him, and some of his colleagues, countless times. There is a lot of prejudice in the medical community, much of it based on superfical, egoistic crap...but again, it is not universal & hard to generalize.

Wow, delusion has no end... You are no more "trained in UK" than any other Carib grads... You are NOT a part of the UK medical education system... You spent time in some rented building reading US medical textbooks... You DON'T own the labs you use. And you are NOT UK medical students and most importantly, vast majority of you do NOT get any UK clinical trainings in your 3/4th years. Many Carib students spend significant amount of time during clinicals in UK, they have more claims to be called "trained in UK" than SC students. So, trying to pass yourself off as "trained in UK" is very childish and people see right through it. Keep in mind I know plenty of attendings who have and are teaching SC students in CT and NY... (some of them have taguth Dana)... and what they laugh about is how many of them likes to talk about they "went to school in the UK" and somehow that is more superior than other Carib schools -- you are the laughing stock in those hospitals, you just don't know it because they are nice in front of your face... mind you, your attendings are from these Carib schools you try feel more "superior" with... ROFLMAO...

Ha! This has to be made up. If a school has policy of taking foreign students, it's NOT going to distinquish Carib from Senegal schools. Do tell us which "prestigious university" your friends have applied to... I'll be more than happy to call and verify. Oh, and don't use the bullcrap about "other schools will call and ruin it for SC" -- that's bullcrap. If SC is good enough to stand on it's own, it wouldn't matter if others call... if SC has something to hide --well... I have classmates who have done electives at Harvard, Yale proper... etc. Please let us know what "Prestigeous university" you are talking about.

Let see, how ridiculous this is -- umm.... every hospital SC rotates through have offshore students there -- further more, these offshore school graduates have gone on and become licensed attendings in these hospitals... you are saying that these hospital program directors you've talked to are dumping Carib applicants??? Or, are you saying that you've called PD's you've never met in person, never rotated under as a student and they told you they dump Carib applications but will look at Senegal applications like SC??? I have a hard time believing that PD's who don't know you from Jack would tell you that over the phone. BTW, ERAS nowadays are computerized... if they want to exclude USIMG's, all they have to do is set the filter to filter out US citizens who went to foreign schools, including SC. Don't forget Dana, many of these offshore grads are your attendings.

Umm, does SC own ANY of these facilities? What UK level education? From your own student's description, it's a few rented/bought building that have heating/air problems. I've seen plenty of anatomy labs in various US schools, including UCSF, UCSD, UMDNJ, U of Maryland... can't speak for other Carib schools, SGU's lab facility are much nicer than these schools...

P

__________________
Jean Luc Picard
Academic Hospitalist/Assist. Professor of Medicine, Star Fleet Medical, Earth, United Federation of Planets
Borg-Certified... Resistance is Futile.

In Glock, We Trust... Everyone Else... Keep Your Hands Where I Can See Them.

http://www.odmp.org/search.php?searc...=2001&cause=27
http://www.nypdangels.com/wtc.htm
http://www.hampsteadnh.us/police/A%2...ica%20Died.htm
http://longmontpolice.com/MEMORIAM.HTM

The Carib schools, at least the ones that have been around for a good while, have a track record a mile long. At any given time, scores of different residency programs, especially in the primary care residencies, have current residents from these schools, which means of course the PDs and attendings in these programs are plenty familiar with who comes out of these schools and, by proxy, with the schools themselves. What better entree could there be for a prospective applicant to a program than to have fellow alums paving the way for him/her as residents? Newer, unproven schools do not have this track record, or network, to rely on. Someday they may, if they are lucky enough to prosper, but to suggest that these new schools have some sort of advantage over established schools in the Caribbean or elsewhere seems ridiculous.

edited to remove text

First of all, you transferred out of an established school that offers 50 state licensure into a school that has no licensed grads and more licensure troubles in various states than you have fingers to count. I'm sensing there is more to the story than just "wanting to study in a British school." Hiding AUC on your CV is dishonest. Hiding AUC from medical boards or residency programs will mean the end of your medical career.

The fact that you hide your AUC past is DISHONEST and will come back to haunt you. Oh, and students from established carib schools do not have 183/75 USMLE average... Can't speak for other schools, SGU's average is consistantly in the 200-210 range... So your "183/75 caribbean types" is inacurate and you are only fooling yourself. And you are NOT trained in England. You've never been through the British medical education system. Saying so is DISHONEST and will come back to haunt you. How do I know? I know plenty of faculty attendings that have taught SC students on the East Coast... one of their pet-peeves is SC students passing themselves off as "English medical students" which they are NOT. You may fool people for a short while, but when people find out, the back lash will be more than you bargain for. The "novelty" of SC is wearing off... the fact that SC is having licensure problems is being talked about in circles where SC students are sent for clinicals. SC students who are trying to pass him/herself off as having "trained in England" will find themselves embarrased. Don't forget, you train alongside Carib students... and Carib grads are your "interns, residents, and attendings..." And since SC has yet to produce an attending, you are delusional if you think your attendings are fooled to think you are somehow more desirable because you went to SC... just look at SC's residency list compare with established offshore schools lists -- they speak for themselves.

Problem is, you are NOT an English student. You did NOT go to a British medical school. Trying to pass off as one is dishonest and will not fool people for long... and the back lash will be severe.

P

__________________
Jean Luc Picard
Academic Hospitalist/Assist. Professor of Medicine, Star Fleet Medical, Earth, United Federation of Planets
Borg-Certified... Resistance is Futile.

In Glock, We Trust... Everyone Else... Keep Your Hands Where I Can See Them.

http://www.odmp.org/search.php?searc...=2001&cause=27
http://www.nypdangels.com/wtc.htm
http://www.hampsteadnh.us/police/A%2...ica%20Died.htm
http://longmontpolice.com/MEMORIAM.HTM