so lemme get this right...
you do you first five semesters in U.K (like SABA)
then the next 5 semesters in the U.S hospitals for your clinical rotations...
BUT...what happens if you're Canadian and want to practise in the States?
I know for Saba, you have to get a H1B visa and there is a waiting period or what not...but is there a big advantage in terms to acquiring residency in the U.S. if you went to St.Chris, and not Saba..

the only reason i am double minded about SABA, is b/c lets say down the road when some person or a patient asks me: "so where did you go to med skool."...and i will say "IN DA CARRIBEAN MON"...ill lose some credibility right there...but, if i said: "I went to St.Chris in England"...you see my point?
I have nothing agaisnt any carib skools...infact im applying there myself, but its just the whole "credibility" factor coz they are looked down upon.
Also, does St.Chris prepare you for USMLEs like SABA?

So many questions, so little time...lol

thanks for you help

The people who will matter...program directors, etc....will see your transcript. It will say "St. Christopher's SOM, Senegal." Patients ask me where I went to school occasionally. I tell them American University of the Caribbean (can't get much worse than that in terms of giving away where you went to school). I have yet to have anyone scowl or look down on that. Don't choose a school based on where you can say you attended classes. It won't matter that much. G

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It's well known in the medical community that the UK's medical degree is MBBS... No one will be fooled to think that you went to a "private British medical school." The minute you start saying you went to "St. Christopher IN ENGLAND," trying to give the illusion that you are a British grad, you will be the laughing stock of the group... Say that to the licensing boards, you can kiss your license goodbye.

P

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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

If you wish to practice in california, definately do not attend st chris. SABA is approved in Cali, so that would be a much better choice.

As far as going to school in England, it is true that going to school in the caribb is an extra strike against you even above being an IMG. Carrib grads, like the ones above, will definately disagree with me (understandably so), but i have been told several times that as long as I was not a caribbean grad then they are happy. They do not care that the school is chartered in africa. They are happy that we were trained in England.

__________________
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

hey

but St. Christophers' IS in england...

are there any canadians goin to st. chris'? i wanna know how was it like, and did they have too much trouble getting a residency in FP...
plus, as for the clinical rotations, do you set them up yourself or the school places you?

So? St. George's has a real, functional clinical Campus in NYC. Heck, St. George's is actually ACCREDITED by NY state Board of Regeants (not just approved like other schools, but actually accredited by NY State, so it can technically be claimed as a NY school)... But you don't see SGU students running around saying "I went to SGU in NY"... doing so make that student a laughing stock among his/her peers...
Bottom line is, SC is NOT a British school. It's NOT accredited by GMC. As far as the UK is concerned, SC is not one of theirs. SC exists in a legal loophole in England... SC's set up is illegal in the US. AND, because SC students NEVER set foot in the CHARTER country of their school, MANY states will NOT license SC grads because of this. NJ being a noted example. And if you read the TX opinion on the denial of a SC grad (in the other thread), you will see that this charter issue is a large issue for many states... and SC will NEVER obtain California approval with the current charter. situation. What counts is where the school is CHARTERED, NOT where the class took place, because it's the charter country that regulates the school and has jurisdictional authority on how the school is run and how the curriculum is carried out. If you want to talk location, heck, most offshore students spend at least half of their medical education in the US. Some spent more time in NYC than in Grenada, AUC, Dominica, or SABA... you don't see us running around saying "Oh, I went to St. George's in New York (where SGU actually has functional clinical CAMPUSES in their clinical centers with faculty "in-residence.") -- students/graduates who run around saying that are laughing stocks of his/her peers. Same goes for SC student/grads who say "SC in England" without qualifying the remark. Saying "I went to school in England may fool people for a short while... it won't last. The minute they find out the school is actually African, you will be the laughing stock for trying to mislead others..."

Ha, lets not play the game of delusion again. BTS is somehow believing that going to St. Chris carries less of a "stigma" than carib schools dispite the fact that SC has more licensure problems than ANY carib schools and has yet to produce a single licensed grads dispite at least two years of eligiblity. We faculties all say pleasentries to our students... For every pleasantry about SC not being Caribbean, I can find you 10 conversations that say the exact opposite "Oh, thank God you went to a reputable Carib school, rather than some African school in England... At least I know when I take you as a resident, you won't have licensure issues that may come back and haunt the program..." And YES, conversations like that do occur in places in states SC has students -- CT, NY... etc. How do I know? I have many classmates who are attendings, including my brother, who have taught SC students alongside other Carib students.... who knows, one may have even taught bts without him knowing 8) I showed them what BTS had said above (in his previous thread) about how he is better thought off as a "british" student -- they just busted out laughing... And we are talking about attendings who have taught SC students... Pleasantry to students is one thing, having students so deluted about it is laughable. Like I said, these are attendings who have taught SC students in CT and NY.

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

As you can see, caribb grads are very defensive. lol.

The truth is that most people do not care where you are from and only raise a red flag when they hear caribbean. You can easily figure that one out by simple conversations with program directors and their secretaries. I know several PD secretaries who are the front line in assessing applicants. Their job is to dump all residency applications that have no chance of acceptance right into the garbage. Interestingly enough, i have been told by several that if they see caribbean in their credentials, they dump the application immediately. But any other foriegn degree, and they will look at the rest of their credentials. its not from me, it is directly from the horses mouth. I have several friends who were applying to do elecitves at prestigious university hospitals. When they asked "where did you go to school?", they were interuppted right after saying that they went to a senegalese school and said something similar to "oh, ok, as long as you are not from the caribbean then we will take you". There are numerous examples. Caribb grads like picard may try to deny it, but it does not make it any less real.

To answer your other questions, yes, there are lots of canadians at st chris and FP is not very competitive. All clinicals are set up for you unless you choose to find your own outside rotations.

__________________
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

Your transcript is going to read Senegal. If you went to a British school that would be different.

but you aren't trained in England. You read some books in England and then train in the US, just like Caribbean grads. "I have been told...", gimme a break, BTS. Picard and I are both licensed and board certified, which is more than we can say for ANYONE from SC. Once you guys have some sort of track record, then you can put us down. Until then, you really should try to be more humble. I try hard to be objective, you really should do the same. 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.

Tho we are chartered in Senegal, the truth remains, we are trained in the UK with UK professors, UK facilities, and UK laboratories, and then continue clinicals in the US. Thats Basic Sciences AND Clinical Rotations in highly developed 1st world countries.

Caribbean grads on the other hand do basic sciences in a 3rd world nation, and then clinicals in the US, so thats only half of their educaton in a 1st world country.

I think its important that tho the school IS chartered in Senegal, and we shouldn't try to hide that, we are still getting a UK level education...I mean neuroanatomy and gross anatomy labs are just awesome, not to mention the Gordon Pathology museum, does the caribbean have anything that compares to our labs and education?

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I'm not sure you can say that being in the Caribbean is a detriment to the quality of education we get. We have US faculty. We have our own labs. AUC does research. Do the texts read differently under the tropical sun? You say you have an advantage, and in the end, you may. Until then I would try not to be so smug. Between myself and Picard our schools have probably 7000+ licensed and practicing grads. We have a track record with many programs. To say that your school has some kind of advantage, and then proceed to put me down for going to the Caribbean is absurd.

Your labs aren't yours. A cadaver lab is an easy thing to set up. You don't need much fancy stuff to learn anatomy from a cadaver. I have never commented on the quality of education at SC, but apparently you are qualified to comment on the quality of education at every Carribean school. Amazing. 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.