I think this would be the point that many are trying to make here:
Why would you trust your education to a child, if you have the option to trust it to an adult? All many/most of the 'bashers' are trying to do is to get prospective students to seriously weigh their options. Is that such a terrible thing? It is, after all, a huge decision.

wow. somebody actually understands the point. amazing. thanks, librarian

st james is not an established school. as such, there are limitations. if you choose to ignore this, great. hopefully you will succeed. but, for those considering school, they may want to have a more realistic view of things, and spend the dollars where there is a far higher chance of having a good return.

nobody is saying that st james is not providing you with a shot. what is being said is that there are limitations to this choice, and there are no proven suceess stories. other schools have few, if any, limitations at the outset, and proven success stories out there. buyer beware.

hahaha! this reminds me of a recent prospective student...said so many of the EXACT same things...bring it on, i will be the best cardio surgeon, etc...loved st james! showed up and lasted about 3 weeks before coming back on this board and apologizing and warning students away.

This post is getting very redundant. We've been reading these same arguments about St. James and other schools for months. I got on here again hoping to learn more about the emotions of American's that are dedicated enough to go overseas to with a dream of becoming a doctor. That takes more guts than an American students getting into a US program. I had thought that there would be some very strong and secure personalities on here. But on many of the sites people like to down grade or bash others. You don't downgrade children, but provide them guidance and insight from experience. Oh Well.

NeilC for someone finishing in one month, you must have incredible anticipation. It would be more interesting from our point of view for you to tell us about your next career move, your goals and objectives. This would be very interesting for students that may be considering going to foreign schools.

i agree that it is quite redundant.

about the second half of your post...first of all, that is a bit off topic. all the posts on this thread were pretty much directed by the first post. second, i really doubt anybody is too interested in the details of my life. they are not too much different than any other pending grad....i just want a residency spot! anyhow, consider me signed off of this thread...

Thanks for the response NeilC, and best of luck with a residency spot.

Thank goodness. What a relief (re: neil c's signing off)! Finally some maturity and direction. Now can everyone get back to work, please?

A piece of advice, seek the best opportunities you can at your disposal. However, don't waste your time trying to enter the doors of a U.S. or other institution that inherently cannot envision your dreams or is corrupt. Don't ever give up in yourself. It's a big world and there are tons of solutions. SJSM has graduated several students who have gone on and are doing fine. This should continue to be expected, as the numbers grow. Like all other Carribbean schools, SJSM will survive and prosper.

Every place has good and bad students, but behind this are other factors. Some of these factors range from illness, poor academic guidance/advice, family issues, etc... Clearly, upper class advantaged students, from physician families, have the upper hand at U.S. and Canadian medical schools. This does not mean that you should be denied this opportunity. If you are worth it, you'll show it. In fact, if you come from such a background, you'll win accolades with your patients, because they will see in you a level of care, that is so lacking from the privileged few, who really are no better or even are sometimes worse and extremely dangerous as physicians. Remember, not all these people are in medicine for the right reasons.

Get into a medical school. Study hard. Do well. Plenty of IMG's and Carribbean grads are doing residencies in U.S. programs. I've seen them perform. In general, they are as good as their counterparts.

It will work out in the end. Get into the best program you can in a timely fashion. If it is not the best, don't fret, because it will even out come clinicals and residency. The first two years don't mean much. In other words, once clinicals begin in the U.S., you're on the same footing as everyone else, presuming you passed Step I of boards.

If you don't believe me, you can talk to all the U.S. and IMG doctor's I've spoken with regarding this general advice. Good luck!

Cheers!

A quick point. It is unclear that Neil C. has done his clinicals in U.S. hospitals. If he has not, this may expose a bases for some of his concerns regarding the uknown. He and everyone else should be comforted to know that U.S. clinicals help even the training out with other schools. U.S. clinicals are an inherent part of SJSM (and other Carribbean schools).

i have done some clincals in the states, in Uni hospitals. i was compared favorably with the US students while i was there, and the profs had no problems with the clinical skills that i learned at my home school. some of these rotations were in UC system hospitals, which are typically closed to IMG's. additionally, i have worked in teaching hospitals as an EMT before i went to med school.

again, st james has the minimal requirements in place: it can get you a seat for the USMLE, sounds like it has US clinicals, etc...great. there are STILL limitations to the degree. as much as i agree with you that the burden of the responsibility falls to the student in med school, there are still some essential things that a med school should provide. ie, universal licensure, trustworthy admin, excellent instruction (with qualified instructors in all courses), etc...

so, making_success, if you want to drop down to the lowbrow method of making personal attacks to distract from the issues, fine. it has been done before, and has yet to work. it simply is a great way to demonstrate that you have nothing further constructive to say.

Does anyone know approximately how many students have graduated from st.james, and are doing their residency in the states?