There are many who take the back door into being a Med here in the US for many different reasons. One way is to go back to Pakistan and get your degree, the only problem with that when you come back you have to take tests before you can even do your residency. You might wanna check how hard those tests are, what is the success rate and which Med School in Pakistan prepare you best for it. Most of the people I knew went to AK or KE.
Usually the way education loans work in the US is that you don't pay any interest as long as you are still in school. They start scheduling your payments the minute you get out. I know of many cases where people got contracts where the hospital that hired them after their residency were also willing to pay off their loans. But I guess that's in case of only a bright top of the class students who go on to do some sort of specialization.
Those carribean schools and D.O programs aren't any better. You can still expect to get the sihttiest residencies in the ****tiest of towns and at the end of the day, there is still a chance that you may not be able to join a practice unless you are willing to locate to Fargo or some hell hole down south.
Well with the caribbean you can get really lousy choices for coming back to the US and doing your rotations, but residency shouldn’t be a problem.
As for the exams you have to take once you are back in the US, it’s not only foreign graduates that have to take it. Medical students in the US are now also required to take the same exams.
Exactly, it's no better than going back home to do medicine. I know enough people who have done it or some that are doing it just to have the title of a dr., so in the end it comes down to what you want. It may be harder and costly to go to a decent med school, but it all pays off in the end.
As far as I know..people don't travel to study in medical schools in south asia or carribean from the US if they are stellar performers and have gotten admission into a medical school here. It is not a matter of choice for 99.99999% of people. People who do not make medical programs here either wait out a year doing clinical research as to build up the resume. Go to the carribean, St. georges or whatever, or become D.O.'s. I know of one person out of many in medicine, who chose to do a D.O. program over an MD program. She is ruing the day she made that choice.
I maybe biased, but med schools are the hardest graduate schools to get into, not to mention the friggin MCATs ARGHHHHHHHH. You have to have so much experience on your resume, as if you have no life in college. Research, voluntary work, with perfect grades and recommendations, then if your lucky med school interviews. And even after all that, some people don't get in because it's so competitive. So why not opt for the caribbean. You do a year and a half abroad, come back to the US to do your rotations, take your exams, and apply for residency. If you pull thru all this crap, you are just like any other MD. Foreign grad or not.
Medical students in the US are now also required to take the same exams
Yes, but do you think that Med schools in US prepare you better for those exams or not?
I look at it from a GRE/SAT preparation stand point. Public school curriculum in Pakistan up till high school has no objectivity in there, and the test procedures are also different. A person coming over to the US after doing FSc/BSc might have the same amount of knowledge as a US high-school graduate but wouldn't have any practice on the test taking skills. Here I know students who start taking SAT when they are in 7th or 8th grade. Obviously, the students learn the art of taking such tests and score much higher.
So, my question is that are those people who go to Med school in Pakistan at a disadvantage?
We are talking about people going from the US back to pakistan or the Caribbean for medican school. The caribbean people do prepare you for taking these exams because all of the medical students there will come back to the US and practice and it's a must that they be prepared. Plus i've heard the same from students who are there right now. In addition to that, there's plenty of prep courses available for these exams (like Kaplan, etc.)
I think people who've lived in pakistan all their life and come here after med school may face some disadvantage b/c of the language barrier, but people who go to pakistan from US for med school should be pretty much okay. Hey, most of the APPNA uncles/aunties are pakistani graduates carrying on successful practices.
They are starting to introduce these standardized tests in pakistan as well, I saw one of my cousins preparing for the mcat in lahore, but I agree, I don't think they're as familiar with these tests as kids that go to schools here.
I haven't done much research on carribbean schools, but I know a couple of ppl infact in nyc that are sitting around because they can't seem to get thru their boards and they had gone to the carribbean. Like Matsui said, they were probably not stellar students; since it's relatively much easier to get into those schools with low scores. And sehar, it's definitely not as easy to get back into the flow once you come back from these foreign schools.
Aww, babe, come here hugsmuah don't stress out, that never does anyone any good, does it? :)
Re: the finance/loan issue. In Canada, there is a program where a town/rural area sponsors a med school student and pay his/her fees fully in return for a set number of years of service in that area. I don't know if this helps anyone or not but I just thought I'd add my two cents.
Also, I'm kinds surprised to see many American guppies saying how competitive American med schools are. I always thought/heard American med schools are more flexible and easier to get into than Canadian schools. But then again I've not really looked into American schools so don't know.
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*Originally posted by sambrialian: *
Also, I'm kinds surprised to see many American guppies saying how competitive American med schools are. I always thought/heard American med schools are more flexible and easier to get into than Canadian schools. But then again I've not really looked into American schools so don't know.
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i should also add somethin bout the caribbean med schools...
the med schools there are a dime a dozen...thats why its much much easier to get into med school there compared to the US or canada...
however, the "good" med schools there are already well-known...e.g. Ross Med...St. George...SABA...out of the 20 somethin odd med schools there, only about 5 or 6 that are considered "good"...and their track records are impressive as well...they boast 85%+ USMLE step 1 and step 2 pass rates (in the first try that is)...and guarantee a residency placement...they do have affiliations with hospitals in the eastern states, as well as the states on the west coast...i don't think it would be a big problem for a good student to get thru the medical boards in NYC if they've graduated from one of the better schools in the caribbean...
the other schools...well, those are the ones where ppl go just to get the "dr" title...most of 'em are added and dropped from ECFMG and WHOs recognition like flies...so beware of those med schools...
also keep in mind, most of the med schools in the caribbean also offer 3 semesters per yr...with rolling admissions for sept, jan, and may...thats another advantage...
wow thanx soooooooo much u guys. this info really helps alot. i had no idea that med students here had to take the same exams as foreign students. all my aunt and uncle docs told me that there r three exams and they r really hard thats why i shouldn't do it there. they also said that i might have to do all 8 years again when i come back cuz thats what happened to dentists. first it was just exams but now they have to do 8 years again here. but i'm not really worried about the exams as i might not come back here. but i need to know how hard the pak med schools like DOW r and how t he cost goes. cuz i think i might have to go. med schools here r to hard to get into. and i can still try but my sis doesn't have much of a chance.
It is more than that. Residencies in the US are match based. And they tend to rank US Med School graduates higher than other places. That is not to say that you can't wow them here and there but on the whole, it is an uphill battle if you are coming from St. Georges rather than NYU.
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*Originally posted by Matsui: *
It is more than that. Residencies in the US are match based. And they tend to rank US Med School graduates higher than other places. That is not to say that you can't wow them here and there but on the whole, it is an uphill battle if you are coming from St. Georges rather than NYU.
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yes...that is true...u do need to have a better score than the US grads...it shouldn't be a big problem though if u really have learned from the univ :D
why is this so difficult