What Are Carribean Med Schools?

<p>I keep hearing about Carribean medical schools and am wondering: </p>

<p>a.) Can grads practice afterwards in the U.S.? </p>

<p>b.) Are they considered inferior? The tenor of people's commetns about them seems to be that they're a last option? </p>

<p>c.) Just how "low" of a standard do they have for admissions (GPA, MCAT, etc.) ....Would they like take a -3.0 GPA?</p>

<p>Thanks guys!!!</p>

<p>a) Yes, provided they pass the 3 required USMLE exams AND the graduate matches into a US residency. (You cannot practice in the US unless you complete a US residency.) Only about half of FMGs [Foreign Medical Graduates] who are qualified (by passing the USMLE) match into a US residency.</p>

<p>b) See above. Carribean schools also have high drop out rates (over 50% in some cases). </p>

<p>c) Try researching various different Carribean schools on Valuemed. Minimum entry requirements vary by program.</p>

<p>Suppose you do qualify to practice in the U.S. …would the Carribean degree then limit your options and be looked down upon in the U.S. medical community…thereby making it very tough to get a job (even IF you qualify to practice)?</p>

<p>how long the caribbean hangover affects you depends on what kind of job you are seeking and where you did your residency. The more academic/high profile the institution the more it will affect you because academia is very image conscious and they like to claim their faculty/doctors come from top schools. </p>

<p>At least if you are ridiculously lucky and land a good residency, you can somewhat offset that, but as WOWmom said, roughly half the people who try to get ANY residency get one (compared to ~95% of american MD graduates and ~85% of american DO graduates), so the odds of getting a good one are really low. Without a doubt, staying in the states for a DO is better in the long run than going abroad for an MD.</p>

<p>But the Carribean MD’s can practice in the Carribean and elsewhere in the world, right? </p>

<p>But yeah…who would want to leave the U.S.??? big risk and lots of medical debt I’m guessing for a 50/50 shot…good to know though…thanks!!</p>

<p>Individuals with a medical degree (MD or MBBS) regardless of where the degree is from are subject to the rules, laws and licensing procedures of the country in which they practice. </p>

<p>In theory a MD can practice anywhere in the world; in reality–not so much.</p>