Going Caribbean

Update on Med schools Near the US with high proportions of US citizens

Recent Family Practice Residency Graduates of 1997 - 2003 (began medical school in 1990 to 1996 at these locations

Ross is the largest single source of allopathic FP graduates in 2003. These of course graduated from Ross in 2000 or before. I suspect this increase is due to massive increases in the number of Ross graduates. Next in line is American University as noted above.

Next is Des Moines Osteopathic with 69 allopathic FP residency graduates in 2003. Note that Des Moines also makes a contribution to the primary care workforce in osteopathic graduate programs and other primary care graduates beyond those who choose an allopathic graduate program. With allopathic and osteopathic both included, Des Moines may well lead the nation in FPGP numbers. Ranking Medical Schools and FP Residency Programs

Without class sizes, application numbers, and specialty preference of the above International Medical School classes, no estimate can be made about the success ratios from the above data. Comparisions with physicians in the US from the same school can be made. Rural Physicians in the US by Medical School Worldwide

Remember, these are graduate FP data, this does not include those students from the above International Medical Schools that choose other medical specialties in the US.

Currently family medicine is taking just about all of the international graduates that it can find that have a good chance of graduating and passing boards. Less than 50% of interns entering US allopathic FP programs are from US medical schools.

Projections over the next 3 years, note that allopathic private medical schools, nearby International medical schools, Osteopathic schools, and distant International Medical schools will contribute equal portions to rural workforce and economics.

I believe that part of the problem is that medical schools are not getting enough service-oriented candidates to apply and the ones that do apply just don't have the same preparation and polish. Several admissions committee members have expressed frustration in this area. This is not just a family medicine or rural practice concern, it is a long term concern for the nation. All of us want a balance between the intellectual and service characteristics. We need a mix of both not just in family medicine, but in all medical specialties. It appears that medical schools are choosing from a smaller pool of candidates with service-orientation. Also it may be that less of this service-oriented group is interested in medicine as a career.

Robert C. Bowman, M.D.
Director of Rural Health Education and Research
UNMC Department of Family Medicine
 

Service Orientation

PreProfessional Advice and Information

"Much of a students success in medical school will depend on the individual student. Remember the school is only a conduit for you to learn. If you are a good student, I am sure that you will do quite well at AUC, Ross, Saba, St. George's..... The point is that if you do your work you will pass the Step 1 and go on to become a physician!! OR if you are a bad student, it really doesn't matter what the pass rate or average USMLE scores are, you will probably not do very well. All the answers to your Q's like w/in the student not the school!!

Living in Dominica is not like St. Maarten, but is not bad either. You have to know that St. Maarten is expensive, well is a 1,000 a month in the dorms. and that is alot. with extra if you want AC. There are more things to do in St. Maarten, a problem if you have a problem with discipline.

In Ross you will finish in 16 months and to Miami. In AUC students often go to UK to do clinicals. This has plus and minus."   More at http://www.valuemd.com/viewtopic.php?t=850&postdays=0&postorder=asc&topic_view=&start=0

The point is to know your abilities, your discipline, and your motivation. Find out the best fit but first concentrate on meeting your goals.

Ross University Data on Allopathic ACGME FP Residency Grads of 2002 

Ross has matched 218 into family medicine residency programs in the past 4 years. This is 21% of their graduating candidates noted from their web site match report.  

Review of my 2002 data reveals that about 60 Ross U grads graduated from fp residency programs in 2002 (most graduated from Ross in 1999). I have data on 20 and 6 of the 20 chose rural practice. 30% is one of the better rural practice percentages of all schools.  

The Ross U Grads finished FP residency programs in 3 years most of the time: 14 finished in the usual 3 years. My data collection on 2002 grads only does not allow me to determine any failures or whether a 4 or more year gap between med school grad date and residency grad date is due to change in specialty or program or academic difficulty. 4 Ross students had a gap of 4, 1 with 5 yrs, 1 with 7 yrs.

American U -

The medical school curriculum comprises 9 1/2 semesters: five semesters of medical sciences which are taught at the St. Maarten campus, and four and a half semesters of clinical sciences taught at hospitals affiliated with AUC. AUC students can graduate with an M.D. in as little as 38 months if courses are taken continuously. Three semester terms of approximately 16 weeks each are scheduled per year, beginning in September, January, and May. AUC has a rolling admissions policy that accepts new students each semester. 

Robert C. Bowman, M.D.

Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica, West Indies
Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine
St George's University, Greneda, West Indies Medicine & Veterinary
Universidad Autònoma de Guadalajara
Tel Aviv Sackler School of Medicine
Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Flinders University of South Australia
American University of the Caribbean
Universidad Central del Caribe

International Origin Family Medicine Graduates

International Medical Graduates and Rural Areas

Physician Workforce Studies

Education - the entire pipeline

www.ruralmedicaleducation.org