I get the question "why the Caribbean?" quite a bit, to which I semi-jokingly respond..."Uhhh... the beaches, tropical weather, beautiful scenery, beautiful people, fresh fruits, veggies, and fish, hiking trails, scuba diving, festivals, and Caribbean music!" Truthfully, I probably won't have too much time to really enjoy the island, except for a few times throughout the school quarters, but it is nice to have those options.
I spent the last two years of my last two years of my college career facing an uphill battle trying to offset some pretty bad grades. My first semester of college, I failed both general Chemistry and general Biology, the two classes that pre-med students were especially supposed to excel at. I retook gen Chem and got a C- the second time. I barely passed gen Chem 2 with a C. I was afraid to visit counselors out of fear that they would tell me to consider a different career, and one of my favorite professors informed me to consider microbiology or nursing. However, even when I had second thoughts about medical school, I always knew that I would regret at least not attempting to follow my dreams and get in.
During my junior year I realized that in order to look more competitive I needed to do more volunteer work and get into research. To fit the mold of the typical pre-med student, I jumped at the first opportunity to participate in research, even though I had little to no interest in the project. Due to my lack of interest, I didn't go to the lab very often and when I did I was unproductive. This ended up being a hinderance, as my professor didn't write me a strong letter of recommendation. I also volunteered at a hospital, which truthfully I didn't too much care for either. I imagined that I would be interacting with physicians, following around technicians, and moving around among different units in the hospital. However, I was mostly wiping down and sterilizing benches and beds, providing patients with blankets and water, and stocking the rooms with supplies. When the department was fast, the days went by much faster, but during the slow days 4 hours seemed like forever. There are only so many blankets and sheets to restock. I felt like I was standing around a lot. When I tried to observe doctors operate or interact with patients, I was often given dirty looks or asked "can I help you?" by the assistants. I had much more fun and felt more productive volunteer with the American Lung Association or with the Boys and Girls club, which I actually enjoyed. The medical experiences I spoke about were the times when I shadowed a nurse practitioner in family practice and a radiologist. Trying to become a cookie cutter pre-med student instead of following my passion and immediate interests ultimately ended up hurting me during interviews.
I spent probably too much time looking at my chances of getting into post-baccalaureate programs and average GPA's for school, acknowledging that I was below the ranges of any U.S. MD or DO schools. My junior year, I created the hypothetical situations of if I get A's in the rest of my classes (bringing me to a 3.3) and a 30 on the MCAT, I might have a chance to get into a medical school. In hindsight, I spent too much time speculating and creating hypothetical situations instead of doing my best to simply be successful one day at a time. I graduated college with an overall GPA of 3.18, probably closer to a 2.7 or 2.8 when using the AMCAS grading scale and a 25 MCAT score. Looking at these numbers led me to seriously consider attending a Caribbean MD school. I first considered going to a Caribbean school when I attended a medical conference at UC Davis. Based on the negative stigmas attached to Caribbean schools, such as (you won't get a residency in the U.S., the classes are overcrowded, and they're overpriced, the attrition rates are ridiculously high) I didn't give the Caribbean schools much consideration. There were reps from Caribbean schools at the booths, and the Caribbean schools seemed like a legitimate option.
I realized that graduates from Caribbean schools are actually capable of attending competitive residencies, after looking at statistics from the lists of residency matches. I felt that Caribbean schools would provide a quality education, as the curriculum is similar to U.S. medical schools. Also, many schools do a great job of preparing students for the USMLE, as it is especially important for a foreign grad to perform well. Particularly in Kern county, where I live, there is a large percentage of doctors who are foreign medical grads, and I have met at least three doctors in the county from Ross University. The application process is much more quick, taking a few weeks as opposed to a year for U.S. medical schools. I considered doing a postbacc program, which I explained in a previous post. It also seemed like a great time to be exposed to medical process in different countries and probably more hands-on opportunities because of loosened regulations oversees. At Ross I was really intrigued by the Salybia mission program, which provide health fairs and medical care for residents of Dominica. I also was impressed at how aggressive some of the Caribbean schools were in securing contracts with hospitals, guaranteeing a certain number of rotation spots for clinical education. I am glad to know that many of the professors at the Caribbean schools are strictly there to teach, so they wouldn't have other major obligations such as research to attend to. I am pleased with the choice to attend Ross University, and i believe that I will be receiving an education on par with many U.S. medical schools and even surpassing some schools, because of the professors' strict commitment to teaching.
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