confused24/7 Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Hi I've recently graduated high school and have been looking at different post secondary options for my ultimate goal of being a doctor. I am Canadian and I'm living in Vancouver, BC. From my research I have noticed that the process of becoming a doctor in Canada is long and hard due to the BSc then getting into the med school and residency which amounts to around 10-12 years if I'm not mistaken. Ive come across the information that there are medical schools out there that take students directly from high school particularly in the Caribbean. I'm posting this just to know what schools are the best to go to if I plan to attend there and what it takes to get in as well as if its feasible to go there and come back to Canada to get a medical license. Any help is much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamP Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 You should peep stuff in Australia and the UK b4 caribs imo. I believe they have a bunch of 6 year programs out of HS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Ive come across the information that there are medical schools out there that take students directly from high school particularly in the Caribbean. I'm posting this just to know what schools are the best to go to if I plan to attend there and what it takes to get in as well as if its feasible to go there and come back to Canada to get a medical license. Caribbean schools are, by and large, the schools of last resort for people who, for whatever reason, don't get accepted to Canadian or American schools. They are expensive and suffer from high attrition. While technically possible to match to a Canadian residency as an IMG from the Carib, it would be an uphill battle for you compared to matriculating at a Canadian med school and then matching (see stats at carms.ca). If you are dead-set on practicing medicine in Canada, suggest that you exhaust all potential for Canadian med schools before heading south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused24/7 Posted September 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Well i do know it is better to go to a Canadian med school it is still time consuming though I'm looking to get into med school from high school and I want to know more about programs in the UK or Australia if anyone knows of some recommendations. If i could get into med school from high school in Canada i would jump on the opportunity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 If you were a Caribbean citizen, then you could get into a good Caribbean med school, not an offshore med school, from high school and do post grad studies in Canada or US. But even these require you to do your CAPE, which requires 2 additional years after CXC high school graduation. It is sort of like the same system in Quebec where top Cegep (college) students, after 2 years of college can go directly into med school, with one year of undergrad preparation. UK has asimilar system for their citizens. Otherwise, essentially you need to put in the time like the rest of us - no shortcuts, or we all would have figured it out by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaka84 Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I question how many people are mature enough to start medicine directly out of high school. I know I wasn't. Why are you in such a big rush? Undergrad is supposed to give you a chance to mature, learn how to think critically, have fun and figure out who you are and what you are all about. Take your time. Enjoy the journey. Who knows, by the time you finish undergrad you may no longer be interested in medicine. My 2 cents. the shaka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwh333 Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 i also concur. i never really understood the medical school admissions system of the other commonwealth countries where you could get in right after high school. who would want or trust a 22 year old doctor anyways? i probably wouldn't. my advice is to do your undergrad here and just enjoy the ride. you could always go abroad once you've exhausted all other options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I presume the admissions is structured this way primarily for financial reasons. Governments subsidize higher education. So, in Quebec it is possible to go to med school after Cegep (plus one yr in UG) and the government saves a fortune in not channeling these students thru the normal UG route first. If there are hundreds of such student yearly and they each are saving years, this comes to millions. Same would appply to o ther jurisdictions. The benefit to the student is that they get thru earlier and by the time they get their specialty people like us are behind them in reaching the goal. Yes, there is not the same maturity and they are thrown in at the deep end, but these students become excellent doctors, so there is a point to this approach. I believe in France, you can go directly from h.s. to law school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Hi I've recently graduated high school and have been looking at different post secondary options for my ultimate goal of being a doctor. I am Canadian and I'm living in Vancouver, BC. From my research I have noticed that the process of becoming a doctor in Canada is long and hard due to the BSc then getting into the med school and residency which amounts to around 10-12 years if I'm not mistaken. Ive come across the information that there are medical schools out there that take students directly from high school particularly in the Caribbean. I'm posting this just to know what schools are the best to go to if I plan to attend there and what it takes to get in as well as if its feasible to go there and come back to Canada to get a medical license. Any help is much appreciated Why the rush? Always begin with the end goal in mind: in your case, you want a practice in Canada. If that is what you want, then opting for the fastest (aka easiest route) is taking you away from that goal. Here's a short summary of what you will face: You head to the Caribbean straight from high school and study medicine. 2 years into your MD, you will need to start clinical rotations in the USA or Canada. If you are from one of the big 4 Caribbean schools (which do require an UG degree!) then you will get decent rotations in the USA and very limited options in Canada. *you can't get into the big 4 straight from high school*. If you are coming from a small school with little credibility you will face limited options in the USA and zero in Canada. Then you get your MD: match time for residency. Again if you are from one of the big 4 Caribbean schools you should at least get a FP or IM match in USA; again very limited chance for Canada but it can be done. If you got the MD from the small school - where you got limited clinical rotations - you face a limited match opportunity in USA and zero in Canada. Remember that no match = END OF THE ROAD. You are rushing in a direction you should only take after you happen to exhaust all your options in applying to Canadian and USA med schools. There's nothing wrong going the Caribbean route if you can't get into a Canada school. And then I would only suggest the big 4 (SGU, Ross, SABA and AUC). I said this in a previous post: find some patience before looking for patients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don'tBdenied Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 I think that if you know that is what you want to do then it isn't a bad idea. All UK, Aus, NZ and South African med schools used to be the direct 6 year entry and in dealing with Dr's from Australia now they are on average just as happy as the 4 year post-grad entry dr's. Advantages of the 6 year program is that you'll get more basic anatomy, histology etc if that is what you want. Disadvantage is that you are paying 50000 a year for 6 years. I am not about to do the math, but you'd have to work out your opportunity cost on that. I think that you should look into NZ schools as the dollar is favourable and also it is pretty cheap to live over there. Ditto for SAfrica, but you might find it harder to go back to Canada if that is your ultimate goal. Which is also a good point. At 18 it is hard to know what you are going to find important by the time you come near to graduation. You may not cope well with living overseas adn want to go back to NAmerica, but find it difficult (very difficult to say what the situation will be like for staying in the country you study in or going back to Canada in 6 years time - though I'd guess SAfrica would be happy to have you since Canada steals all their Dr's). If you do decie to go straight into the high school stream maybe take a year off, travel to the places you are thinking (working holiday visas exist for pretty much all the places your talking about) and get some experience in life to help you think what'll be important to you in 6 years. Bon chance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Move to Quebec for a year without taking formal education, thereby becoming a Quebec resident. Then go to a Cegep (college) like Dawson and take health sciences. Do really really well. Then, take a walk into McGill med-pre with a gauranteed seat at McGill med school, so long as you maintain standards in your only UG year. And no MCAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinch Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 I'm guessing you're Indian or Asian, and have family pressure to get into medical school to make your family proud and allow your mom to boast about their son/daughter to the community. Tell them to suck it, go to undergrad, and don't diminish your future. Going to a foreign medical school WILL stick out like a sore thumb, and forever ruin decent chances at good residencies at premier centers. If you don't get into medical school after undergrad - there are places you can buy your medical degree and hope to work in the States...but untill then...go the honest route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviathan Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 As far as I know there's no such thing as a high-school entry program in the Caribbean. Many schools in the UK and Australia do this, though. Never go to the Caribbean unless it's your only option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 hmm, see post 5 above, Caribbean students routinely go to med school from h.s. This is not available to Canadian h.s. graduates who would like to follow this path. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.