Wednesday, October 27, 2010

So Unbelievably Lame

So remember how I was all exited about the USMLE course that the school was going to provide?

Well I found out today that now it will likely be cancelled and I am seriously pissed.

The school was offering the course to Canadians who have the obstacle of being International Medical Graduates* upon completion, and it was going to be free for us. If Irish students wanted to take it, it would cost them 1000 Euro.

There was a meeting last night and apparently the Irish complained so bitterly that we were getting it for free while they were having to pay, that now the school is thinking of cancelling it altogether.

(Did I mention that we pay the equivalent to $36 000 per year more than they do?)

I would happily pay the cost of the course if they offered it, I am already in a bottomless pit of debt and if the course brings up my mark by even a handful of points it'll be worth it in the long run.

Classic case of a few people ruining it for everyone. Buhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

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*The deal is, when you leave Canada to study medicine you become an IMG in the eyes of our residency matching system. Not a Canadian-Who-Studied-Abroad-And-Now-Wants-To-Come-Home-And-Provide-Services.

This limits your opportunities for residency, especially in competitive ones because you are part of the IMG pool and IMG's rarely match in the 1st iteration--unless you go into a return of service pool. Fine if you want to spend 7 years in Saskatchewan POST-training (not that there is anything wrong with SK, just that neither Tobie or I have any bonds/family there so having to spend possibly 13 years there if I specialize seems a bit harsh).

The Irish students who study abroad have a sweet deal: they are given priority over foreign grads (like me) for post-grad training when they return home. That means, even if I was the number 1 ranked student in my class then I'd have to wait until the lowest Irish applicant matched before I could get a position in Ireland, if I wanted to stay.

In a nutshell, we get screwed in Ireland and Canada.

So, I planned to write the USMLE as it gives me some more options, and both Tobie and I are keen on living in the States for a few years. The bummer part is that our curriculum is not at all geared toward the exam so we are at a bit of a disadvantage compared to students who studied in places like the Caribbean.

8 comments:

OMDG said...

You don't need a class, silly grasshopper. It will be ok.

Grumpy, M.D. said...

U.S. is the same. If you go to med school elsewhere, you are an FMG when you come back.

I didn't take any boards classes. I studied on my own. And prefer that.

Absentbabinski said...

That's a pretty sucky way to be treated.

I'm half-heartedly planning to take the US boards myself at the end of my 4 years, though I have no idea about the cost - which I suspect will be the hard part.

NPO said...

There are some good loan repayment programs in the States for doctors through Health and Human services
http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/ and others.
Mostly for primary care and you work in underserved areas like the inner city or rural small towns.

I have a friend that plays the Mandolin in FL, but she is originally from TN. So if you want to take your doctor and Mandolin talents and play with some Bluegrass musicians, then go spend a couple years and work in a small town in Kentucky or Tennessee. :)

Dragonfly said...

Come to Australia!!

Anonymous said...

Truly ABB OMDG is right, you don't need a prep course for Step One. I bought the Kaplan prep course last year and it was HUGE waste of money. I did not use it at all. I just studied (the heck out of) First Aid and used USMLEworld QBank and I did really well. Save yourself the time and money and forget the class :).

On the other hand, if you really feel like you need some sort of class I know a lot of people used Doctor's In Training and thought it was pretty helpful. I think it is way cheaper and better organized than Kaplan and they use First Aid (aka the one book you really need to know for Step One) for the text. Might be worth checking into?

Anonymous said...

Gunner Training is also useful - it emulates the look and feel of the step 1 exam really well. Do well on those questions, and you will do well on the Step 1.

EasilyAmused said...

On the other end of the health care spectrum... at least medical students can match into something and have residencies...
Nursing students are left to fend for ourselves!
Our profession is screaming that a nursing residency would be an "excuse" to pay us less. WTF.
Well I'll take any pay over no pay as a new grad and residency=training!!!