Your Caribbean Medical School Guide Part II

(continuing from residency programs for caribbean medical school students)

2. Fifth Pathway Program

As of 1971 the Fifth Pathway Program became available for FMG in order to help them get into a United States residency program. Currently there are three programs available:

Basically, the point of this program is:“The Fifth Pathway Program was developed to help students who have attended four years at a foreign medical school to complete their supervised clinical work at a U.S. medical school, become eligible for entry to U.S. residency training, and ultimately obtain a license to practice in the U.S.” (source: http://www.ama-assn.org)

Unfortunately, as of June 30, 2009, the Fifth Pathway Programs will be discontinued

.. if you go to the caribbean, the key is to come back to the US...

3. Transfer to a US Medical School

This is very difficult to do and if you decide to go to a Caribbean medical school, you shouldn’t even think of this. If you really want to go to US med school, then that’s what you should work for. I am putting this out there anyway just to let you know that this is an option.

Final Thoughts:In the end, if your goal is to be a doctor then going to a Carribbean medical school is a viable option, however, consider that it will be an uphill battle for competitive specialty residency positions. The reason is that specialty residencies first give spots to US students. On the other hand, if you’re interested in primary care (family medicine, internal, OBGYN, pediatrics), then you’ll be okay since there are more openings for primary care than specialized fields.

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