Island Med Student

Many people have written me asking about whether or not they should do their 5th semester here in Dominica at Princess Margaret Hospital. My personal opinion? YES! I thought it was an absolutely fabulous experience, and I think it’s better than going to Miami. I’m sure some people disagree, but this is my own opinion. Here are a list of positives and negatives with regard to staying:

Positives:

1) I think that the experience at PMH is much more hands on. I think a combination of the laws in Dominica and the doctors who teach at PMH makes the learning more interactive. I saw many patients. I was allowed to perform many procedures like starting lines, putting in catheters, doing digital rectal exams, and intubating. From what I’ve heard from students in Miami, you just don’t get that much hands on experience there.

2) You get to see more stuff. Again, from what I know from Miami students, here at PMH you see more stuff. I saw many operations, procedures, histories taken, etc. The exposure is awesome. Not only is there more exposure, but I think you see a broader range of pathologies. I saw someone with tertiary syphilis. You probably won’t get to see this in the States.

3) There are less students here. Less students seems to mean that the doctors have more time to teach. You’re not competing with hundreds of other students for the doctors’ time.

4) You have more time to study here. Again, this is compared to what I know from Miami students. They seem to have more required classroom time, which means less time to study. I can promise you that I had more than enough time to study for 5th semester classes AND plenty of time to study for the Step.

5) It’s cheaper here and there is less traveling involved. This is self explanatory. Not moving means less money spent. It’s cheaper to live here than in Miami. Moving sucks. Not going to Miami means one less move. (You still might move to Roseau, but this is a lot easier than moving to Miami.)

Negatives:

1) You’re in Dominica. Some people simply don’t like living here. If you can’t stand living here for 12 more weeks, I guess you should go to Miami.

2) They have official Step Review courses available in Miami. I’m not sure how they work, but I know they exist. They have review classes here given by Ross professors, but it’s not the same. If you think you absolutely need the courses, you might want to consider Miami. I personally prefer studying without the courses, but that’s just me.

3) PMH is less equipped than the hospital in Miami. There is no MRI at PMH and the CT scanner breaks sometimes. So, you won’t have as much exposure to some technologies. Some people think this is bad, I actually think it’s good. You have to rely more on your history and physical exam skills here. I think it’s a good opportunity to brush up on your important skills. You have the rest of your medical career to learn how to interpret MRIs.

That’s all I can think of for now. I’ll add more to the list later if anything comes up. Let me know if you have any questions!