Mission Status: Success
Outcome: Matched at first choice, high tiered academic program
What can I say? I essentially did not have time to type in this blog during third and fourth year but I feel compelled to write at least some type of wrap up post. And I'm considering a series of posts on the various hospitals I've rotated in before I completely relegate them to memory. It's been an insane four years (give or take a couple of months). How to sum it up? The simplest way is as I've said above. I made it. I matched at my top choice. I matched exactly where I wanted to. The place I'd have wanted to go even if I'd made it into an American med school. My dream residency as a friend of mine put it. My massive detour to the Caribbean and then to the wilds of NYC actually managed to lead me back to EXACTLY where I wanted to be. It's pretty amazing really. It's been three weeks to the day and it's STILL sinking in. I think it'll keep 'sinking in' all the way until July 1st. In the beginning I could hardly believe it. I kept expected to wake up and still be in survival mode. Just trying to get through the latest obstacle or flaming hoop.
So, SGU. I watched the great cogs of your machine destroy so many people. But I was NOT ONE OF THEM! I made it! I have mixed feelings towards the school. I am eternally grateful for what they've given me (my MD) but also horrified at so many of their policies and lies along the way (all the clinical rotations are equal in quality - NOT TRUE. THIS IS A HUGE FILTHY LIE). Also I am in more debt than should be legal right now. But would I do it again? So many people have asked me that question over the years and I've always responded the same way : "I can't say". Now, I can say. Yes, yes I would do it again. Because I attained my ultimate goal. I think that even if I had matched at my second choice (another amazing university program) I would have had regret for going to SGU. But I am just so damned HAPPY right now about matching at my top choice that all the indignities and the suffering along the way suddenly seem an acceptable price. It all seems WORTH it now. The uncertainty along the way was, without a doubt, rough. I wish I could just send back a picture of my match results to myself so I'd know that it was all going to work out in the end.
Would I recommend this route to everyone? No. Resoundingly, NO. In addition to the simple statistical facts of US med schools increasing their class sizes, more DO and MD schools opening in the US whose students will be in the residency applicant pools in the very near future the Caribbean route is an extremely tough one. Many, many people are destroyed by it. Or end up in subpar residencies. Or end up not matched. I know a few very nice, intelligent people who did not match. Had they been US grads with the same stats they would have easily matched. It's unfair but it's a fact. As an IMG you are at a distinct disadvantage simply being who you are. I read a forum post recently describing IMG's as a pile of rotting fruit that PD's sift through to select the best from if they have to. It was an insulting and depressing analogy. But accurate. There is a HUGE stigma against us that you have to fight through. And unlike the stigma against DO's ours will not fade. In fact, the statistics of the matter is that it's getting more and more difficult as an IMG to match into a US residency. The AMA is actively attempting to filter IMG's out as much as possible. The all in/all out policy instituted this past match is only the beginning. So if you have even the smallest chance of getting into a US school if you try again, or retake the MCAT or whatever you should do that. SGU should be an absolute last resort and only if you are ridiculously determined and have no other options. Because, let me tell you, as hard as you think medical school will be it'll be more difficult and trying than you ever imagined. You have to be 110% going in just to make it to the end. Do not get me wrong, it's an incredibly rewarding experience. You will change as a person significantly. You'll gain confidence in spades along with knowledge (if you're doing it right). But you will pay for it in 3am alarms, hours of studying, being pimped on rounds again and again. And oh, the public humiliation, can't forget that. You work and you work and you work and you work. And you change as a person without even realizing it. But in the end it is worth it. These are simple words to describe the indescribable experience that medical school is.
On to the the next voyage!
*rolls eyes* Instead of "Reminder! - Your Computer-based test" the subject line should have read "Reminder! - Your DAY OF JUDGEMENT IS AT HAND" followed by insane maniacal laughter.
