Am I getting Cold Feet?

With about a month to go before I leave for Freeport, I am starting to have second thoughts about this whole process.

I heard from a current student on Dominica who asked if I had looked into a post-bac program at LECOM.  This program is still accepting applicants and upon successful completion, if you earn a 3.0 GPA and then retake the MCAT and earn a 23 or above you will be granted admission to the 2012 incoming class.  For me this program is attractive for several reasons.

First, I will be in the US and be a drivable distance from my friends and family.  It is about 7 hours from where I live now.

Second, with LECOM being a US medical school (DO) I could possibly join the navy and they will pay for my education.

Third, I will have all the conveinences of being in the US, grocery stores, electricity at normal rates, my car, etc...

 Fourth, graduating from a US medical school will make it easier, (not guaranteed) for me to get a US residency.  While it is true that many foreign med school grads, and ross students more so, do get US residencies; it is always easier to do so from a US school

Fifth, I can start getting US Federal student loans immediately and not have to pay for the first $30k of ross out of my retirement money.

Sixth, If I choose to do a primary care field LECOM has a 3 year program so that I would not be behind my Ross compatriots.

While I think that Ross and Dominica are valid options and I will go if not accepted to LECOM, I think that all of the things that come along with being a foreign medical graduate and going to a foreign medical school (even if it is one that has a good track record of finding people residencies) will make going to Ross just that much harder.  Don't get me wrong; I am all for going to a tropical localle for 2 years, but I just think that the extra stuff that comes from being a ross student will somewhat detract from me learning what I am supposed to learn.

The overall goal here is for me to absorb as much information as possible so that I can be helpful to my patients.  So, I applied to LECOM on Monday and I am also scouring the web for other similar post bac programs.  I would like to apply for 3-4 to give myself a decent shot at some of these.  If I am not accepted I still have Ross as a fall back.  None of the other schools have a 3 year to DO/MD program like LECOM so I would be looking at an extra year. Perhaps it will be best for me to be stuck on an island far away from everything.  I don't know.....

I feel like I am really relying on External Locus of Control here.  I am basically putting my fate into a bunch of other people's hands here.  Namely Admissions committees.  Am I somehow deferring my own decision making power to these committees because I don't want to make a decision?   Or, am i being pratcical in the understanding that even the postbac programs are very competitive and I am still not guaranteed admission even with them.

I do still mean to provide you readers with a concise accounting of all the costs associated with my start-up into Ross and the MERP program.  I am sort of sticking my head in the sand regarding all of these costs. 

Speaking of money, all of you readers out there are welcome to look at some of my eBay auctions to see if something out there I am selling might be of interest to you.

All of my eBay auctions....

I have also thought of adding a donations button to this blog.  I can assure you that any donations given to me would go to my med school education.  [If every reader out there put $1... Now I sound like public radio]

I sort of feel like I'm on the "BUS" do being a doctor, but just trying to get an upgraded seat.  Does that make sense?

on that note, i'm out....

You're Going Wheeerrreee???

People have been very congratulatory when I tell them that I have gotten into MedSchool.  The inevitable follow up question is -- where are you going?  I usually say that I am going to Ross University which is a Carribean med school; and that I will be on the island of Dominica for approximately 16 months before returning to the states for clinical rotations.  At this point people usually confuse Dominica (dom-i-NEE-ka) for the Dominican Republic.  I understand this confusion, because I probably couldn't have pointed Dominica out on the map prior to applying to Ross.  People may then ask, why Dominica?  Which is a fair question.  I haven't found a nice way to say that it was the only school that accepted me yet; so that is what I say.  Some people have been worried that I won't be able to practice in the States or that there may be some discrimination because of where I went to school.  It is true that Ross is considered to be a foreign Med School.  There is a different certification process for foreign med students.  The fact that I am already a US citizen and speak English as my native language will make things easier for sure.  I spoke with another physician who had done his training in the Phillipines. He said that you can get a Medical Education there for about $6,000 us.  I am sure that there are many fine doctors trained in the Phillipines, I don't think that route is for me. 

I think that Ross has a good reputation as a med school which accepts students who may not be the perfect candidate on paper.  As a result, they do have a higher failure rate than more selective schools.  And yes, they do charge an arm and a leg.  To go to Ross you have to be really serious about going to med school.  You have to put your money where your mouth is, and take a big leap of faith.  I think you would find it hard to get someone to say that going to Ross is easier than any US med school. Moving to an island outside of your native country, thousands of miles away from any familiar faces, adapting to a new culture and climate, living without a CAR! These are all obstacles that a Ross student faces.  However, the reward for me is knowing that at the end of it I will be able to help people with their healthcare decisions will be worth it for me.