What to know about Caribbean Medical Schools

Offshore or Caribbean medical schools refer to medical institutions outside the United States. These colleges mainly cater to international medical students, mostly attracting students who do not possess the minimum requirement to gain admission to accredited North American medical schools, at large. In this article, we will take you through the major aspects of Caribbean medical school that you must be aware of.

While in the past Caribbean offshore medical schools were restricted to only a few, in recent times they have increased significantly both in number and location. Today, you should not be surprised to come across 30 institutions, located on more than 15 islands and nations, targeted to deliver superior-grade education exclusively to international students.

What are the reasons that support such unprecedented growth?

The primary factor behind this explosive growth over the last decade is to meet the demand of aspiring medical students. Furthermore, from an offshore perspective, Caribbean medical schools bring in significant revenue to add on to the small economies that thrive on these nations. A secondary factor is the lower academic costs of offshore medical school programs and their relaxed admission standards.

How is are the Caribbean courses structured?

Typically, the curricula at Caribbean medical schools are equivalent to that of medical schools across the world. To take admission to offshore medical school programs you are expected to possess three years of undergraduate degree qualification. You can either show proof of a bachelor’s degree or even the scores from the MCAT. The length of the medical program varies between three to five years and usually, a single academic year is divided into three semester’s ꟷ namely spring, summer, and fall.

Students typically need to study both the clinical rotations of the medical school program and basic sciences component. The basic sciences modules spans across four to five semesters and the clinical rotations occur during the third and fourth year. Internships can be taken at any international hospitals or U.S. schools which are affiliated with the Caribbean medical school.

Such skyrocketed growth in the number of Caribbean medical colleges in recent years has created more room for teaching to frequently occur via the internet and over distance learning programs. This is executed taking into consideration the integration of international medical candidates into academic programs and clinical training or educational qualification in the North American nations.

The official accrediting authority for newly developing medical colleges in the British Overseas Territories located in the Caribbean is set to enrol mostly overseas students. The accreditation process is voluntary and the concerned agency is accountable for a process via which overseas-qualified medical candidates can become licensed physicians. 

The California board recognizes just a handful of the many offshore medical schools in the Caribbean. This mainly includes providing education that is of the same level to North American Medical schools. Choose to explore Clinical medicine MD program in one of such academic institutions and observe the spike in professional growth in no time. Apply soon.