I came acress this medical school advertising in a nursing magazine claiming to be the world's first Distance Learning medical school. Located in Samoa but can be done in the USA. Don't know how legit it is. They claim W.H.O listing. Oceania University of Medicine www.medintro.org www.oceaniamed.org www.medintro.org
Both Becker and Harcum are regionally-accredited; so for me, at least, that bodes well for the likelihood that Oceania Medical School might be legit. But when it comes to these off-shore institutions, I'm not the go-to guy aaround here. Others, here, I'm sure, can address Oceania with authority. But as regionally-accredited institutions, I'm guessing the $6K "Intro" course at Becker and/or Harcum is worthwhile. Most regionally-accredited institutions won't risk their accreditation by playing games. What about Oceania, you experts out there?
Oh, yeah... and then there's the cost of Oceania: $108,000... which takes one through clinical specialty rotation.
off shore I think the first ditance education offshore medical school is St. Luke University School of Medicine. www.stluke.edu Then I understand that the list started to grow from there to include others. For instance you have the IUHS school of medicine. In central america you have the Vanguard University of Sciene and Technology school of medicine www.vanguard-university.info If you are a american or canadian citizen you will need to make sure the school you plan on attending has listing with the E.C.F.M.G. (educational commission of foreign medical graduates) which shall allow you the oportunity to sit for the U.S.M.L.E. (united states medical license test). The problem is many schools like to advertise that being listed with the E.C.F.M.G. is a "certification of quality"; this does not mean any such thing. Now the school you plan on attending does not have to be listed "now" but they need to be listed at least prior to you graduating. Another important aspect to look for if you are planning on practice medicine in the USA or Canada; many american states requiere you spend (2) years of your medical education in a traditional classroom setting. This is most important and have to do this no matter what the shool officials may tell you. Why do I say this? For those who plan on using the Medical Distance Education plan that some medical schools offer you have to do at least 2 years of traditional training. How will the state board of education prove that you did or did not; I do not know this. What the E.C.F.M.G. has done is to pick up where the W.H.O. (World Health Organization) medical school listing has left off. The W.H.O. used to keep a listing of the medical schools of the World but for the last years they have been doing this on and off. The E.C.F.M.G. is not a part of the U.S.A. Government; they are a non-profit organization. Remember something; since medical education is a very delicate thing, Degree Mills may not want to play games with this. The United States has a very long and expensive Medical License test(s): USMLE STEP 1 (covers basic science) USMLE STEP 2 (covers clinical science) USMLE STEP 3 (also called C.S.A. clinical skills assesment). The american medical schools are structured for the student to pass this test in all three phases. But because you pass all three does not mean you can practice medicine in the United States. You will still have to take your state license test. Many individuals criticize medical education outside of the USA as being poor or substandard, based on the results of students that study offshore and then return for there countries test. Medical Education is neither poor nor substandard outside of the United States; it is simply not based on a curriculum to overcome the USMLE. This does not mean that offshore medical students cannot pass this test, but they need to spend extra time on their own to prepare for this most important test. In fact it is agreed that USMLE step 1 is the most important one to pass with the best grade possible. Many american students that can afford to take classes with KAPLAN do this and they can pass with minimal difficulty. If the medical education outside of the United States were to be so poor then eveyone would be dead ! Don't let the under informed confuse you. If you need more information look here: www.ecfmg.org or to look for the listing of offshore medical schools by country go here: http://imed.ecfmg.org/
Do you think that this would be a good option for someone interested in a medical degree, but who isn't interested in practicing medicine (i.e. having the MD for the purposes of conducting research)? Cheers, Tony
medical education Maranto: Yes. No doubt. If someone is considering studying medicine for education purposes, life long dream, etc... Offshore medical education or distance learing medical education is fine. Its less expensive and most foreign countries do not place an age limit on the applicant. Of course there is the added benefit that you would actually be able to practice medicine in another country and you could practice medicine in the USA if you pass all USMLE's and the State Medical License Test. Bullet.
Re: medical education Are there any qualified foreign programs -- and by that I mean ones that qualify one to sit for the USMLE -- that are just, flat-out, dirt cheap? The one referred to in the thread-starting post is over $100K. Are there any that are just sinfully cheap? And, yes, I realize there are those who have attended US programs who would argue that $100K is sinfully cheap, but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a foreign (non-U.S.) medical degree (preferably by distance learning) that qualifies its graduates to sit for the USMLE and is so cheap (by comparison) that it's almost suspect. Anything like that out there?
Very cheap Des Elms: Yes there is. In fact I posted a couplen of good medical schools, excluding IUHS. IUHS is expensive but still cheaper than USA Medical Schools. Vanguard University of Science and Technology charges between $7500-$9,000.00 per year but they offer discounts to single parents, people over the age of 35, etc...... If you plan to practice medicine in a 3rd world country, they will lower your tuition to around $5,000.00 per year. St Luke School of Medicine Charges $10,500.00 per year plus fees. But if you transfer to africa they charge around $7,500.00 per year plus your living expenses. If you are in a (4) year medical program you are looking at $20,000 - $42,000.00 for your medical tuition which is very manageable. Of course there are other expenses but calculate them to raise your entire cost around 7-10%.
