Husband of a wife dreaming of becoming an MD

[xngn8r]

Hi,
I just found this forum and hoping to get some advice here. Both I and my wife are health professionals. I am a PT and she is a nurse. We are in early 40's and have two kids, a 10 yo boy and 1.5 yo daughter. I had plans to go to Caribbean med school 8 years ago, but my wife would not let to the point of divorce. I accepted it at that time and even tried to encourage her to try to get into med school herself . She had to leave med school after 2 yrs of studying in her country, when it became dangerous there and she had to immigrate. So she settled for being a nurse in Canada. Her parents have never encouraged her to go back to school, only I did. After having second child she has become super motivated and wants to go to med school. However she finds it hard to focus with the new kid and it seemed that her MCAT score will not be that great. We started seriously looking into Caribbean schools, namely SGU and AUC. What I have realized is that for first two years on the island I will not be able to work at all and it is just driving me crazy. I am slowly becoming resentful to the whole idea, but I am also feeling guilty, because I was the one who was a cheerleader over the years and was pushing her in this direction. My wife graciously offered to reverse the roles and support me if I want to apply to the same schools, but I know it will break her heart if I do that. She is interested in family medicine and we always had this dream to open an office together where she can run her GP practice and I can build my physio practice. I wonder if I can hear from the guys who were in similar boat and how they handled it.

[ladymoreta]

Welcome! We have several spouses on here who've gone the Carribbean medical school route. I'm not sure if any of the husbands here have, though. Still, we're happy to meet you and look forward to getting to know you!

[Alacrity]

Although we did not go that route, we did consider it (You consider all sorts of stuff after the MCAT) I had visions of renting HobieCats to tourists and bringing home fish for dinner. In the long run, the financial burden would have been better with that path.

[xngn8r]

Thank you for replies. I am hoping to communicate with people who understand my position, not necessarily who are in the same exact position. I am trying to get used to the idea of becoming a househusband for 2 years. I am hoping that she would be able to get clinical rotations in one geographic area, so that I could work during that time. From that perspective SGU seems to be the most attractive Caribbean school, since they have many clinical sites in New York City. Off course the whole issue of getting residency after Caribbean school is another story. It is partially a reason why I decided not to go that route myself. I just could not bear the thought of spending 300k of our savings and not match at the end. My wife, however, has this almost religious belief that she can pull it off and I cannot deny her this chance, just trying to come to terms with it.

[Cinderella]

Glad you found us. Wife to and Egyptian doctor here doing the USMLE's. In a way I get what you're dreaming about together. We did the foreign medical school together and now we're going through the ECFMG together and applying for the 2014 Match. We've also been through the hell of US immigration and I still have PTSD from that. This entire medical process on top of that doesn't make it any better. I've learned to take it all one step at a time.

There are several Caribbean graduates on here that have matched into residencies. I'm not sure what country you did your immigration from? You mentioned Canada and I believe we also have a few familiar with the Canadian medical system. Is your wife a naturalized US citizen then? What about the option of transferring her medical school credits into a medical school here if she can get acceptance with her MCAT?

[diggitydot]

Canadian med schools are ridiculously difficult to get a slot. Much, MUCH more competitive than US med schools. A lot of Canadian candidates end up being great candidates to US schools.

[Cinderella]

That's good to know diggitydot that it's easier for Canadian's to come to US medical schools. If she's a nurse in Canada I'm wondering if she immigrated to Canada then and not the US? I'm confused are you guys Canadians looking at Caribbean schools that have sites in NYC? Or are you guys USC's with the Wife working in Canada looking at foreign medical schools that have sites in NYC? The immigration background and the country of the previous medical school will help us guide you about the Island and NYC options.

[xngn8r]

We are Canadian citizens. In the previous life we were both citizens of Soviet Union, but from different Republics. I lived in Ukraine and my wife is from Uzbekistan, where she attended medical school for 2 years. When some Republics were in the process of separation there was an increase in violence. That was when her family decided to immigrate to Canada. She thought that she would try to get into a medical school in Canada, but her relatives talked her out of it and recommended Nursing as a quick way of entering a workforce. She was content with her profession for a long time until I have resurrected her deep hidden desire to be a physician. To get into medical school in Canada is like winning a lottery. It is given that you have to have a high GPA and MCAT score, but even then you are not guaranteed anything. When I convinced her to go back to school to get her Bachelor degree, I stressed the importance of good grades, so she was able to pull off 3.91 cGPA. However, in her associate degree in Nursing college she only had 3.0 GPA, because she did not care. In Canada actually med schools do not enter your associate degree into GPA calculations, so we thought that it would be the same in US. However, in States they count everything, which ultimately reduced her GPA to 3.5. Too low for allopatic school, but could work for DO schools, providing a good MCAT. She is scheduled to write in July. She might do well and get into DO school, otherwise she is willing to take a chance in Caribbean. I have few friends who went to AUC in the past and did well, but things are changing now. Prematch is gone and number of residency spots available for IMG's is decreasing. But my wife has almost religious belief that she can get residency even from Caribbean school. The reason we were looking at SGU in Grenada is because they can get all clinical rotations in NY City. If she can remain in one area, at least I can work during rotations. I am a physical therapist and we fall under TN visa for employment, which is easily obtainable at the border with an offer of employment. I also have many relatives and friends in NY City, so it would be easier there socially. Ciderella, thank you for welcome. Were you also trained as MD in Egypt?

[diggitydot]

If she can swing getting into a US osteopathic school, that is in her and your best interests. It is FAR easier to land a US residency slot as a US-educated DO than as a Caribbean-educated MD.

Don't sweat the GPA minimums. They aren't as hard and fast as you'd think. A borderline GPA with great interview and a rocking MCAT score means more than a just a high GPA to many US med schools.

My DH was on admissions committees for both med school and residency.

[diggitydot]

We are Canadian citizens. In the previous life we were both citizens of Soviet Union, but from different Republics. I lived in Ukraine and my wife is from Uzbekistan...

Our Ukrainian exchange student (she was from Poltava) lived with using during the disintegration of the Soviet Union. It was AWFUL for her to be away from her family during that time.

[xngn8r]

Yes we know how important MCAT scores are. We were told that for DO schools an average score is about 26-27 for a US citizen, but Canadians need around 30 to be competitive. My wife seems to be having a problem with physics , no matter how much I try to tutor her. I have been tempted on many occasions to take the test myself.

[bokelley]

Dh went to a DO school and his class average Mcat scores were 31.

[diggitydot]

Dh went to a DO school and his class average Mcat scores were 31.

Yup, not uncommon. Depends entirely on the school, though. The newly opened schools have slightly more relaxed standards.

[diggitydot]

Yes we know how important MCAT scores are. We were told that for DO schools an average score is about 26-27 for a US citizen, but Canadians need around 30 to be competitive. My wife seems to be having a problem with physics , no matter how much I try to tutor her. I have been tempted on many occasions to take the test myself.

Has she thought about taking a test prep course? They can be a HUGE help.

[Curegirl]

I don't know much about med school logistics but just wanted to say hello and welcome.