I haven't posted in a while. The last month has been a whirl wind. We studied like crazy for the final comprehensive exam, wrote it AND, most importantly, passed it!!!! I have officially graduated from the basic sciences program :)
Currently sitting in St. Maarten airport one last time awaiting my flight home. I have spent the last week on St. Maarten as a mini-vacation with my parents who came to visit Saba and attend my graduation. I am ready to go home... Even though I am typing this I don't think I have realized that I will not be returning to Saba. I have gotten so used to leaving the island, going home, and coming back. This time, there's no coming back. weird. Leaving Saba was bittersweet mostly because I will not be seeing some of my close friends for a while - being hopeful to bump into them during the clinical rotations. The island is beautiful but it was time to move on.
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Aaannd that was proof that I attempted to post like 3 weeks ago.
I now have finished my vacation, moved to Hamilton and began studying for the USMLE step 1 for the next 2 months.
the fun begins.
long days of hours of studying once again... just the library and weather has changed. Not sure I like the weather change but I sure like the library! we are even allowed to have coffee and non-smelly food at our desk - makes studying so much easier when you have caffeine and sugar by your side. Oh and of course some healthy snacks...kinda. By the way, did you know there is now caffeinated chocolate bars to help you stay awake? Best of both worlds.
My study schedule is a little bit insane. I realized today that I will need to tweak it and add some nights off because I am already tired. I will definitely burn out if I study 12+ hours a day.
for those of you interested how I am studying here is a quick breakdown of my day...
7am - run (the reason why I am excited to wake up; I found a nice trail in hamilton :) )
9am - arrive at library
10am - finish 46 set of Uworld questions
10-7 - Doctors in Training course or pathoma. Lunch is somewhere in here...
7-8 - go home, make dinner, eat
8 - review the material covered that day
10-12 - review answers to question set from that morning.
sleep. wake up. repeat.
I am hoping to write by early November so keep your fingers crossed it all works out! ( I would also love to hear from those readers who have taken the Step 1. Any advice? how did you study?)
apologies for falling off the face of blogworld. I am back and have promised myself to post weekly - or at least not at 2 month intervals.
PS. September is childhood cancer awareness month. Dr. David made a great quick post - see it here and make sure you watch the video!
Hi! I am considering SABA for med school, i notice on valueMD, that certain students complain how the professors try to fail students on purpose?
ReplyDeleteAlso do you go back home to study for the USMLE Step 1? or do you go to the city or town where you're going to do your clinical rotations?
I think you have to take ValueMD with a grain of salt... everyone has their opinions and experiences with Saba. I'm not sure how to comment on this except to say that professors would never try and fail you on purpose; they are there to teach you.
DeleteStudying for the Step 1 is usually done at home. Some students decide to stay on the island since they got used to the environment - it's really up to you on where you want to study and take the test.
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ReplyDeletethanks for everyone's input! I just wanted to clarify that I am neither promoting nor against Saba university... I am simply recording my own experiences. With that said, I think everyone has the obligation to be as informed as possible (either through my blog, ValueMD or other people's opinions). So keep the conversation going as I think it will help others get exposed to the positive and negatives of Saba - let's face it, every school has pros and cons.
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Hi there!
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blog here and there since 2011 when I started studying for my MCAT. I have now been admitted to Saba for January 2013. As a fellow Canadian, I am wondering if you have any worries about matching in Canada? Ever since my quest to enter medical school began, I didn't have too much time to think about residency. It was one step at a time. In Vancouver, surrounded by many UBC med students and other health professionals, I get a hard time about having decided to go to a Caribbean school. Now that you are well on your way having finished the basic sciences portion, would you say that matching in Canada isn't a concern? Haha, I'm not even sure if you wish to practice in Canada, I just assumed so. Any advice for basic sciences and moving to the island?
Thank you for starting this blog, I will have to go back to the beginning and re-read and try to learn as much as I can. Your blog is so very, very much appreciated!
Best of luck,
Shelley
Hi Shelley,
DeleteYou raise an important question ... which is hard to answer. Ideally it would be nice to go back and practice in Canada. US residency is complicated by visa applications and so forth. However getting back into Canada requires you to write 2 extra tests for equivalency and what most people dont know is that the canadian match is before the US one... meaning if you get accepted to your 3rd choice in Canada and would want to see if you get 1st choice in the states it will not be possible. You have to make a decision to accept or deny the canadian match before you know the results of the US one. Its a gamble. Canada is also hard to get as an IMG... especially if you are going for something more specialized (i.e.. not family medicine). There is also return of service contract for each province.
there are a lot of factors at play. I will still be applying to the canadian match but it will just have to be very strategic (applying to programs that I really want to go to - no back up options that I wouldn't be satisfied with. as well as applying to those programs where I would be a competitive candidate).
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to explain things on this blog. It has helped me a great deal especially with information I could not find elsewhere.
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