Medicine... PUCMM or UNIBE???

Let's look at this:
You are in a degree program for Criminal Justice. Your career path would seem to be police work.
You are 24, so not a really dedicated student. The finish undergraduate studies at 22 or 23, and you are at least a year or so away from graduation.
You are thinking about studying Medicine? Pray tell, why? You do not seem to have the vocation for it or you would have taken an undergraduate course in Biology or Pre-Med...

You realize that Medicine is a 5 to 6 year course of study, even here in the DR?? No matter where you study. And then, in order to practice you should probably do a Residency Program at a Hospital in the US. This is another 3 - 6 years depending on what you want to do...So you are looking at 34 to 35 when you begin working in the field (although you will be paid for your Residency, of course).

I tell my students that you have to be really sharp to be engineers, really talented to be architects and really dedicated to be doctors. The course work is not Einsteinian, but it is demanding. What is more demanding is the time spent in hospitals and on "duty"....then add in the course work and that makes it rough as a cob.

Think about this. You might really be better off being a police officer somewhere.

As for UNIBE or PUCMM??
Unibe will teach you in Spanish or English. They are in Santo Domingo
PUCMM only teaches in Spanish. I hear that we will be opening up the Medicine degree in Santo Domingo, but do not know the when or where...but the demand is there so it will be done one of these days.

HB

LIZ87 said:

Hello to All,

I am seeking information on which Medical school would be best for me or the best in general. I am from the US but my family is from Dominican Republic.

I am a little confused as to which direction to take. I am going to be 24 years old in a few months and feel like maybe I am a little to old to pursue a education in Medicine. I have 92 college credits in the US so not sure if I should return and continue my Criminal Justice degree or pursue a education in medicine.

What would be the process after anyone graduates and returns back to the states? I know Medicine is not easy but if anyone has any information, it would be helpful.

Thank You

Click to expand...

Hi Liz,

First of all, congratulations on taking an important first step in pursuing your dreams - making the appropriate due diligence. One piece of advice that I wish I had when I was in a similar position to yours, never listen to the naysayers. Nobody knows what you're capable of, probably not even yourself, if you set your heart to it. People will try to discourage you from pursuing things often times projecting their own insecurities. They generally mean well, but it's just not helpful even though they justify it as being "realistic."

By way of reference, I was in your position some years ago. To make the story short, I was almost around your age when I traded off making more money to pursue my college degree. I went to finish in record time graduating at the top of my class while holding a full time job at a professional capacity. During that time I got a job at one of the top firms in the world in my field and later attended graduate school at one of the top universities in the world. Although it is not a representative sample, the fact that I did it shows that it can be done!

To your question, many of my friends have gone to UNIBE for medical degrees. Their intention has been to come back to the US after school. I that is your intention as well then UNIBE is a superior choice for many reasons:

• Classes can be taken in English.
• There is a strong base of like-minded people with the same intention to return to the US that serves as a support group.
• There's a wealth of information and expertise from the administration on how the process of transferring your license to the US works.
• There's a strong group of people who will be studying for the USMLE at the same time that you will be.
• There are many other reasons that I just can't readily recall but if you PM I can elaborate later tonight.

Also, there are many forums, just like this one, online addressing your question specifically. This is a good place to start:

UNIBE and Dominican Medical Schools

I'm sorry if this post sounds rushed or incoherent, I'm very time constrained now but felt strongly compelled to encourage you to pursue your dreams. I would really hate it if you find yourself being 50 years old and wondering what life would have been like if you had made the decision to go for it while you were still young. Trust me, at 24 years old the world is still yours.

Please feel free to PM me with more questions, I'd be happy to help.

Best,

Cris

PS. I didn't mean to personally attack anyone, I was more inclined to provide a general, albeit perhaps cliched, advice to our friend Liz. I have nothing more than respect for you Hillbilly.

If you speak Spanish go to PUCMM.