We had a talk about the transition semester this week. I'm more confused now than I've ever been about where is the best place for me to go. If I go to Michigan, I do not need to bring my car; however, the majority (if not all) of the clinical work will be nursing homes and there will be more required papers (which could be good because each paper is worth less of the overall grade). If I go to Miami, they have a board review course, but I would need to get my car to Florida because I will be sent all over the Miami-Dade county for clinical rotations. If I stay in Dominica, I will be in a third world country for another three months, but you don't need a car. Since the laws are different than in the U.S.A., medical students are able to PRACTICE some clinical skills that physicians are responsible for rather than than just clinical skills that are generally performed by nurses or phlebotomists or just observing--assuming that I don't faint daily in Dominica.
Another consideration, on May 18th, about three weeks after finishing this semester, we have to take the National Board of Medical Examiner's (NBME) compressive exam on the first two years of medical school. I'm not sure of the exact statistics, but a LARGE number of students fail the NBME's comprehensive exam on the first try. We have three attempts then we are expelled from Ross. It is extremely rare for someone to be expelled, but if I stay in Dominica, I will be able to take a three or four day break then have the entire three weeks between semesters to study for the exam as I won't be moving back to the States and having to move my car across the country. If I stay here, I might move down to Roseau (the capital where the BIG hospital is located) or else I have to take the hour drive every day.
I really don't' know what to do, but I have a feeling I'll be staying here. You should vote to my exciting voting pole or leave me a comment or email about where you think I should go and why. I do know, that Farley and I will likely be doing a review course for the USMLE Step 1, another exam from the NBME, in August. I think we are going to take the Kaplin course rather than the Falcon course. If we take the Kaplin course we will be in Chicago for 7-weeks and if we take the Falcon course we will be in Dallas for 7-weeks. The USMLE Step 1 (the first set of boards) is arguably one of the most important (if not the most important) exam of my career. These decisions in the next couple months are very important, but the most important thing is doing well on that exam next fall.
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