St. Christopher's College of Medicine info?

[xTinaBna]

hi!

i was wondering if anyone knows anything additional about St. Christophers COM besides what is on their website? I am curious what it is like for a U.S. student to attend there. I am told that they can do their rotations in the U.S.? I also wanted to know more about whether students are successful in gaining u.s. residencies. the website states they have a 92% pass rate on the usmle..but i would like to know about how many of them get u.s. residencies. thanks!

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[medgirl20]

From what I remember this is a bit iffy one of the overseas schools without WHO approval. I could be confusing it with another school but I'd be careful if I were you.

 

[BlondeCookie]

The BBC did a report on TV recently. The school has been shut down. The GMC will not allow their students to take the PLAB for registration in the UK. Their American students are not allowed to take the USMLE per the American ECFMG organisation.

St. Chris is known as a "squatter" school. That is, it is a school that is located in the UK, but not approved by the UK's General Medical Council (GMC). Any school conducting any part of it's medical training in the UK, but not approved by the GMC is considered a "squatter" school. There are other squatter schools from the caribbean that also conduct their entire clinical training in the UK. No idea if the GMC plans to clamp down on that with the introduction of new UK GMC approved med schools needing those clinical spots.

 

[xTinaBna]

The BBC did a report on TV recently. The school has been shut down. The GMC will not allow their students to take the PLAB for registration in the UK. Their American students are not allowed to take the USMLE per the American ECFMG organisation.

St. Chris is known as a "squatter" school. That is, it is a school that is located in the UK, but not approved by the UK's General Medical Council (GMC). Any school conducting any part of it's medical training in the UK, but not approved by the GMC is considered a "squatter" school. There are other squatter schools from the caribbean that also conduct their entire clinical training in the UK. No idea if the GMC plans to clamp down on that with the introduction of new UK GMC approved med schools needing those clinical spots.

wow i did not know any of this information! does that mean students who graduated from this school do not have a valid medical degree? Are there other schools in the UK that are good for U.S. students to attend? Thanks!

 

[BlondeCookie]

wow i did not know any of this information! does that mean students who graduated from this school do not have a valid medical degree? Are there other schools in the UK that are good for U.S. students to attend? Thanks!

Unfortunately for those past St. Christopher's students their degree is basically worthless. At least, it is in the UK and those students will never work as doctors in the UK as mandated by the GMC. Most likely they will never work as doctors in the USA either. Most of the St Christopher's students are from America and the system in America is screwed up IMO. There, the students must apply for licensure to work as a doctor after their post-graduate medical training is complete.

The problem is that the GMC equivalent in the USA is the LCME, but unlike the GMC (in the UK), they LCME does not grant or have anything to do with whether or not a medical graduate can work as a doctor in the USA. Those powers of licensure are overseen by each individual American state. The American students will apply for licensure to an American state of their choice only AFTER all their training is complete. Now, that St Christopher's has been shunned by the country's regulatory body (GMC in the UK) that they are operating within, the chances of these medical graduates ever getting licensed in any American state is almost zero. Hundreds of thousands of dollars/pounds and years of effort all for nothing. That is why it is so vitally important to go to a school that is approved by a legitimate organisation such as the GMC if you plan to go to school in the UK.

 

[Kev (UK)]

I think it is important to reiterate that St. Christopher's in Luton is NOT a UK medical school. They are physically based here but they are not licencsed by the UK government. They were licensed in Senegal, Africa but even their government is denying anything to do with the school now! All 31 official UK medical schools are part of a UK university, St. Christophers is not.

BC has explained about the GMC's standing. I believe some St. Christopher students did undertake some clinical experience in UK hospitals but the GMC tipped-off the National Health Service Fraud Squad who are (or have) made some investigations and I suspect the NHS will revoke permission for their student to operate within the state health system.

As a UK citizen I am OUTRAGED that St. Christopher "medical students" have been having access to the public in our hospitals without having GMC licensure for their course. Renting a building to teach pre-clinical sciences to any student who is able to pay the fees is one thing, sending them in to hospitals to deal with sick and injured patients is another matter entirely.

My opinion: DON'T GO THERE! save you money and time.

 

[xTinaBna]

I think it is important to reiterate that St. Christopher's in Luton is NOT a UK medical school. They are physically based here but they are not licencsed by the UK government. They were licensed in Senegal, Africa but even their government is denying anything to do with the school now! All 31 official UK medical schools are part of a UK university, St. Christophers is not.

BC has explained about the GMC's standing. I believe some St. Christopher students did undertake some clinical experience in UK hospitals but the GMC tipped-off the National Health Service Fraud Squad who are (or have) made some investigations and I suspect the NHS will revoke permission for their student to operate within the state health system.

As a UK citizen I am OUTRAGED that St. Christopher "medical students" have been having access to the public in our hospitals without having GMC licensure for their course. Renting a building to teach pre-clinical sciences to any student who is able to pay the fees is one thing, sending them in to hospitals to deal with sick and injured patients is another matter entirely.

My opinion: DON'T GO THERE! save you money and time.

Wow, it makes me sad that there are schools out there claiming to be a liscensed medical school and deceiving potential medical students. I'm glad I found out this information about that school before it was too late. do you have any recommendations of UK schools that are U.S. student friendly? Are there other schools there that many Americans choose for medical school? thanks again!

 

[Kev (UK)]

Wow, it makes me sad that there are schools out there claiming to be a liscensed medical school and deceiving potential medical students. I'm glad I found out this information about that school before it was too late. do you have any recommendations of UK schools that are U.S. student friendly? Are there other schools there that many Americans choose for medical school? thanks again!

There are relatively few Americans in UK schools but there are some. Many have posted info on the subject on this board, if you do a search using the toolbar facility above, you should find them.

 

[rgerwin]

I would just like to say that I believe US students apply for licensure after their internship year, not the entire post-graduate training.

 

[BlondeCookie]

I would just like to say that I believe US students apply for licensure after their internship year, not the entire post-graduate training.

Sorry, but that's not true. Doctors don't apply for licensure in the USA until after their post-graduate residency training is complete. They apply for licensure to the state that they look to practise in.

It also is troubling to me that there are carribean schools currently doing the majority of even all of their clinical training in UK hospitals. There are students at the old and new schools in the UK that are approved by the GMC that must have full access to these places. What's going to happen when seats at the current med schools increase? I just don't think it is equitable at all for these carib squatters to utilise UK hospitals for their entire clinical training.

 

[Kev (UK)]

It also is troubling to me that there are carribean schools currently doing the majority of even all of their clinical training in UK hospitals.

Is there? What schools and where in the UK are they?

 

[mysophobe]

Sorry, but that's not true. Doctors don't apply for licensure in the USA until after their post-graduate residency training is complete. They apply for licensure to the state that they look to practise in.

It also is troubling to me that there are carribean schools currently doing the majority of even all of their clinical training in UK hospitals. There are students at the old and new schools in the UK that are approved by the GMC that must have full access to these places. What's going to happen when seats at the current med schools increase? I just don't think it is equitable at all for these carib squatters to utilise UK hospitals for their entire clinical training.

I was under the impression that upon passing step 3 at the end of the intern year, one could apply for a medical license.

 

[BlondeCookie]

Is there? What schools and where in the UK are they?

St George's, advertised as the Harvard of the Carribeans, has their students do clinicals in the US & UK. Same with Ross University and AUC (American University of the Carribeans). These schools have their students do the majority and often ALL of their clinical training on foreign soil. In essence, they are squatting in these countries for the purposes of their own medical training. The number of schools like these doing the majority of their training on foreign soil (UK in particular) is growing rapidly.

The Carribean schools are not accredited by the LCME in the US nor the GMC in the UK. Yet, they are in business for the sole purpose of graduating docs wanting to work in the USA. The addition of fly-by-night carib schools and others like St. Christopher's creates the need for more clinical training spots to accomodate these students. There is a increasing trend of these schools turning to the UK for their clinical training. I just find this plain wrong. There are new schools being built up in the UK and the hope is to create more spots in the older schools as well. These schools all have to go through the scrutiny and regulatory rules of the GMC to be able to train med students in the UK. Yet, a hospital (any hospital) can just sign a contract with a foreign caribbean school that isn't even accredited by the GMC! Not right! These aren't elective spots either. These carib squatter schools are doing all of their clinical training here. Just highly unethical. And the schools I have listed aren't the only ones either. They are just the more popular ones. There are many other carib squatter schools doing all of their clinical training in the UK.

 

[Kev (UK)]

The addition of fly-by-night carib schools and others like St. Christopher's creates the need for more clinical training spots to accomodate these students. There is a increasing trend of these schools turning to the UK for their clinical training. I just find this plain wrong.

I agree with you completely. It's not just the use of valued clinical training spots but the exposure of the public to students from unregulated schools that annoys me specifically. I assume these are students chosed largely on their ability to pay?

Thanks for the information.