Like most Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) graduates, Ariel Gavino, MBA, MD, always had big dreams of becoming a physician. What’s different about his story is the path he took to make those dreams come true.

“I didn’t do as well as I would have liked in college, so I took a different route,” says Gavino, who graduated from RUSM in 2008.

"Directors from internal medicine programs, surgical programs, Emergency Department programs—they were all asking me to go ahead and apply [for residency], because they thought I’d do well."

Ariel Gavino, '08 RUSM graduate, on getting multiple residency offers during clinical rotations in the USIt was a route that ultimately paid off. After earning his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree at RUSM, he's now both an attending physician (addiction medicine) at Kaiser Permanente, California, and a psychiatrist with the California State Department of Corrections.

“Being a physician is one of the most prestigious, honorable careers one can have,” Gavino says. “Without Ross, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Grabbing His Opportunity at Ross

Gavino is a career-changer—a term describing a student who decides to pursue medical school a bit later in life, after having already held a job in either a medical field or something entirely different. Some career-changers simply hear the calling to practice medicine later in life; others intentionally spend time gaining practical experience through non-physician healthcare careers.

In Gavino's case, it was the latter: He spent years gaining experience as both a certified respiratory therapist and a physician assistant before starting his search for medical schools.

Even so, the search proved discouraging at first. “I thought getting into med school in the US was unachievable, because I knew how competitive it was, and still is, in the states,” he says.

A good friend of his had recently been accepted to RUSM, so at that friend’s encouragement, Gavino attended an information seminar in Los Angeles to see what the school was all about. After speaking with a RUSM advisor and explaining his personal situation, he applied, was accepted after his interview, and—as he says it—the rest is history.

Taking the First Steps Toward His MD

Gavino started his medical training in January of 2004 on RUSM's highly advanced campus on the island of Dominica in the Caribbean.

“What’s good about [Dominica] is that you don’t have the distractions you’d expect at US medical schools, where you’re in a city or densely populated area,” he says. “I was able to focus exclusively on my studies, and that was a huge advantage to me.”

That focus came in handy while undergoing RUSM’s rigorous preclinical curriculum, during which students spend the early part of their training mastering the fundamentals of medicine. “Their curriculum is really geared toward empowering you to perform well—not just in your preclinical studies, but also clinical rotations, the USMLE, and even residency,” he says. 

Check out a video detailing our curriculum, plus some of our advanced technology, here.

Multiple Residency Offers During His Clinical Rotations in the US

“We were always there on time: always helpful, we always volunteered first, and we were always prepared for any of the presentations that we needed to give as clinical students. That’s really how Ross trains you to be [during the basic sciences].”

—Ariel Gavino, MD, speaking about how RUSM's Foundations of Medicine curriculum set him up for success during clinicals

After heading back to the US for clinical rotations, Gavino felt that he was actually ahead of the curve in some ways when compared to the US students he was rotating with. “That’s another good thing about attending Ross,” he says. “We were prepared for the hard stuff. That really strengthened us when we did our rotations.”

It didn’t hurt that he had a good amount of medically related experience from his two previous jobs, either. “I performed my own EKGs, blood draws, arterial blood gas tests, and IV placements,” he says. “I was already trained in that, so I taught it to some of the US medical school students.”

He ended up getting a lot of meaningful face-to-face time with attending physicians and residents during the clinical experience, perhaps due to a philosophy that he refers to as “first in and last out.” This means, simply, that he was the first person at the hospital for rotations and the last person to leave.

“We were always there on time: always helpful, we always volunteered first, and we were always prepared for any of the presentations that we needed to give as clinical students,” he says. “That’s really how Ross trains you to be.”

Given that he received multiple residency offers during his time in clinicals, it would appear that his dedication paid off.

“I wasn’t only being encouraged to apply for psychiatry residencies,” he says. “Directors from internal medicine programs, surgical programs, Emergency Department programs—they were all asking me to go ahead and apply, because they thought I’d do well.”

Ultimately, he selected a psychiatry residency at Maricopa Medical Center in Arizona. He says psychiatry, which he describes as an “art”, gives him the ability to achieve a good balance between spending time with his family and caring for patients.

Gavino is a regular fixture at RUSM information seminars on the West Coast, usually California and Arizona—and he has nothing but love for his alma mater. “That’s why I always volunteer,” he says. “I’m very happy; Ross gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams of becoming a doctor. I’ll never forget that.”

Want to meet Dr. Gavino? He'll be speaking and answering questions at our March 7 Information Seminar in Irvine, California. Sign up here. 

A pretty interesting article recently hit the pages of The News-Press, a Fort Myers, Florida-based daily newspaper. The piece, written by Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) graduate and first-year resident Elizabeth Midney-Martinez, shines a spotlight on two sides of the residency process—what it’s like to be a recent grad trying to earn a residency and, on the flip side, what it’s like to be on the recruiting end.

“This year, as interns, we were very involved with the recruitment process, everything from reviewing applications to taking candidates out to dinner, giving tours of the different hospitals, and keeping in contact with them throughout the entire Match process,” she writes. “It has been a year since I was in their shoes, but it feels like just yesterday.”

Midney-Martinez is about six months into her first year of residency at the Florida State University College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency Program at Lee Memorial Health System. She also shares some interesting statistics about the residency process—more than 1,500 people applied for the six available residency slots in her program, for example—plus some details about her own medical school student experience.

Read the full article here.

Want to learn more about our graduates' stories? Check out a story about the Chillemis, two brothers who both graduated from RUSM and moved on to fulfilling careers in medicine. Read the profile here.

Dr. Paula Wales leads charge in improving the student experience

From spearheading the launch of a new clinical advising model to participating on the team that brought new curriculum options to students, the improved student experience at Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) can be largely attributed to the expertise and passion of Paula Wales, Ed.D, senior associate dean for Student Affairs.  Although Dr. Wales refuses to take sole credit for the latest quality changes and quickly acknowledges the role of faculty and colleagues in enhancing student services, she is arguably the driving force behind the strides made in recent years. 

Choosing RUSM

Dr. Wales joined the university in 2012 with the idealistic goal of making a difference in medical education, and according to her “the best place to do that was at Ross.”

However, Dr. Wales admits her first interest in RUSM was pure curiosity. She wanted to know what it was about the school that attracted one of the leading medical educators in the United States. At the time, Joseph Flaherty, MD, executive dean and chancellor of RUSM, had recently joined RUSM from the University of Illinois College of Medicine where he was dean. But, the more Dr. Wales learned about RUSM, her curiosity turned into fascination.

“I remember thinking, What’s with this school?” said Dr. Wales. “RUSM students enrolled with lower MCAT scores, but their [United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE)] Step 1 results were comparable to my students at Indiana.”

Although, making the decision to join the RUSM community wasn’t an easy one – she was born and raised in Indiana, she loved working at Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM), her child was in middle school and her husband owned a successful law firm – she was already committed to RUSM’s mission and formed a deep respect for the students’ exuberance toward medical education.

Providing Services that Matter

Dr. Wales was confident she could make significant contributions at RUSM by drawing upon her nearly 20 years of experience at IUSM. While at IUSM, Dr. Wales had several roles in both Student Affairs and Academic Affairs which gives her a holistic view of what is needed to have a seamless and productive student experience.

“The combination of my background in curriculum development and student services allows me to make changes that are meaningful – less arduous,” said Dr. Wales. “Let the students focus on medicine, not figuring out what paperwork to fill out.”

Making meaningful changes is exactly what Dr. Wales has done for the past three years. She first set her sights on enhancing the experience for clinical students. Perhaps, one of the most significant initiatives was the launch of the ROSS Model, an acronym for Rely On Student Service. The new clinical advisory model ensures that students who are dispersed throughout the country keep connected to RUSM, stay on track in terms of their clinical timelines, and receive the career and match advising they need to succeed.

Helping Students Become Doctors

“Students want to be doctors. They can only do that if they graduate and Match,” said Dr. Wales speaking about the National Resident Matching Program® where students are matched into residency positions in the United States to obtain additional clinical training. “We are not done with students when they graduate. We want to help them get jobs, we want to help them match.”

Under Dr. Wales leadership, clinical students have more opportunities to get ready for the Match™. For example, the Office of Student and Professional Development (OSPD) conducts mock interviews – via Skype™ or in person at the administrative office in Miramar, FL – to help students prepare for meetings with residency directors.

 “RUSM isn’t afraid to try new strategies,” said Dr. Wales. Some of the new approaches on the horizon include:

• Increasing academic advising as the Center for Teaching and Learning will be incorporated into the new ROSS Model to provide continuity of academic guidance from the first semester to the end
• OSPD advisors meeting with every RUSM student to talk about career plans
• Providing subject examinations for each discipline to help prepare students for the USMLE

Keeping Students the Priority

Recent surveys indicate students are noticing and responding favorably to the changes.  Perhaps, one of the reasons students are responding well is because Dr. Wales has her finger on the pulse of student issues. She engages with students daily, particularly with those who are trying to overcome challenges.

“Half my time is spent directly with students. I speak with them everyday,” said Dr. Wales. “I often advise students who need extra support in addressing their situation. Our students are really smart and capable, sometimes life gets in the way. It’s fulfilling to help them through it.”

According to Dr. Wales, you have to care for medical students if you want to produce caring doctors. “RUSM is not a machine that churns out physicians,” said Dr. Wales. “RUSM works with students to help them throughout their medical education journey.”

We’re pleased to announce that 13 Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) students earned residency appointments through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) during its first iteration. From the University of Toronto to McMaster University, RUSM grads matched in a variety of disciplines, including neurology, anatomical pathology (laboratory medicine), psychiatry, internal medicine, and pediatrics.

“I'm very proud that our graduates earned residencies in some very competitive programs throughout Canada in the CaRMS match this year,” says Joseph A. Flaherty, MD, RUSM Dean and Chancellor. “Our students are bright, ambitious, and absolutely committed to mastering the study of medicine, and I'm pleased that program directors in Canada took notice.”

Check out the list below to see where our Canadian grads matched.

Rachelle Krause (above), a 2014 graduate of RUSM, matched at University of Toronto in internal medicine during the first iteration of the 2015 CaRMS.

Recent Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) graduate Rachelle Krause, MD—a native of Courtice, roughly 40 miles away from Toronto, Canada—remembers the exact moment she decided to become a physician. It was during an exchange program to South Africa years ago, while she was still in high school.

“That was the first time I saw real poverty—people who had nothing,” says Krause, one of 13 RUSM graduates who matched through the Canadian Resident Matching Service’s (CaRMS) first iteration on March 4, 2015. Krause earned a residency in University of Toronto’s internal medicine program, grabbing one of 12 available IMG slots. She was one of hundreds of applicants to the program.

Further down, check out a video Krause made showing her reaction to the residency news.

Choosing a Career That Could Change Lives

That South Africa exchange trip, she notes, was an important event in her life: one that pointed toward a career that could “have the biggest impact on people’s lives directly, and where I’d be on the front lines delivering that care.”

“I think I could have done lots of things with my life—be a researcher, enter the business world—but for me, being a doctor made sense,” she says. “It just fit.”

Internal medicine, she says, was her goal from the very beginning. Krause is “pumped” to start her residency, and even happier that she earned a placement so close to home.

How RUSM Prepared Her for Success

On her medical school experience, she sums it up nicely: RUSM prepares you, but you don’t always know you’re being prepared while you’re being prepared.

"You get pulled out of your comfort zone,” she says. She’s referring to Dominica—home of RUSM’s technologically advanced basic sciences campus, where RUSM students spend the early part of their medical education. “All of the resilience and resolve you gain from your time on the island is empowering. You’re kind of like a fighter when you come out of the program, and that in itself is a huge component to success—that you’re trained to work really hard for what you want.”

“The rigor of the program is just top-notch,” she adds. “You would never get the amount of exposure to so many different medical scenarios and cultures if you were at any other school. You wouldn’t even get that at a Canadian school.”

The student support she received from RUSM advisors in Canada, she says, also made a difference.

“Every single person’s experience [at RUSM] is going to be completely different, and we always had someone to turn to when we had questions or needed help with something,” she says. “[Advisors will] come down to the island, they’ll visit the town you’re doing clinical rotations in—you can text them, message them, or email them, and you’ll always get an answer.”          

Plans for the Future After Residency

Looking forward, Krause is considering exploring fellowships after completing her residency training. Though she’s still mulling exactly which fellowship she’d like to pursue—she has time, after all—she thinks that the University of Toronto could be a great place to start.

“I can see myself working in Toronto, but I can also see myself working for a smaller community,” she says. Teaching is also a possibility—she was a teaching assistant during her time at RUSM.

Her advice to incoming or prospective students? Believe that you can succeed.

“You just need to mentally make a decision—Yes, I want to go back to Canada, or Yes, I want to get a good residency.”

RUSM graduate Garrett Whyne, MD (above), recently matched in family medicine at Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had,” said Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) graduate Garrett Whyne, MD, about the moment he learned that he had obtained a residency through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) on March 3, 2015. “I’m really excited. I’m going home.” He will begin a residency in family medicine at Northern Ontario School of Medicine in July. “I like family medicine because I like talking to people and getting to the root of their problems,” he explained.

For the past year, Dr. Whyne was a junior faculty member in the Medical Education Readiness Program (MERP), a program with which he became acquainted as a student. He taught biochemistry and anatomy, and more. “I’ve sort of come full circle,” he said. “I got my start at MERP, and then teaching at MERP helped to get me a residency.” Many hospitals look for residents with the ability to teach, he said, and it was a strong asset for him. “I found that I love teaching and I plan to carry it into my residency, by being involved with students.”

"I took [MERP] as an opportunity to show that I have what it takes, and that I can do this ... I learned how to be a good student and graduated with honors."

RUSM graduate Garrett Whyne, MD, on how MERP helped set him up for medical school success.

Dr. Whyne, 27, a graduate of the University of Guelph, Ontario, is the son of a physician and always had an interest in medicine. Although the path to becoming a physician was sometimes a struggle, he was able to maintain a good attitude, “and I was always very mellow about everything,” he said. When he was given conditional admission to RUSM if he completed the MERP program successfully, he was not discouraged. “I took it as an opportunity to show that I have what it takes, and that I can do this. It was probably the best thing for me. I learned how to be a good student and graduated with honors. I also made friends for life.”

On the Dominica campus, Dr. Whyne took advantage of the island’s natural wonders, together with fellow students, by hiking up to Boiling Lake, going fishing, and more. He also played hockey, football and other sports.

When one of Dr. Whyne’s friends from MERP found himself on the same rotations, they became roommates, and shared expenses and experiences throughout much of the clinical segment of their medical education.

Dr. Whyne is looking forward to a career in family medicine, “maybe starting as part of a group practice,” he said.

2015 is going to be a pretty exciting year for Candice Todd, MD. Not only did she match into what she describes as a “world-famous” residency program at University of Toronto, but she’s getting married in just a few months.

Candice Todd (above), a 2014 RUSM graduate, grabbed a neurology residency at University of Toronto through the 2015 CaRMS Match.

The only twist is that this recent Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) graduate has to miss her graduation ceremony this year. “Because it’s the same day as my wedding,” laughs the Guelph native, who wrapped up studies at RUSM in late 2014. Todd matched in neurology at University of Toronto in the first iteration of the 2015 Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS), grabbing one of two spots dedicated to international medical school graduates. She was one of three thousand applicants to vie for the spot, she says.

Go here to see where else our Canadian grads earned residencies through the CaRMS Match.

Heading Right Back Home for Residency

It’s safe to say she’s pleased—and a bit surprised.

“At U of T, they only interview 13 people [for the neurology program],” she says. “You can understand why I’m very, very shocked about being accepted—I applied through CaRMS thinking I wouldn’t even get an interview there, much less be sitting here right now as a PGY-1 neurology resident.”

The idea, she says, was always to stay close to home during residency. “I didn’t know I’d be this close,” she says. “I’d mentally prepared for the US match, but I’m so excited to stay home in Canada.”

Family Ties Brought Her to Medical School

Her uncle, a physician, served as a mentor of sorts, but Todd’s grandfather was what really drove her toward an interest in medicine.

“My grandfather was really ill,” she says. “He’s someone who was close to me, and I wanted to learn more about his illness.” Her grandfather had chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), a condition that she didn’t know much about at the time.

“I ended up really immersing myself in researching medicine to try and figure out what I could have done—had I been a physician—to provide better care for him,” she says.

Ultimately, her grandfather passed away from pneumonia. But Todd's interest in medicine lingered. “It was that interest in the pathogenesis of respiratory illnesses, the interest in why he had to go for lab tests and how they worked—that’s what really pulled me toward the idea of being a doctor,” she says.

"You really focus on your schooling and education, and [Ross] teaches you a real respect for the field. And sometimes, I do miss waking up and wearing shorts every day."

Candice Todd, '14 RUSM graduate, on how how RUSM "immerses" you in the study of medicine

“Ross Will Test Your Resilience”

On attending a Caribbean medical school like RUSM, she says, she gives one piece of advice: "You really have to want it."

"Ross will test your resilience, your love for the field,” she says. “You have to be 100% committed to becoming a physician."

Supported by what she described as “amazing faculty” and a group of medical school peers who all had exactly the same endgame in mind—earning their Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees—Todd says that RUSM’s campus environment “immerses” you in the study of medicine.

“It’s sort of a bubble,” she says. “You really focus on your schooling and education, and it teaches you a real respect for the field,” she says. “And sometimes, I do miss waking up and wearing shorts every day.”

An “Awesome” Experience During Clinicals

After completing the Foundations of Medicine (basic sciences) curriculum, Todd headed to the United States to start her clinical rotations. She completed her “cores” in Chicago, Ill., at Norwegian American Hospital; elective rotations took place back in her home country of Canada.
Her experience at Norwegian, she says, was a particularly memorable one.

“That was an awesome clerkship year,” she says. “[Norwegian is] a great hospital—there aren’t any residents there, so it’s really almost like you’re a resident,” she says. “And the city [of Chicago] is amazing.”

Dr. Todd (above, right) and her husband-to-be, Rami Aziz (left). Their wedding is set for May 30, 2015—the same day as RUSM's 2015 graduation ceremony..

Thoughts on Future Careers in Medicine

Though she has some time to decide, Todd is already thinking of her next career steps. Ideally, she’d like to come back home to Guelph to practice neurology, possibly while researching cognitive disorders on the side.

“I earned my master’s degree before medical school, so I have a love of academic research,” she says.

But she has time, and a wedding to hold, before any of that happens. And when that wedding happens, RUSM will be represented—even though she won’t be able to make it to graduation.

“I made best friends for life at Ross,” she says. “Some of them are bridesmaids for the wedding.”

 

Dean Joseph A. Flaherty, MD

By Joseph A. Flaherty, MD
Dean and Chancellor, Ross University School of Medicine

There is a growing anti-science attitude by the public that could have dire consequences for public health. Some of these issues have captured today’s headlines. For example, the recent measles outbreak was caused by some people’s refusal to vaccinate against the disease, despite irrefutable medical and historical evidence proving their efficacy and safety. (To read about my take on vaccines, check out my recent blog post on the topic.)

The public’s desire to believe in pseudoscience and panaceas can also be seen by the volume in which they rely on dubious dietary supplements that claim to do everything from improving memory to promoting weight loss. This was exposed last month when New York State’s attorney general ordered four major retailers to cease and desist from selling store-brand herbal supplements.

An investigation had found that most of the products did not contain the ingredients listed on the labels, yet did contain other ingredients that weren’t listed, some of which could prove harmful to people with allergies, or when taken in combination with certain medications. Supplements are not regulated as strictly as prescription medications. Whether or not the supplements had the effects they advertised was not even part of the discussion.

Defining the Physician's Role in Educating Patients

What is the physician’s role and responsibility to his or her patient when it comes to these issues? As a doctor, and as the dean and chancellor of a medical school, I feel that there is an urgent need for us to answer these questions. When I was beginning my medical career, hospitals would educate doctors on how to educate their patients. If you were in pediatrics, you had a well-baby clinic once-a-week for a scheduled visit. You asked, how’s the baby doing? You listened to the parents’ concerns and advised them. Gradually, you educated them about things like vaccination.

Over the years, public sentiment has shifted, and the anti-science attitude, dating back centuries (Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church for daring to suggest the sun may not rotate around the earth but vice versa) has spawned all kinds of “deniers.” There have been AIDS deniers, climate-change deniers, and now we have vaccination deniers. The search for panaceas has been ubiquitous across time and space; we have always had snake-oil salespeople, and gullible men and women who clamor to purchase their potions and pills.

"An Epidemic of Misinformation"

I think that what we’re seeing now is a lag between real patient education and the public’s desire to be partners with their physicians. The information explosion on the Internet seems to be resulting in an epidemic of misinformation. Add to this the American tradition of independence, of feeling that we can do what we want and no one can tell us otherwise, and the result is that people may go online and only read sites that reinforce their own views. They may fall prey to fear-mongering, in the case of vaccines, and magical, wishful thinking in the case of some supplements.

There is a complexity to science that is not only difficult to present but another cause of concern from the public. Forty years ago, doctors told patients a high-fat diet was the cause of the growing incidence of heart disease in the United States. This has been modified so many times with the introduction of terms such as good and bad fatty acids and by identifying carbohydrates as the main factor common to a metabolic syndrome central to heart disease and type 2 diabetes. However to scientists, this evolution is consistent with good hypotheses-testing and theory-building that advances the field. To the lay person wanting concrete answers, it causes lack of confidence in the medical profession.

Doctors have to educate their patients and to routinely inquire about any dietary supplements that they’re taking. In the current climate of anti-science and pseudo-science, we need to raise our voices in educating patients from the perspective of medical science and its ever-changing findings.

As our next group of graduates prepares for the 2015 Match—slated for March 20 this year—please take a few moments to recognize the many RUSM graduates who, last year, earned chief residency spots during their 2014-2015 training. Chief residents, who are generally appointed by the program director of a given residency program, are entrusted with developing clinical rotation schedules, performing administrative duties, and supervising junior residents, among other responsibilities.

Family Medicine Chief Residents

• Namita Bhardwaj, MD: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Family & Community Medicine
• Alexander Gelou, MD: Southern Regional AHEC Family Medicine Residency
• Erin James, MD: The University of Tennessee Health Science Center/Saint Francis Family Medicine Residency
• Joan Medina, MD: CentraState Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program
• Richard Pigg, MD: University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga
• Helena Russell, MD: University of Nevada School of Medicine
• Jay St. John, MD: Methodist Health System

Internal Medicine Chief Residents

• Christine Charaf, MD: Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
• Jennifer LaCoss, MD: The University of Oklahoma at Tulsa School of Community Medicine
• Christina Lanza, MD: The University of Oklahoma at Tulsa School of Community Medicine
• Michael Marsh, MD: Roger Williams Medical Center
• Boris Shkolnik, MD: Albany Medical College

Neurology

• Pedro Oliveira, MD: Medical College of Wisconsin

Psychiatry

• Julia DiPierdomenico, MD: University of Arizona
• Fatima Kasiah, MD: Morehouse School of Medicine
• Rubby Saini, MD: East Carolina University

Congratulations to all of the Ross University School of Medicine graduates who earned residencies through the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP) this year. For most medical school students, Match Week is the culmination not only of a lengthy and competitive application process, but also of the lifelong dream of becoming a physician—a dream all of our graduates share. You earned this.

“I’m of course proud of our graduates, but I’m not surprised by their success,” says Joseph A. Flaherty, MD, Dean and Chancellor of RUSM. “Our students all possess a rare mix of intelligence, ambition, and tenacity—traits that will serve them well as they embark on their careers in medicine.”

Residency, though still considered a training period, marks a medical school graduate’s first real step into the physician workforce. Under supervision from attending physicians, new residents spend most of their time training in their matched teaching hospitals, gaining in-depth, hands-on working knowledge of their chosen medical discipline, whether it’s internal medicine, surgery, or pediatrics.

This year, more residency spots—30,000+—were available through the NRMP than ever before. Half of the added 600 residency spots were in family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics specialties.

The NRMP notified all candidates Monday, 3/16, whether or not they’d actually matched. For those who did, this week has been a waiting game—until today—to find out where, and in which programs. And today, RUSM graduates logged in to the NRMP database to see where they’d matched.

Matched RUSM grads will begin residency training in July 2015. Now, though, it’s a time to celebrate. Tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, newly minted residents from RUSM will join family, friends, and fellow matches in New York, Chicago, and Miami to come together and reflect on what they’ve accomplished.

Keep checking back in the coming weeks for more information.

Jairo Espinosa (above), slated to graduate RUSM in May 2015, just landed a surgery residency at Western Michigan University.

Shortly after attending the Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) Match Celebration in New York on March 21, Jairo Espinosa, who is scheduled to graduate in May, plans to do some traveling. Completing his last clinical clerkship had been “very, very surreal,” he said. “It was a crazy feeling.”

After all, he had been working so hard since enrolling in medical school, with barely a break. “I like to plan ahead,” he said, and so he made the arrangements for a month-long trip to Europe and Asia, right after learning where he had matched, and before he was to begin the residency. Jairo landed a surgery residency at Western Michigan University.

“I’m interested in general surgery with a specialization in plastic surgery,” he said. “I appreciate the aspect of being the treatment as a surgeon, of being the last line of defense, and being everything you can be for a patient.” Specializing in plastic surgery is also “a lifestyle choice” for Jairo, who feels that a career in that field would afford him more family time. He said he would like to practice in Florida.

Jairo is nostalgic about his time in Dominica while studying the Foundations of Medicine portion of the curriculum. “It was unique,” he said. “My experience in Dominica is something that I would never want to give up. It truly made me into the person I am today. It was a priceless experience that I feel that I was very blessed to have.” He was active in several student sports groups, playing intramural soccer, football, volleyball and softball.

Born in New Jersey, the 27-year-old spent part of his childhood in Colombia. Relatives from Colombia will be attending his RUSM graduation, together with about 20 other family members. “I’m really thankful to RUSM for the opportunity,” he said. “I was determined to be the best.”

Marcella Perez (above), set to graduate in May 2015, matched into the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School's Family Medicine Program.

Marcella Perez, set to graduate in May 2015 from Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM), plans to bring 25 family members to the commencement ceremony in Coral Gables, Florida. She was born and raised in New Jersey, and some relatives are coming from there, some from Tampa, and some from as far away as Colombia.

And after Perez's successful Match today—at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School's Family Medicine Program, her first choice—she and her family have even more to celebrate.

She earned her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, with a major in biomedical engineering and it was always her dream to become a physician. While she was always a good student, she said that her MCAT scores were disappointing, even after two attempts. RUSM gave her an opportunity to enroll and she proved that she was, indeed, a good student, achieving a high GPA and doing well on the United States Medical Licensing Examination® Step exams. “When you have a passion for the material you study, you’re able to do well,” she said.

While on the Dominica campus for the Foundations of Medicine portion of her medical education, Marcella explored the various areas of the profession by joining the student clubs devoted to pediatrics, ob-gyn, and surgery. “I had a great time on the island, hiking and exploring. I miss Dominica,” she said. “I got to participate in community clinics and that was really rewarding,” she noted. “It made me feel really good about why I chose to go into medicine.”

But it was not until Marcella did her second clinical rotation that she knew for sure what area she wanted to pursue. ”When I did my family medicine rotation, I fell in love. Being able to see patients of all ages, and being able to manage a wide variety of medical conditions is really special to family medicine,” she said. “I have a lot of different interests, and that’s one of the reasons I chose family medicine. Within the specialty I can strengthen my areas of interest such as women’s health and geriatrics, while still being a primary care physician and providing care in underserved areas.”

Meredith Austin-Appleton (above) recently matched into her favorite pediatrics residency program back home in Canada.

Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) student Meredith Austin-Appleton, slated to graduate toward the end of March 2015, had convinced herself of one thing early on: Though she wanted to return to her home country of Canada for residency training, she’d be perfectly happy matching for residency in the United States.

It had to be pediatrics, though.

“I always knew I was going to work with children. Pediatrics was my first choice—really my only choice—for residency long before I started medical school,” Austin-Appleton says. “But I’d heard how difficult it was to get a spot in a pediatric residency program back in Canada, and I knew there hadn’t been a match there [from RUSM] in pediatrics for years.”

This year, she says, there were only 13 pediatric residency spots—total—in all of Ontario for international medical graduates (IMGs).  

Applying to Residencies in Both the US and Canada

So Austin-Appleton went through the residency application process, scoring interviews in both Canada and the US for various pediatrics programs. “I’d interviewed at some places in the US that I really liked, and would have been happy at—there, I had a clear idea of what my top program was. But in Canada, I had a very tough time making my rank list,” she says. “I loved them all.”

Her favorite, she says, was McMaster University’s pediatrics program.

On March 4th, 2015—Match Day for those seeking Canadian residencies—Austin-Appleton logged onto the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) to see what was in store for her.

“I’m Still Waiting to Wake Up From This Dream”

She’d matched at McMaster. According to McMaster University’s website, only 13 recent med school graduates were invited to the pediatrics program this year, and she was one of them. Only 4 of those spots at McMaster were dedicated to international medical graduates.

“I’m still in disbelief,” she says. “It wasn’t until I matched at McMaster that I realized how much I really wanted to return to train in Ontario. It’s one of those feelings that seems too good to be true—hence my feeling of disbelief! I’m still waiting to wake up from this dream.”

RUSM Gave Her Opportunity

Austin-Appleton credits RUSM both for guiding her through the residency process and for preparing her for success on the United States Medical Licensing Examination^® (USMLE). In particular, she singles out Tom Harkness and Chuck Furey, RUSM’s Canadian advisors, for their support. “They’ve been amazing through the whole process,” she says. “Since starting down on the island, they’ve guided us through what steps we needed to take to give ourselves the best chance of matching in Canada.”

Her experience with clinical rotations in the US—at Central Michigan University, in Saginaw, Mich.—was “wonderful,” she says. Even better: She was able to pursue elective rotations back home in Canada, at Western University for pediatric genetics and at Dalhousie University for pediatric endocrinology.

As for the future? Austin-Appleton isn’t sure yet. “I’m considering a fellowship in critical care or emergency medicine,” she says. “But at this point, all doors are open.”

Katie Angelova (left), set to graduate from RUSM at the end of March 2015, matched in psychiatry this year at Richmond University Medical Center, New York. She attended a recent Match reception, held by RUSM, with guest and third-year clinical student Nick Suraci (right).

It’s Saturday night on March 21, less than 24 hours after Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) students learned where they matched for residencies across the United States. At the Pier Sixty waterfront banquet hall in New York City, scores of RUSM students are chatting, cheering, hugging.

Some guests hover by real-time video-linked monitors—installed so students could connect with peers and friends in Illinois and Florida at separate Match receptions—waving to friends hundreds of miles away. Others pose for photos, snack on hors d’oeuvres, and swap stories about how they’d reacted to the good news they received on Friday.

Check out our Match Madness photo gallery on Facebook.

At about the 8:15 PM mark, William Lynn Weaver, MD— Interim Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Sciences—steps to the microphone and starts chanting three words: We are Ross. It takes a few seconds, but slowly, guests stop what they’re doing and join in.

The chanting quiets down. “This is the first step,” Dr. Weaver says. “We want you to be extremely successful, and happy, in what you’re doing.”

RUSM Students, Graduates React to Residency Match

Given the mood at Saturday’s event, there was no shortage of happiness that night.

“I was jumping up and down,” said David Maldow of his initial reaction to learning he matched in radiology at University of Rochester Medical Center in New York—his first choice. “RUSM gave me every opportunity to succeed, and I did—and I’m very, very thankful.”

Alisa Coleman had similar words. “I couldn’t be more excited,” says the RUSM student, who is set to graduate in May 2015. “I’m really proud of all of us.” Coleman also received her first choice in residency, a psychiatry spot at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital.

Simon Tiu, MD (above, left), landed a preliminary surgery residency at LSU School of Medicine, New Orleans. Dr. Tiu is pictured with William Lynn Weaver (right), MD, FACS, RUSM Interim Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Sciences.

"I Looked at My Phone and Was Speechless"

It was my number one choice was a fairly common refrain that night. Asif Uddin, MD, who graduated RUSM in November 2014, earned his #1 choice for residency at Kansas University Medical Center in psychiatry/internal medicine.

“I was ecstatic,” Dr. Uddin said. “More in shock than anything.”

The same, perhaps, could be said of November 2014 graduate Simon Tiu, MD, when he learned that had landed his first-choice residency in preliminary surgery at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans.

“I looked at my phone and was speechless,” he said. “I didn’t know what to think. I’m super stoked, and proud to be a RUSM graduate.”

For Katie Angelova, who will graduate from RUSM at the end of March, successfully matching signified the end of one leg of her journey—and she’s excited to begin the next part. Angelova matched in psychiatry at Richmond University Medical Center, NY.

“The first thing that crossed my mind [when I matched] was that I’ll finally see a paycheck for the first time in years,” she laughed. “Then the excitement came.”

“To RUSM, I just want to say thank you,” she added. “They really got us where we needed to be.”

Dr. Paula Wales (above, from left), RUSM Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs, and students Anil Rathi and Christie Cherion, who both matched for residencies this year.

Celebrations were held in Miami, New York and Chicago on March 21 to applaud the achievements of Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) graduates who matched into residency programs this year. Hosted by the school and attended by Dean and Chancellor Joseph Flaherty, MD, in Miami, and by his Cabinet members, who were dispersed throughout the locations, the events drew throngs of students, graduates, and guests. The festivities in the three cities were linked electronically by video.

“It was truly heartwarming to share in this joyous moment with hundreds of happy graduates, friends, family, and RUSM colleagues,” said Dean Flaherty.

Anil Rathi, who matched in internal medicine (categorical) at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, said that he was excited to be headed to NY. “RUSM prepared me well,” he added.

Yeissen and Linda Godinez were successful in attaining residencies through the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP) couples’ match, both in internal medicine, he at Kendall Regional and she at Cleveland Clinic Florida. The couple met in Miami before deciding to enroll in RUSM together. Yeissen said they were happy that “we get to stay home” to do their residencies.

Christie Cherian matched in pediatrics at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga.  “I’m super excited,” she said. “All the years of hard work really paid off.” 

Keep checking the RUSM blog for the latest news on Match results, residency locations/specialties, and more!Read more blog entries here. 

January 2015 RUSM graduate Sisi Li (above) matched into her first choice for residency: University of Toronto's family medicine program.

For January 2015 graduate Sisi Li—like many of her classmates at Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM)—the seeds that would ultimately grow into a calling to practice medicine were planted early in life, when she was still a young child. But unlike other RUSM graduates, her path to practice didn’t start with toy stethoscopes or stuffed animals standing in for patients.

Instead, it started with her hearing two tragic stories that impacted her family before she was ever born—stories that affected her more than she knew at the time.

“When I was about 6 or 7 years old, I learned that my father and grandfather had both lost younger siblings very early in life from childhood accidents–one in a drowning, and the other in a choking episode,” she says.

Those lives, she says, didn’t have to end that way; if anyone in those situations had even the most basic knowledge of CPR or the Heimlich maneuver, things could have been different.

“I knew, from then on, that medicine—with its ability to affect such great change in the lives
of others, particularly in their greatest moments of need—was what I wanted to pursue with my life,” she says.

After Matching, Li Is Heading Back Home to Canada for Residency

In March 2015, after four years as a RUSM student, Li logged in to the Canada Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)—along with hundreds of Canadian medical school students hoping for their first choice in residency—to see how she’d fared in the Canadian match. In the years before this, she’d completed the Foundations of Medicine (basic sciences) program in Dominica and completed her clinical years in the United States and Canada.

Would her hard work pay off?

“Everything boiled down to that one moment, she says. “My hands were shaking. I’m fairly certain I was hyperventilating.”

She’d matched. University of Toronto, family medicine. Her first choice.

“After seeing that I had matched to my number one choice, I basically dissolved into a crying, hysterical and elated mess,” Li says. “Matching back home has been my goal since starting at RUSM—going to Dominica, and then bouncing across North America over the last four years, has really reinforced how important my family and friends are to me.”

In July 2015, Li will start her residency back in Ontario, close to her family, friends, and her fiancé, who just earned his MBA.

What She Learned at Ross—About Medicine, and About Herself

When starting medical school, Li knew going in that her primary focus would be primary care.

“The personal patient interactions, continuity of care—those were the things that I really valued as I thought about my future career plans,” she says. Through clinical rotations, Li was exposed to some “truly great” programs and specialties that, ultimately, she would have been very happy pursuing.

“But when I sat down to make a rank order list—when I really started thinking about what I wanted with my career in medicine—the ability to provide comprehensive care to such diverse patient populations was what made me ultimately select family medicine,” she says.

Picking her top choice of residency program, she says, was a much easier decision.

“Not only would I be close to home,” she says, “but I’d also be able to join the ranks of the largest family medicine training program in North America, training in some of the best academic and community hospitals in Canada.”

Li learned more at RUSM than just what specialty she wanted to practice in, she says. She learned perseverance and determination—qualities she says will serve her well in residency training. RUSM taught her to be resourceful, to be prepared to handle anything that comes at her in the field of medicine. And she learned that every other student on that island was in the same boat as her, that everyone was in this together.

“Since my first day on the island, I’ve been overwhelmed with the incredible sense of student camaraderie and support,” she says. “Students are happy to do whatever they possibly can to help each other out, which I think is a fantastic attitude to carry with you in your career.”

Through giving back to the school—by serving as a peer tutor and neuroscience teaching assistant while at RUSM—she even discovered she had a hidden passion for teaching.

“I’m very keen to be able to incorporate teaching into my future practice while working closely with medical students and residents,” she says.

On the immediate future? “I’m keeping a very open mind as I approach residency training,” she says. Options include possibly pursuing fellowship training in academic family medicine or obstetrics/women’s health.

But for now, four years after enrolling at RUSM, Sisi Li is going home for her next big step toward the practice of medicine.

We're close to finalizing our complete list of residencies for 2015. Please check our residency page regularly in the coming days!

Drs. Jim Tysinger, seated left, Maureen Hall, and Jim Grogan. Standing: Drs. Stan White and Alison Dobbie.

“The theme was Supporting Student Success—and that’s exactly what the event was all about!” said Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) Dean and Chancellor Joseph A. Flaherty, MD. The event that Dean Flaherty's referring to was the Education Summit and Clinical Track Fair, held on RUSM’s Dominica campus on March 26 and 27.

“Our clinical chairs, deans and program directors, and basic science colleagues collaborated throughout, in the lectures, discussions, workshops and meetings," Dr. Flaherty said. After the meetings, the educators made themselves available to students at the Clinical Track Fair.

Want to learn more about RUSM's single-location clinical tracks? Check out this related post.

Presenters Speak About Constant Improvement, Preparing for Practice

Interim Senior Associate Campus Dean Dr. Stan Whiteset the tone in his welcoming remarks when he asserted that RUSM’s effort is “not just about helping struggling students; it’s about equipping all our students to do better.” He thanked Maureen Hall, MD, Interim Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, and Jim Grogan, PhD, Associate Dean of Curriculum, for putting together an exciting and interactive program for the faculty and visiting clinical colleagues.

Plenary Speaker Jim Tysinger, PhD, a professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) in San Antonio, delivered a presentation on the topic of advising students and teaching them how to apply study skills and learning strategies to improve their performance and outcomes. “It’s not just a question of passing the exam, but of preparing for practice,” Tysinger said.

Awards Given to RUSM Basic Sciences and Clinical Faculty

A summit highlight was the faculty recognition awards presentation. For academic leadership, the award was given to Dr. Louise Hawley, Professor and Chair of Microbiology, who was retiring after 12 years at RUSM. For clinical curriculum development, the award went to Dr. Hedda Dyer, for her work with the community clinics’ program, Princess Margaret Hospital, and the Infirmary for the elderly. Dr. Valarie Thomas, Center for Teaching and Learning, received the award for student support. For module leadership, the award went to Dr. Mary Moore.

RUSM student Keely Johnson with Robert Dean, MD, RUSM clerkship director for OB/GYN.

The Clinical Track Fair attracted a large number of students. They had opportunities to hear from the clinical chairs, and others, including Vice Dean Peter Goetz and Gary Belotzerkovsky, Assistant Dean, Clinical Student Affairs. Students were able to get expert advice, and to have their individual questions answered.

“This was incredibly useful,” said Keely Johnson, a third-semester RUSM student who made the rounds of all the information tables, listened intently, took notes and asked questions. “I’m interested in international medicine. I kind of have an idea of what I want to do and where I want to go,” she said. “I would like to have an OB/GYN practice in California.”

 

We're very proud to announce that more than 800 Ross University School of Medicine graduates earned residency appointments in 2015. Our alumni earned residencies in very competitive specialties—like ophthalmology, neurology, and surgery—while also obtaining placements in primary care programs, like internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine. With our new residency total, we’ve broken institutional records for the second year in a row.

According to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), 2015 marked the largest residency match in history. More than 41,000 applicants registered for residency training programs across the country, with more than 27,000 first-year positions available.

Check out the full residency list here, or read about some of the students who matched on our blog.

He already knew where he’d matched for his internal medicine residency: at his first-choice pick of Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ. So for Michael McEntee, MD, a 2014 Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) graduate, the congratulatory phone call he got from Overlook’s residency program coordinator later that day was just the icing on the cake.

“It was fantastic,” says Dr. McEntee, who was able to recall exactly when he got that phone call—shortly after 2 PM on Friday, March 20, 2015 (Match Day), just after he’d gotten back from work. “She [the coordinator] heard the elation in my voice—she said that they [Overlook] always know, after they hear how excited a new resident is, that they chose the right person for that residency program.”

Overlook Medical Center is just about 30 miles away from his hometown of North Brunswick, NJ.

“Ever since I enrolled, I knew that I was trying to match to a residency in New Jersey, to be close to home,” he says.

“Everything Happens for a Reason”

Interestingly, Dr. McEntee started out his medical career caring not for humans, but for their animal companions. He’d always been a science-minded student while pursuing his undergraduate at Rutgers University, but—speaking candidly—he “never really expected to go as far as getting my medical degree.”

“My MCAT scores were fine, but my GPA wasn’t the greatest,” he says. “And I remember getting a lot of flak from counselors at Rutgers when I was speaking with them about attending medical school. They though it was an unattainable goal…were pushing me in a different direction.”

Try our online Admissions Assessment Tool to see if your GPA and MCAT are a fit for RUSM. It only takes a minute!

As it turned out, Dr. McEntee found work—both during and after his time at Rutgers, from which he graduated in 2009—as a veterinary technician. “And the more I worked there, the more I enjoyed the clinical aspect of medicine,” he says. As it turned out, he ended up injuring his hand in 2011 (a severed tendon), which meant he needed to take some time off from work for rehabilitation.

“That’s what kind of spurred me to apply,” he says, thoughtfully. “Everything happens for a reason, right?”

Dr. McEntee, while still an undergrad at Rutgers, had noticed RUSM posters hanging up around campus, and—perhaps recalling what his counselors had told him—decided to submit his application.

RUSM regularly holds live Information Seminar events throughout the US and Canada. Go here to see where we're holding our next event and to sign up.

“Ross was the only school that I applied to,” he says. “I was just happy to have the opportunity.”

The process moved quickly—he’d interviewed in September 2010, was accepted a month later in October, and soon landed on the island of Dominica in January 2011 to start RUSM’s Foundations of Medicine (basic sciences) curriculum.

The Transition to Life in Dominica

Getting used to island life, he says, was something of an interesting transition—one that ended up benefiting him in the long run. “It was total culture shock,” he says. “I’d never been out of the states by myself before. When I first landed, I considered going home.”

He’s glad he didn’t. “Without a doubt, it’s something that has shaped who I am in a huge way—not just in my career, but how I interact with people on a daily basis,” he says of his time on the island. “I’m a better person all around—I’m calmer, I’m nicer, I’m more accepting. I’m just better. It’s strengthened me, given me real resolve, and makes me feel like I can handle any situation that’s put in front of me.”

Want to get an idea of what island life is like? Check out image galleries at our Pinterest page.

RUSM’s organ systems-based curriculum—an approach to teaching that organizes courses by systems within the body, enabling students to see how these systems work together—served as the “backbone” of his education on the technologically advanced RUSM campus in Dominica, he says.

“I think it prepared us as well as any other students, and I’ve rotated with groups of American medical school students, plus students who went to DO schools,” he says. “I never felt like I was outdone, never felt there was a piece of education I didn’t have. In fact, many times I felt like I was more prepared.”

US Clinical Rotations—Close to Home

After completing his Foundations of Medicine coursework, Dr. McEntee left Dominica and flew back to the United States for clinical rotations. He participated in what RUSM calls “tracked” clinical rotations, meaning he was able to complete all of his core rotations at hospitals in New York, within the same general geographic area. In Dr. McEntee’s case,  he completed every core rotation—save pediatrics—at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, NY. “They were absolutely great to me,” says Dr. McEntee of that hospital.  He was able to stay in New York for most of his elective rotations, too.

Given that the clinical side of medicine had appealed to him during his time as a vet tech, undergoing rotations in the US was an exciting, brave new world for Dr. McEntee. “It’s about showing you have the knowledge base to work, in a productive manner, as a member of a healthcare team,” he says. “In clinicals, they’ll let you go as far as you can.”

Though RUSM students generally get hands-on patient experience during their first few weeks on the island, clinical rotations take things to the next level. “You’ll do suturing, grand rounds…there’s a lot more,” he says. “If you’re spending a lot of face-time with the residents there and are showing the drive to learn, they’ll let you help in simple surgical procedures, hold tools, help close surgical sites, place central lines, teach you how to intubate—you name it, I’ve probably done it.”

Dr. McEntee credits RUSM’s clinical team, particularly Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Gary Belotzerkovsky, for supporting him every step of the way during his clinical experience.

“They went above and beyond to try and make everyone get exactly what they wanted,” he says of the team. “In fact, Gary personally helped me schedule one of my elective rotations. There was never a time that I felt someone wasn’t there either actively trying to address an issue or working on that issue and keeping us updated.”

A Successful Residency Match for McEntee

When he was devising his rank list—applicants need to submit a list of their preferred residency programs to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) after they register for the residency match—McEntee knew he’d be happy matching at any of the five programs he listed. Getting his top choice, he says, made him even happier.

“I’ve heard from my friends that [getting] your #1 or #2 [choice] is the norm,” he says.

Though he enjoyed all of the specialties he rotated through during his clinical years, there was something about internal medicine that he found fascinating. This factored in to his residency decision. “Internal medicine allows you to see a broad array of cases, but it’s also a lot more thought-process-involved,” he says. “You’ll get a lot of in-depth cases where you’re thinking about complicated pathologies, and it would allow me to seek a fellowship afterward.”

That fellowship, he says, would likely be in pulmonary and critical care, an area of medicine he became interested in when his mother was diagnosed with an “obscure form of pneumonia”, something physicians had been unable to fully diagnose at the time.

“I spent a lot of time in the ICU with her,” he says. “Just seeing how the ICU worked, the intricacies of her care—it really sparked an interest in me.”

For now, though, Dr. McEntee is happy to start the latest part of his path to practice.

“Ross provides you with an opportunity that a lot of other places may not give you,” he says. “And you can go as far as you’re willing to take yourself. As long as you’re willing to put in the work, there’s nothing you’ll need that Ross can’t provide.”

Parents of prospective Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) have written in to us, asking if we could create a resource just for them—a place on the web that has everything they need to know about RUSM, all in one place. And we take these requests seriously. After all, we realize that medical school is a major commitment—for many who come to RUSM, pursuing a medical degree is a family affair, with the student drawing inspiration and encouragement from their family back home.

Well, we listened. We’re proud to introduce the RUSM Guide for Parents—a comprehensive set of web pages that take a closer look at our institutional outcomes, campus and culture, mission, and curriculum. This section shines a spotlight on how our medical school works, the quality of education we provide, our US clinical program, and our basic sciences campus in Dominica. Not only that, but we’ll share a few special facts about attending medical school at RUSM that might just surprise you.

Check out the RUSM Guide for Parents here.