An offshore medical school is a medical school that caters "primarily to foreign (American and Canadian citizens) students, wishing to practice medicine in the US and Canada" according to the World Bank, compared to local schools that focus on their home nation. Such schools are chiefly located in the Caribbean basin, but also includes schools in other locations, such as Mexico (Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara School of Medicine) and Australia (University of Queensland Ochsner program), which run programs that target American students.
Education
Offshore medical schools often specialize in the Medical Doctor degree, while US and Canadian medical schools are often departments of universities that offer several degrees. The curriculum of offshore medical schools in the Caribbean follows the one in US, as they usually only offer two years of basic science study and use teaching hospitals or clinics in US or Canada, sometimes in UK for clinical training.
The teachings often focus on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) certification process, and the measurement of performance is the passing rate of students in the exams. In most schools, passing of the USMLE Step 2 exam is required to graduate and get a M.D. degree.
In most schools, the academic calendar is divided into 3 academic terms per year, with semesters starting in January, May and September. The lack of a summer break offers students a potentially faster route than US medical schools to a degree with a compressed curriculum.
Student body
Caribbean offshore medical schools have less than 5% local students; the rest are mainly from North America. Students are also relatively older than their North America counterparts. As of 2004, the average ages in schools are 27–30 years old, and half of them are nurses, paramedics, physician assistants, etc. on their second career. Whether a school has state board accreditation or is recognized by loan programs appear to have great influence on the number of applicants, and the effect is seen in the size of student body. Between 1993 and 2007, the mean age of first time ECFMG certification exam applicants from Caribbean offshore medical schools was 29.5 years, and 38% of the applicants were female. The passing rate were 57.4% for the USMLE Step 1 but results varies wildly by country.
Accreditation and recognition
There is no central authority for accreditation as rules and regulations in many Caribbean countries differ greatly. CAAM-HP is a local accreditation body, while ACCM, based in Ireland, is invited by some countries to accredit on their behalf.
The Medical Board of California recognizes only four offshore medical schools in the Caribbean as providing medical education that is equivalent to American schools: St. George's University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Medicine, American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Saba University School of Medicine. The California list of recognized schools is used by boards of medicine from several U.S. states (e.g. Colorado, Oregon, Indiana and Tennessee).