ACSOM

[Highlander455]

Looks like the new American Canadian School of Medicine is starting up in September 2023 on Dominica in the old Ross campus. Not seen anything on this so far on SDN, so thought I'd post this as a FYI.

To be clear, with no track record, its high risk, and I'm not suggesting it, just noting its launch.

Caribbean Medical School | ACSOM (American Canadian School of Medicine)

Caribbean Medical School - ACSOM. Merging American and Canadian educational principles, we offer superior medical education for future healthcare leaders.

www.acsom.edu.dm

American Canadian School of Medicine to begin operations in September - Dominica News Online

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has announced that the American Canadian School of Medicine (ACSOM) will begin operations in Dominica in September this year. He made the disclosure during a press conference on Wednesday. Site visitors from the International Agency for...

dominicanewsonline.com

I cant find any indication of where they do clinical rotations.

Interestingly it is accredited by IAAR which was WFME approved in June 2023, meaning grads could apply for residency in US post 2024.

Accreditation | ACSOM Caribbean Medical School

Learn about the accreditation status of Caribbean Medical School and our commitment to quality medical education.

www.acsom.edu.dm

НААР / IAAR

iaar.agency

https://wfme.org/download/list-agencies-recognition-status-applying/?wpdmdl=1936&refresh=6498beba7e9e01687731898%27%3EDownload%3C/a%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3C/div%3E%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3C/div%3E%20%20%20%20%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E

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[Gambino.]

Read their "residency money back guarantee" lmfao.

You must have applied to the NRMP 3 times with 25 within 36 months of graduating. Better than nothing I guess but the real kicker is "This guarantee is subject to change at any time, and the Medical School reserves the right to modify or terminate the guarantee at its discretion without notice to you."

So it isn't really a guarantee if they can choose to rescind it at any time for any reason.

 

[stethan]

The guarantee is a big enough red flag in my opinion.

 

[TopNepNep]

American Canadian

Well we know who the target market are just from the name

 

[stethan]

Well we know who the target market are just from the name

That's quite the name.

 

[KatD]

They are starting in September with "approximately" 50 students.

 

[stethan]

They are starting in September with "approximately" 50 students.

Is this posted somewhere? I am curious to know where most of their students may be from. Typically, with a name like that, they may have quite a large non-US student population.

 

[Highlander455]

Is this posted somewhere? I am curious to know where most of their students may be from. Typically, with a name like that, they may have quite a large non-US student population.

50 is mentioned here:

American Canadian School of Medicine to begin operations in September - Dominica News Online

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has announced that the American Canadian School of Medicine (ACSOM) will begin operations in Dominica in September this year. He made the disclosure during a press conference on Wednesday. Site visitors from the International Agency for...

dominicanewsonline.com

 

[KatD]

I don't understand why the school would be not for profit. There must be some sort of advantage to that designation, but I can't figure it out.

 

[stethan]

I don't understand why the school would be not for profit. There must be some sort of advantage to that designation, but I can't figure it out.

One advantage is to avoid the unavoidable image of being a "for-profit Caribbean school."In the US, For-profit schools always have a different view than non-profits. Look how Devry and all the other for-profit schools catch heat. Since their primary demographic is clearly American and Canadian, this is likely a marketing ploy, just like their "residency money-back guarantee," which is ridiculous. At the end of the day, it all depends on how successful their students will be.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Regarding profit status, they have set this school up as a "not for profit" which is different than a "nonprofit". A non-profit is the way most charities are set up - their goal is to spend all of their money. Not for profit works just like a regular company - they are trying to make money. But the money needs to flow back into the company, there are no owners who extract value from the company, and no shareholders. Instead there's a board of directors.

It's possible that the guy who started this (who went to Ross) wanted to bring back a school to Dominica, help others like himself and help the island. Could be set up this way so that all income is poured back into the school, and because of that it may become more successful (educationally) than the other schools on the islands.

It's also possible that he set it up this way to get it started. Once it's successful, he'll convert it to a for profit company with himself as the major owner. The laws around this are very complex, but I'm sure it can be done. You can't take out past profits when you do this, but you certainly can take out future profits.

The money-back-guarantee comes with all sorts of caveats. You can't fail out, you must pass S1 and S2 on the first try, you must apply to primary care and fail to match for 3 cycles, and not have any professionalism issues. It's a safe bet for them, because if you do all of those things then you're very likely to get a spot somewhere.

 

[MikoMiko9]

The last update is almost a year old. Is there anyone who is currently a student at ACSOM who can share some deeper insights into the school?