For Joseph Sadler, MD, a physician affiliated with Crockett Hospital in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., the decision to attend American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine (AUC) opened up doors to multiple opportunities—and ultimately allowed him to pursue his dream of becoming a pediatrician. One of these opportunities, he says, was the chance to undergo clinical rotations in the United Kingdom.
“I loved going to the UK to learn about another national healthcare system,” says the 2009 AUC grad. “Every spending decision you make is highly scrutinized, so you learn to think hard and make a strong case before you act.” This experience helped Sadler to stand out from other candidates during job interviews, he says. “I was often asked about my time in the UK. You don’t really get to develop that knowledge attending US medical schools.”
A Medical School That Emphasizes Collaboration
Another benefit to attending AUC, says Sadler, is that the school's culture emphasizes collaboration, not competition with his fellow medical school students. This allowed him to pursue interests he might have had to forego at a U.S. medical school. “At AUC, you aren’t gunning to be better than everyone else,” he says. “You’re trying to be the best you can be.”
For Sadler, this personal best included participating in student government, and representing the student voice at AUC board meetings in Miami.
Matching at His Top Choice for Residency
Although these obligations resulted in his extending his education by a semester, that decision turned out to be another blessing in disguise. Being out of lockstep with the typical residency schedule afforded him extra time to research residencies. As a result, he was matched by his top choice: the University of Oklahoma.
Like many AUC alumni, Sadler's decision to attend AUC was a leap of faith that paid off. “I always wanted to be a pediatrician, as it allows me to establish long-term relationship with my patients,” he says. “Now, I’m working in a small town south of Nashville where there’s a massive Amish population and a farm close by where people come from all over the country to have their babies delivered. There are only three pediatricians in town, so I really get to know my patients over time.”
