LOVE IN PARADISE Is April Carter really a doctor? Is she a lawyer too?!
The third season of 90 Day Fiance: Love In Paradise features a rarity for the 90 Day Fiance franchise: an American cast member who is a medical doctor! Actually, Dr. April Carter says she’s not only a medical doctor, she also has a law school degree!
“I’m a doctor and I specialize in critical care medicine in the hospital,” April says during her intro, after getting out of her Porsche wearing designer stiletto high heels. “There’s nothing more rewarding than making someone well again, seeing them walk out those hospital doors to be with their family. It’s exciting.”
As April introduces herself, we see her greet a receptionist, then suit up in scrubs and a stethoscope to meet with a male patient. April takes the man’s blood pressure. “Keep working out, and I’ll see you back in six months,” she tells him.
Just as viewers are still recovering from watching April’s mad doctoring skills, she drops the bombs about the rest of her rather impressive resume.
But not only am I doctor, I also have my masters degree in healthcare administration as well as a law school degree.
I’m an entrepreneur. I own multiple fitness studios, and I just opened a luxury car business in Dominican Republic — and that’s how I met my boyfriend Valentin.
Wow! So April is a doctor, a lawyer AND an Indian chief a Dominican luxury car dealer?! Well, not exactly.
Is April Carter really a medical doctor?
The answer to this question is “yes.” However, there are some things about Dr. April Carter that haven’t been mentioned on the show.
First, April got her medical degree from a medical school in the Caribbean. She graduated from the University of Medicine and Health Sciences in St. Kitts.
Caribbean medical schools have a bad reputation, and they’re very rarely an American medical student’s first (or second) choice. A common business model for Caribbean medical schools is to lower their entrance requirements dramatically to get students in and paying their high tuition. As a result, it’s much easier to get into them than most medical schools in the United States.
However, getting a medical degree from one of these institutions isn’t necessarily easier or something to be looked down on. There are actually many aspects that can be more difficult — such as living conditions, class sizes, etc.
Given the business model of lowered entrance requirements with the same/similar requirements to graduate, it’s easy to predict the result. Here’s an excerpt from a STAT article titled “Why the United States is no longer turning up its nose at Caribbean medical schools” explaining the conventional Caribbean medical school business model and the potentially devastating results for their students:
There are some 70 medical schools throughout the Caribbean, most of them established in recent decades and run by for-profit businesses that cater to Americans.
These so-called “second chance” schools accept students with poorer grades and lower MCAT scores, or sometimes no MCAT score at all. Compared to American medical schools, their tuition and dropout rates are higher and their class sizes large: Ross enrolls more than 900 students per year.
Graduates can practice medicine in the United States after passing their American medical licensing exams and completing a residency. But the schools have come under fire for generating a stream of students who don’t end up as physicians, but do end up with crushing medical school debt because they flunk out or don’t win residency spots after graduating.
Here’s another great article about Caribbean medical schools from a student at one of them.
April deserves props for not flunking out and actually graduating. And she must have performed well because she was able to get a residency in the United States. She did her residency at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.
What kind of doctor is April, and where does she practice?
Based on April’s intro on 90 Day Fiance: Love In Paradise, she is a doctor specializing in critical care who works at a hospital in Houston, Texas.
Most sites online indicates Dr. April Carter specializes in internal medicine, which can include critical care. A couple sites also describe her as a hospitalist.
Where does April work? Most every physician directory websites (like WebMD) state April has worked in Mississippi and Louisiana. A rather horrible one-star WebMD review of April says she was practicing at North Mississippi Medical Center in West Point in December of 2020.
The “hospital” scene with April featured on Love In Paradise was filmed at a medical office complex in Humble, Texas, which is just north of Houston. From what I could discern via screen caps, the office used for the scene was Dr. Michelle Legall’s Integrity Family Healthcare. Those are Dr. Legall’s diplomas hanging behind April before she enters the examining room.
Judging from the calendar on the receptionist’s desk, the scene was shot in November. Despite being more than six months ago, I couldn’t find any official connection between Dr. April Carter and Integrity Family Healthcare. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one!
April opened a franchise location of a national sauna fitness studio in Houston last year, so it makes sense that she would be spending time there. (We will have more details on Dr. April’s entrepreneurial endeavors in a separate post.)
Is Love In Paradise‘s April Carter a lawyer?
April claims in her intro that she has “a law school degree.” That appears to be technically true.
According to April Carter’s LinkedIn, she has a Juris Master from Emory University in Georgia. That is a degree, but it isn’t a degree that would allow you to take the Bar Exam and practice law.
Here is information from Emory’s website about their program:
The Emory Law Juris Master and Juris Master Online Programs are designed for professionals interested in gaining a better grounding in law and regulation to advance their career. Emory Law’s 30-credit-hour Juris Master program offers the insight, inspiration, and flexibility to help you achieve your goals.
Students have the option of completing Emory’s Juris Master program completely online.
Speaking of completing college programs online, that brings us to April’s last academic achievement mentioned in her intro scene.
April received a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration from Walden University. From their website:
An MHA program academically prepares students to pursue leadership roles in hospitals, physician practices, nursing care facilities, and other settings. Walden’s 100% online MHA degree program is designed with working professionals like you in mind, allowing you to advance your education while continuing to work.
Walden’s Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program is 53 credit hours, but “you may be eligible to receive 25 transfer credits for prior master’s-level coursework when enrolling in Walden’s MHA program.”
I honestly don’t know how Sr. April finds any time to travel to the Dominican Republic for romantic getaways — much less film a reality show! Or manage three fitness franchise locations and a luxury car dealership in another country! Could she be the pinnacle of 90 Day Fiantrepreneurialism?
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
