Med school - anyone interested? Well...

[Jonathan Whatley]

Look, I get it; you want to be a physician, and no US or Canadian medical school will accept you, so you go foreign. I'm simply encouraging anyone exploring this pathway to examine all their options and have a backup plan, up to and including being content as a foreign physician in the country where you obtained your MD. I say this because it says a lot about the medical school if their host country won't allow their graduates to practice in that country!

Training to become an independently practicing physician comes in at least two essential parts: Medical school then residency.

Imagine you go to a medical school in a country you are foreign to, then – like many IMGs – you don't obtain a residency in your home country.

Completing a residency in the country of your medical school is often impossible. In the small Caribbean countries, there are often few if any residency positions. And even if residency positions exist in the country, a medical residency is employment. You were permitted to enter the country as a medical school student paying money into the country. You might not be permitted to immigrate to the country to take a highly sought-after job in competition with local and other international applicants.

I also mentioned Canadian schools with US schools because there appear to be a lot of US States that accept Canadian medical and nursing credentials with much less scrutiny than other foreign countries. Not sure if Canada reciprocates?

Yes and yes, basically. Canadian medical school admission is more competitive than US. The population of non-Canadians who could get in in Canada but not the US is materially zero. There has long been a net outflow of Canadians going to US medical schools.

[Stonybeach]

Many countries have a 6-year MBBS program that qualifies the graduate as a general practitioner (GP) in that country, with supervision/mentoring for a few years. For example, in rural communities of Africa, the GP may be the only game in town and has received not only a foundation in primary care and internal medicine but surgery that includes bowel resection and anastomosis, cesarean section delivery, reduction and fixation of fractures, etc. Their knowledge of anatomy is excellent, with gross anatomy (Cadaver lab) exceeding 12 months. I have worked with physicians from countries with very broad general training, and they can stand boot to boot and often exceed the skill sets of many US board-certified physicians! The US physician has become too specialized and compartmentalized in many ways. This isn't a bad thing! We certainly need experts in certain areas of medicine. It just seems like there is now a shortage of primary care doctors. Even board-certified primary care physicians seek fellowships in very focused areas because that is where the money is!

[Bingbong]

After being accepted into a Caribbean medical school, an Army buddy talked me out of it, and I went the nurse practitioner route. Sadly, I have lost two friends to suicide who graduated from Caribbean medical school and Mexican Medical School and never obtained a medical residency. They owed a lot of money and viewed themselves as a failure. It breaks my heart.

Look, I get it; you want to be a physician, and no US or Canadian medical school will accept you, so you go foreign. I'm simply encouraging anyone exploring this pathway to examine all their options and have a backup plan, up to and including being content as a foreign physician in the country where you obtained your MD. I say this because it says a lot about the medical school if their host country won't allow their graduates to practice in that country!

There are so many options now in the US that may appeal to someone who can't get accepted into an MD or DO school. Podiatry, Dentistry, Optometry, Pharmacy, Naturopathic, Physician Assistant, Nursing, Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Anesthetist, Anesthesiology Assistant, Chiropractic, Paramedic, Rad Tech, Physiologist, Psychologist, Mental Health Counselor, and other allied health professions.

Note: Listing does not imply any order of preference or importance. They are all vital! I also mentioned Canadian schools with US schools because there appear to be a lot of US States that accept Canadian medical and nursing credentials with much less scrutiny than other foreign countries. Not sure if Canada reciprocates?

If you don’t mind me asking, what school was you accepted into?

[Stonybeach]

No comment.

[Duneranger]

Many countries have a 6-year MBBS program that qualifies the graduate as a general practitioner (GP) in that country, with supervision/mentoring for a few years. For example, in rural communities of Africa, the GP may be the only game in town and has received not only a foundation in primary care and internal medicine but surgery that includes bowel resection and anastomosis, cesarean section delivery, reduction and fixation of fractures, etc. Their knowledge of anatomy is excellent, with gross anatomy (Cadaver lab) exceeding 12 months. I have worked with physicians from countries with very broad general training, and they can stand boot to boot and often exceed the skill sets of many US board-certified physicians! The US physician has become too specialized and compartmentalized in many ways. This isn't a bad thing! We certainly need experts in certain areas of medicine. It just seems like there is now a shortage of primary care doctors. Even board-certified primary care physicians seek fellowships in very focused areas because that is where the money is!

Most of the “good” foreign MDs I’ve met come from the UK, EU or Canada where medical school is pretty similar to the US. Some from India as well.

In the US, you are only seeing the select few who can pass the Step exams and march into a residency. The vast majority of foreign grads can’t do either and aren’t up to US standards.

You are essentially comparing the cream of the crop to the average US physician. Not a fair comparison.