Foreign Medical Study

13 Foreign Medical Study

Admission

Transfer to U.S. schools

Internship and residency

Fifth pathway opportunities

Requirements for residency and/or practice

Selecting a foreign medical school

Foreign medical schools

During the early decades of this century it was relatively common to find Americans

going to Europe for postgraduate medical training. Since World War II, significant num-

bers of Americans have gone overseas for their undergraduate medical education. At the

peak of this trend, it was roughly estimated that as many as 10,000 were enrolled in for-

eign medical schools. Approximately 1,000 new students are thought to matriculate

each year and this figure is only an estimate.

The fact that a significant number of Americans are studying medicine abroad

should not be taken to mean that if you fail to gain acceptance in the United States, you

should automatically seek admission to a foreign school. You should first determine if

rejection by American schools means that you genuinely lack the ability to complete

your medical studies. You should realize that only well qualified and highly motivated

students stand a good chance of overcoming the many obstacles of studying medicine

in a foreign medical school. They then face the difficulties of securing suitable post-

graduate training and a license to practice in the United States. The obstacles to be

faced in overseas medical study are reflected by the findings of a study that indicates

that, of all the American students entering foreign medical schools, one-third will com-

plete their studies after many years but cannot qualify to practice in the United States,

and one-third will finish their studies within the standard period (five to eight years)

and eventually enter the U.S. physician manpower pool (although they may not end up

practicing in the state of their choice).

Current estimates are that several hundred foreign-trained American physicians

become practitioners each year; that is, less than half of those who have gone overseas.

If you are contemplating overseas study you should ask yourself if you really want to

become a physician so much that you are willing to do so by this long and very arduous

means, if you have a chance of gaining acceptance to a U.S. school if you reapply, and if

you could be happy in some health science career other than medicine.

ADMISSION

The process of securing admission to a foreign medical school is cumbersome because

there are no standard application procedures or forms, no standard documents required for

submission, and no central clearing service for foreign schools. In spite of these difficulties,

it is still advisable to avoid private placement agencies that advertise that they can get you

into a foreign school. They provide their services at a high fee and you can gain admission

on your own if you are qualified. The following sources of information will be of help:

1. Foreign embassies and consulates. They usually have catalogs of the medical

schools in their countries. They frequently have staff members who are familiar

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