If an American goes to a good European Med school residency in the US?

[deleted771790]

Hi everyone,

I have heard that it can often be difficult to go to medical school in Europe and then go to the US to do residency. If you go to a really good school in Europe and do well on the exams, do you still have a shot? I have a great undergrad GPA and this is not because my MCAT scores are low. This is simply because I might want to live in Europe or stay in Europe, but if the time comes that I want to practice or live in the US, I am thinking that a US residency would be best.

Please help me!

Thanks, Beatrice

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[Animalcules]

Hi everyone,

I have heard that it can often be difficult to go to medical school in Europe and then go to the US to do residency. If you go to a really good school in Europe and do well on the exams, do you still have a shot? I have a great undergrad GPA and this is not because my MCAT scores are low. This is simply because I might want to live in Europe or stay in Europe, but if the time comes that I want to practice or live in the US, I am thinking that a US residency would be best.

Please help me!

Thanks, Beatrice

I see no major problem with this, unless you want to go into a competitive specialty. To keep your options open, you would need to gain US clinical experience in your final year (obviously do very well and get great LOR). You would have to take the USMLE exams on top of the licensing exams in the country where you went to med school (and again do very well). If you perform at the top of your class in Europe, it should be feasible to get even into competitive/top programs in the US (most likely in semi-competitive specialties though). You may need research experience to build your CV as well. If you end up being a mediocre student (more likely if you study in a country that doesn't use your native language), this plan may be flawed and you may be better of graduating from an US school. Lastly, you will need to decide what to do not much later than a couple of years after graduating in Europe as residency programs in the US often have cut-offs for your year of graduation (~2-5 years). If you want to practice in Europe, study in Europe (preferably in the country where you would like to practice medicine).