Options for IMG's from European Medical Schools while preparing USMLE in the US - legal/academic

[JDE]

Thanks for reading this. As it seems there is a growing population of US students that choose to go to Medical School in Europe and graduate with a European degree. If they choose to return to the US to prepare their USMLE and organize a residency there are limited options of how to stay within academia, clinical environment or simply making a decent salary allowing to study without working 40h at the local gas station.

I left the US to go to Medical School in Germany and graduated this spring with an MD and a dissertation in clinical research = research degree = Dr. med with a background in Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry. After moving back I started preparing the USMLE and will be taking them in the spring. In the meantime I am interested in staying affiliated with clinical medicine to a) not loose track and b) get a feeling for differences between US and Europe and c) some some kind of a living. The options seem quite scarce and so far all I could find where research positions that had no clinical relation had nothing to do with my MD, but rather the research experience. Other options seem to be shadowing or stints as visiting fellows which would basically reduce me to a Medical Student in his 2/3rd year and not pay a cent. In most European countries doctors working towards a Board in the respective country have a choice of options working as assistants to doctors in private practice and making a decent salary.

My question is : What for options do you see in a situation described above ? Has anyone encountered legal limitations especially with the assisting in private practice ? Any input appreciated.

Thanks

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[NotAProgDirector]

Unfortunately, your assessment is correct. It is almost impossible to work in any clinical role in the US without residency training, and there is no way to be a physician until you complete the USMLE exam pathway. In case someone else reads this thread, the "better" plan would have been to take the USMLE while you were a medical student abroad, so that once you graduate you are ready for a residency position. In addition, it would have been much better to rotate as a student in the US while still a student abroad, something which you will now find impossible/very difficult.

At present, the only thing you could consider doing that would be paid and have some clinical exposure would be a scribe position -- where you write down the documentation of what the physician says/does. Because you have medical training, you'd be better than a secretary. These positions are not that common, and don't pay that well -- if at all.

You can't be a medical assistant without a certificate/US training, that I know of.

 

[JDE]

Unfortunately, your assessment is correct. It is almost impossible to work in any clinical role in the US without residency training, and there is no way to be a physician until you complete the USMLE exam pathway. In case someone else reads this thread, the "better" plan would have been to take the USMLE while you were a medical student abroad, so that once you graduate you are ready for a residency position. In addition, it would have been much better to rotate as a student in the US while still a student abroad, something which you will now find impossible/very difficult.

At present, the only thing you could consider doing that would be paid and have some clinical exposure would be a scribe position -- where you write down the documentation of what the physician says/does. Because you have medical training, you'd be better than a secretary. These positions are not that common, and don't pay that well -- if at all.

You can't be a medical assistant without a certificate/US training, that I know of.

Thanks for the input, I will look into that. I have gone through rotations in the US and have spend most of my clinicals in joint ventures with research stays all over the US. But working a USMLE into a German curriculum with language barrier is rough and not for the lighthearted

 

[Medstart108]

I think your best option is take a Research Fellow position and maybe do a few observerships or try to find somewhere willing to take you for an elective. If you've already done electives then just write the USMLE as fast as you can and apply to US residencies to minimize the amount of time you are out of clinical practice.