US MDs practicing in Korea?

[roady]

Hi! I would really appreciate your post on anyone you know who is a US MD practicing in Korea (South Korea or ROK--Republic of Korea). I would like to practice medicine in Korea, so it would be great to hear about anyone who has blazed this path before me. I wonder if anyone really has, and how it has gone for them. Thank you very much for taking the time to write!

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[dudefop]

US MDs are not allowed to practice in Korea wihout passing Korean medcial Licensing Exam..

But you may practice in the U.S army hospital in Korea with your US
license.

Or if you are a well-known physician in your field, you may practice
in Korea as a teaching professor or as a exchange scholar...

I know lots of US MDs practicing in Korea, but they all have
Korean license too.

Happy New Year!

 

[roady]

Thank you, dudefop! You seem to have a lot more insight into this process than I do--would you mind if I followed up with a few questions about the 3 options you mentioned? I don't expect you will necessarily know the answer to everything I ask, but I think it is better to risk asking you than not.

Most interesting at this point to me is the teaching option. Do you know the salary & expected schedule (daily, yearly) of such work for an "average" MD/professor? Does Korean fluency matter much in such job placement??

How hard do the US MDs practicing in Korea judge the Korean Medical Licensing Exam to be relative to the USMLE Step 1? What fraction of your friends holding dual medical degrees are expatriates (Americans/Canadians)?

Finally, regarding practice in Korea via the military--do you know whether the army readily honors such requests?

Happy New Year to you too, dudefop, and thanks again for all your help!

 

[crazy about the world]

Hey, I'm a MS III currently in Korea, so if you've got more questions, ask away~ ^^

Anyways, as far as I know, Korea is about to open up to the international community of doctors, meaning, that there is this economic (oh, what do you call that) something going on in In-Chon and hospitals from the States are going to be built there(just like Singapore). So, being a US Md, there might be a way to get a job at that hospital, but then again, I am not quite sure when this will happen..

Hope it helped though~ got more? PM me~

 

[jejudo]

Bump this thread -- any updates since 2004?

If I am a US MD (top 20 school) and residency in US (ophthalmology), is it any easier to practice in Korea now than 8 years ago? I have heard that the new Incheon city (Songdo) is supposed to have an international hospital where US MDs can practice without having a Korean licence. Any info about this?

 

[DaeHanMD]

it depends on what your target patient population is.

if you would like to treat Koreans: you need to speak the language and pass the Korean medical license board exam.

if you would like to treat non-Koreans: you WILL be able to do so at the international hospitals being built by Yonsei and SNU; however, US licensing standards will be required (for those non-Americans also interested in practicing in Korea).

 

[mdebourg]

So for a US doctor to practice in Korea (working in a Korean hospital) without serving in their army, all he/she would need to do is pass a Korean Medical Licensing Exam? Is there anything else he/she would need to do? I mean, what is the process for a US doc to get a job in Korea if he/she was planning on moving there?

If anyone can direct me to where I can find this out, it would be awesome too.

 

[flesnowdaone]

Hello, I am currently a 2nd year medical student who still has a long way to go before finishing up my education/residency/possible fellowships, but I am very interested in practicing medicine in Korea in the future. For a fully certified US MD, would you just need to pass KMLES without repeating residencies to practice medicine? Also, are there online resources, conferences, or other opportunities to network and gather information about practicing medicine in Korea? Thank you~ Feel free to PM.

 

[globaldreamer]

I actually looked into current laws and legislation.
It is not possible for even the most qualified physician to legally practice in Korea without passing the KMLE.
What's annoying for non-Korean Medical Graduates is that there's this annoying qualification exam which is waived if you are a graduate from Korean medical schools. There's a **** ton of things that you just by definition will not know because you probably didn't go through the Korean education system. The longer you were educated in Korea the better your chances.

For example they ask about 4 character proverbs or ask about traditional characters....
Most FMG's who would like to practice in Korea spend a significant amount of time (2-3 years) studying for this qualification exam.

I've been told by KMG's and Korean medical students that the KMLE is a lot like the Step 2.
In addition the cutoff score for non-Korean educated people is also much higher than for Korean graduates.
The numbers for foreigners passing the KMLE's don't seem too encouraging...

However I do know of a doctor who practices in three countries (Korea, USA, and Cambodia), I seriously doubt he passed the KMLE to do that, but I'm not 100%. What I wrote above is what's in the books atm.

 

[pd1304]

If I am an MD in the US, do I have the right to practice in South Korea as of year 2016 or do I still need to take a KMLE. My field of specialisation is Pathology. Are there any teaching jobs available that doesn't requite me to clear KMLE?