What can I do to practice in a Scandinavian country? (matriculating US student)

[eng2MedStu]

I will go to medical school in the US, but would eventually like to practice in Norway, Denmark, Finland, or Sweden (by order of preference). Have any of you made the leap from the USA to one of these countries before? What can I do to maximize my chances of immigrating successfully?

Specifics:

• I'm an MD/PhD student. Normally in the US, I would do residency --> postdoc --> fellowship --> (finally!) doctor/professor combo. I'm okay with just doing research/teaching or just practicing, if one choice makes immigration easier.
• No EU citizenship but I have Canadian and American citizenship. (Not sure if relevant, but I'm of Chinese ethnicity).
  
• I'm fluent in English and have taken college-level courses in French. I plan to continue learning/practicing French over the next eight years at least. Unfortunately, this is probably Canadian-sounding French (living near the border and all).
  
• I haven't chosen a specialty yet and plan to choose one that meshes will with my engineering background. So far, I've enjoyed shadowing in opthamology, neurology, and gastroenterology the most. I don't think surgery would suit me.

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[shreypete]

Norway has a pretty competitive system like the US, as the pay is pretty high by European standards (but so is the quality of living.) If Norway is ultimately where you want to end up, then going to medical school in the US would not really help. To my knowledge, only medical school and specialty training from the EU is recognized (meaning you won't have to take any additional exams). So you'd be better of attending school in one of the 3 Scandinavian countries (the other two being Denmark and Sweden.) Unfortunately getting into a medical school there is highly competitive (as evidenced by the large number of Scandinavian students going to other EU countries to study.)

You would also need to be proficient in Norwegian. Foreigners are required to take the Bergens test (I think this corresponds to the B2 or may be C1 level of CEFR.) Most Norwegians (younger generation) speak impeccable English but you will still be required to use Norwegian (both written and oral) on a daily basis.

If you were to graduate from a US medical school, you will first need to apply for a recognition of your medical degree. Once they approve, you will be required to take an exam (written and clinical) in Norwegian similar to the OSCEs in the UK, Netherlands etc. Once you've passed in this exam, you then have to do a 1 year internship program and then do specialty training.

I would also like to point out that having an EU citizenship helps immensely. If you're not an EU citizen, then the 2nd best option is to attend medical school in Norway. This is because it's pretty hard for non-EU citizens to land a specialty training spot. So if you went to medical school in an English speaking EU country or one where the medical education is held in English, the only way to practice in Norway would be to first pursue your specialty training in another EU country (like Germany) and then move to Norway.

I'm not sure about the requirements for teaching but it is highly regulated as well. If you obtain an PhD from the US, then I'm sure you'll find some opportunities to work in Norway in the research field but teaching would again require you to have a decent level of the language under your belt. But as a doctor from the US, not so much.

Good luck!