American Medical School vs. Indian Medical School: are they comparable?

[Direction]

An

Well I am really acquainted with thw American system...
But what I can tell you about is the Indian System
Both the systems have huge diff. like in India studies is pretty much career oriented from the moment you start 11th grade what you guys call Junior yr in America.... we have to choose specific subjects ( physics Chem and biology) which are mandatory for any medical aspirant. For 2 yrs i.e. grade 11th and 12th we study these subs to the same extent which I believe u ppl for 4 yr in pre-med(coz the syllabus for mcat and Neet which admission test for colleges in India is pretty much same and same goes for sample questions from what I have seen ) and yeah its rigorous like we have to contribute atleast 6 hrs of self study on daily basis if we want a decent med school...
After getting in the med school we study for 5.5 yrs(pre clinical,clinical and para clinical training) after which we get the degree for mbbs and we can practice private med then further there is 2 yrs course for PG in which specialisation is done after that we get the md/ms degree which is must for certain fields like cardio neuro and many others....

And if u want to study more in your respective field then there are further options

So yeah thats pretty much it..

Though I believe it would be better if we were provided with some time after the 10th grade (sophomore year) to experience other fields but just for the sake of it. It doesn't create a hurdle in our professional life or personal life or development whatever u wanna call it either.

And I just realised that this thread had been posted about 3.5 yrs back...

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[cbrons]

Sounds like you kinda answered your own question there.

In all seriousness, a big chunk of college is not really relevant to practicing medicine, and 4th year of MS in the US isn't all that fruitful.

4th year is a total scam and a waste of time and money. Seriously, there is no reason schools should receive a dime in tuition for 4th year.

 

[Redpancreas]

The OP specifically said to ignore any licensure issues. They are just asking how it takes India half the time the USA does to educate a doctor. Are Indian doctors ignorant? Are USA undergrad + medical schools inefficient? Is medicine just a whole lot easier in India? etc.

To comment that IMGs will have a difficult time getting licensed in the USA misses the point of this thread entirely.

I went thru the route here and I have friends who went the Indian route and I know exactly why it's shorter.

Take out 4 years of undergrad. It was all unnecessary (but valuable in my opinion) to actually learning medicine. Those who go from the US to India aspired to be doctor's so they probably had some AP biology and those in India are in an education system where 12 standard (grade) incorporates college level biology/chemistry/etc (i.e. they get to thru basic sciences quicker than US students). If you want to learn more about this @Direction above explains it well. Basically from the 10th standard you're forced to either pick arts, sciences, or commerce and then specialize from there.




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[Redpancreas]

Thought I'd chime in.

AP, like every other advance course in high school, varies depending on the teacher and how it was taught. I had a crapload of AP classes back in the day and when I started undergrad, I jumped right into the advance bio courses and orgo chem. Did totally fine. Heck, the first part of orgo was boring since I had already learned most of it. Again, this really does depend on how good of a high school teacher you had. I personally feel that we need better teachers in high school and to make high school teaching a more lucrative job, but that's a different topic so I digress.

Foreign students at the high school level I feel perform higher than US standard. It's during college-time that US students really mature whereas foreign students get shuttled into their respective fields and are kind of locked in with no way of really exploring their passions. I remember in high school, the foreign exchange students we had were insanely smart. Granted there is a selection bias since he did manage to be a foreign exchange student, but I remember he could literally sleep through every class since he had learned all of our material a few years ago.

In college, the foreign students seem to excel in one particular area in their field, but I've seen many show weaknesses when it comes to being well-rounded. For example, one might be able to code like no tomorrow, but when asked to explain the significance of their work, they go blank.

Then again, this is all my personal experiences.

I literally feel like this is THE SOLUTION to our problems with education. It's not the money we pump in nor is it fancy science equipment and something stupid like that. It's the quality of education a student receives based on the teacher-student interaction. It doesn't even need to be personalized and all touchy-feels either. It can literally be done very efficiently in my opinion through a Khan-Academy-esque source and I'm at loss at why it's not being done. Perhaps it's the stigma of online education not being pure education which I agree may be true to some degree but don't understand why it can't be used as a supplement. It would allow teachers to focus on truly understanding and diagnosing learning deficits/errors in cognition (not mental impairments) instead of giving the same old rehearsed lecture on cellular respiration every year.


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[hellobigcat]

I hate to revive a dead thread but:

Education standards in India are much higher than the US, but only in mathematics and science. Literally every child starts cramming for their career, whether it's shooting for IIT/IIM or MBBS. As a result, Indian students definitely learn academic material at a far faster pace. However, this is because the competition for IT/Comp. Sci./Medical fields in India is intense because these are the careers that are deemed acceptable by the parents and families. However, I feel that the US curriculum is built around broadening one's knowledge around different disciplines. This allows students to adequately pursue a career that fits them the best. However, this leniency in education also results in several students majoring in "post-reformational feminism and underwater basketweaving" and other not very marketable majors.

With regards to the US extended medical track (undergraduate + medical school + residency), I believe it was designed around these key points:

1. Medicine is largely evidence based, and a comprehensive understanding of medical research and publications is important for cementing a student's understanding of theory.
2. Medicine is ultimately a service field, and having adequate time to volunteer and dedicate time to serving underserved communities is vital to being a doctor. Pursuing medicine after mugging through textbook after textbook, in my opinion, does not yield the best mindset.
3. The average age of a medical school matriculant in the US is 24. With time in an undergrad, time in the workforce, and life experiences, an older applicant has the maturity to deal with a broad range of patients.I believe an 18 year old, especially one that has spent his/her time studying the entire time, would lack this maturity.

In my opinion, if you want to practice in the US, going to a US medical school is an absolute must. I have many more pet peeves regarding medical schools in India, whether they are the reserved SC/ST seats in government colleges, or the ridiculous capitation fees (literally bribes) needed at private medical schools, but I digress.

 

[AcademicNeurosurgery]

As a result, Indian students definitely learn academic material at a far faster pace. However, this is because the competition for IT/Comp. Sci./Medical fields in India is intense because these are the careers that are deemed acceptable by the parents and families.

This is a false notion. They pick STEM fields because they are the only hope for escaping extreme poverty. It is a privilege and a luxury in the U.S. to have the opportunity to get a well-rounded education.

In many of these families, one child is "picked" (usually based on their potential) to pursue higher education. All financial resources from this family, including money from the labor of fellow siblings, goes towards supporting this one "chosen" child. The goal is that this one child will find a job in a Western country and will escape poverty for both the other siblings and future generations of the family.

The international students I know have too much on the line and too many people relying on them to pursue less fruitful endeavors.