American studying medicine in Europe moving back to America?

[silverkvothe]

Hello, first time poster!

I was born and raised in America so my first language is English. I'm halfway through medical school in the Netherlands (in Dutch) and was wondering how I should go about moving back to America (specifically California, I have family there) if I wanted to. I'm keeping my options open but want to see if there's anything I can do now. I'm already working on plastic surgery research as a medical student so I will be published before I graduate.

It's a lot easier to get a surgery residency here I believe, you don't need to do anything like the USMLE, so I would expect to do those if moving back. My question is can I move back there as a plastic surgeon and practice after a few years of re-training? Or is it better to try and get a residency there, which would be more competitive?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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[Winged Scapula]

The American Board of Surgery does allow for some foreign training, but to answer your question: no you can't train as a plastic surgeon in the Netherlands and then work in the US as a plastic surgeon without essentially repeating the entire training. The board may give credit for up to 2 years (last time I checked) of foreign training however, the catch is that you must already be in a US training program before you can apply for the credit.

The loopholes of coming to the US and doing a fellowship without the US based residency, are fast closing.

As we've said for years: best to train in the country you envision working in.

 

[HotLamps]

Just going to add - California is very specific about which foreign medical schools they give accreditation to. You may want to google whether or not your medical school is accredited by California. I know my university didn't get accredited until a few years ago - so before that our graduates could practice in the entire US except for California.

edit: it won't let me post a link but just google "Medical Schools Recognized by the Medical Board of California"