any thoughts on Ben Gurion in Israel?

[mp457]

hey
has anyone applied to ben gurion in israel?
i applied for the program because i am interested in working in the third world. the thing is i don't know anyone who did the program or who applied.
please share your experience and knowledge on that school.

thanks.

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[Law2Doc]

hey
has anyone applied to ben gurion in israel?
i applied for the program because i am interested in working in the third world. the thing is i don't know anyone who did the program or who applied.
please share your experience and knowledge on that school.

thanks.

I'm not sure Israel counts as a third world country, if that was your inference. And actually, given the religions prevalent in much of the third world, I wonder if having been schooled in Israel could be a detriment? (I don't know, am just as curious re this).

 

[LucidSplash]

hey
has anyone applied to ben gurion in israel?
i applied for the program because i am interested in working in the third world. the thing is i don't know anyone who did the program or who applied.
please share your experience and knowledge on that school.

thanks.

If you would like to work in an arab country or one with a dominant Muslim population, you'll want to think twice about Ben Gurion. My husband studied in Jeruselem for a semester as an undergrad. Following graduation, he did a 6 month stint in one of the gulf countries working for a church. He actually had to get a second provisional passport because the country would not allow him in or give him a visa because of the Israeli stamps on his original passport. The hoops he had to jump through to get that were ridiculous. I can't imagine what it might have been like if he had an actual professional degree for his job from an Israeli university.

 

[jhrugger]

israel is certainly not a third world country. very far from it. and if you would like to work in the third world later in life (very admirable) that is something you can decide after going through medical school and training (which can be done anywhere you want)

best of luck.

 

[mp457]

israel is certainly not a third world country. very far from it. and if you would like to work in the third world later in life (very admirable) that is something you can decide after going through medical school and training (which can be done anywhere you want)

best of luck.

i am sorry if i did not make it clear. from the posts, it seems to me that no one really knows about the program.

it is a medicine program in israel that is affiliated with columbia univerity. you recieve your md from ben gurion but you can do your fourth year in columbia. you can also take usmle and do your residency in the states. the unique thing about the program is that you are getting your training from various third world countries. basically you get your training in areas that you want to serve for the rest of your life.

i did not mean that israle is a third world country. nor did i mean that i wanted limit my practice to those countries.

 

[DNM503]

i am sorry if i did not make it clear. from the posts, it seems to me that no one really knows about the program.

it is a medicine program in israel that is affiliated with columbia univerity. you recieve your md from ben gurion but you can do your fourth year in columbia. you can also take usmle and do your residency in the states. the unique thing about the program is that you are getting your training from various third world countries. basically you get your training in areas that you want to serve for the rest of your life.

i did not mean that israle is a third world country. nor did i mean that i wanted limit my practice to those countries.

Hey, I know exactly what you are talking about. I considered applying there as well, but decided not to for several reasons. First, I have never actually visited a third world country, so while I do have experiences/reasons that lead me to believe I'd love to practice medicine in the developing world, I don't feel as if I can be sure without having seen the developing world. Secondly, based on that, I hear many people change their mind about what they want to do during medical school. I decided that, although if I was 100% sure about going into international health, that Ben Gurion would likely be a good choice. Since I was not, however, I feel that if I decide upon a different career goal, it would limit my competitiveness in other residency programs. Plus, I really wanted to be trained in the US. Although it is a US program, medical school is going to be tough enough as is, and I didn't want to have the added stress of moving to another country. I figure, attending a US medical school and getting some international experience and possibly taking some global health classes would allow me to gain the knowledge to decide if I am sure I want to pursue that career path. At the same time, it would not close doors to other possible future careers. Hope that helped.

 

[Orthodoc40]

OP, there are a few other threads in the Int'l Forums that have many posts from people involved in the Ben Gurion program. I think there are several that discuss the differences b/w Ben Gurion and Sackler, too. Hopefully some students currently enrolled in the program can give you a better idea of what it's like! Good luck!

My understanding is that Ben Gurion does not limit your residency options at all. They have people going into every type of specialty from that program.

 

[Antiviral22]

i am sorry if i did not make it clear. from the posts, it seems to me that no one really knows about the program.

it is a medicine program in israel that is affiliated with columbia univerity. you recieve your md from ben gurion but you can do your fourth year in columbia. you can also take usmle and do your residency in the states. the unique thing about the program is that you are getting your training from various third world countries. basically you get your training in areas that you want to serve for the rest of your life.

i did not mean that israle is a third world country. nor did i mean that i wanted limit my practice to those countries.

Hi everyone ... It's wonderful to see so much inquiry about the Ben Gurion program. I actually attend this medical school, so perhaps I can shed some light on the situation:
1. Israel in NOT a third world country. I'd say Israel is one the most progressive and technologically advanced countries on this side of the globe. In fact some of the greatest reseach comes out of Israeli labs. There are only a few countries I would consider to give me an excellent medical education ... Israel, USA, Canada, England, Cuba in no particular order.
2. Ben Gurion is a fantastic program and has been gaining acclaim and popularity every year since it began. Most students who decide to come here have at least some international health related experience or some similar experience in serving a minorty population. While it's not required, many students choose a residency in one of the primary care fields because its practical for international health work and many students just aren't interested in the, what I perceive as, sterile and competitive specialty fields, such as dermatology, radiology, and interventional cardiology etc. Students at this school are generally very aware of cultural/political issues and understand that the physician's role goes beyond figuring out the correct antibiotic.
3. If you've decided to become a doctor because you want to make a difference in this world and because you feel health is an undeniable human right ... then BGU is a good choice.