as promised in the other thread: Polish med school story

[dr.kicia]

ok i do not feel like writing it from th ebeggining for the gazilonth time so i will just post an email i wrote to my friend describing the med school application rediculous process in Poland.
First to clarify: I went to Poland this june to get into med school there( i was thinking like what the heck, why wait here for one more year, take the mcat ect ect)plus so i could study for free(yes it is free there if you are Polish citizen)...but trust me it's not worth it even if they were PAYING you for it.
Oh, I also went to Poland after being here for straight 7 years so i was expecting that a lot things have changed...and they did but not neccecerly for the better.
Let me explain a little bit about the med education in Poland. First of you start right after hs.No clinical experiance, no volunteering, no LORs...oh and did i mention all your hs grades are a waste of time too...yeah that is right because all that determins your addmitance is ONE exam. It used to be more fair back in the days when every candidate would sit for the same entrance exam but now they changed everyhting and divided candidates in to recent hs graduates and the graduates from years before. The two groups r treated unfairly and write totally different exams. The second group caN only apply to one school while the recent hs graduates can apply to all med schools.
So here is the story:

Poland was a big dissapointment...maybe except for my dad and
grandparents and the non-GMO fruit there is absolutely nothing there that
would make me want to live that country.

The exam to the med school was ridiculous. Not the content of it or the
knowledge that would be normally tested on such exams, but the fact that
this test was checking absolutely nothing.

They ask very subjective and vague questions and it's not multiple choice
so u do not really know what they actually want you to write. They also
have a grading key and very often they decide that only one answer will be
counted as correct which is nuts taking in consideration questions like:
What was the biggest shock when Dolly was cloned?

What this test is checking is basically if your opinion is the same with
the opinion of the person who wrote the test...which by all means has nothing to do with the abbility to predict if the student will succeed in med school.
And as we can see it has no such abbility since 70% of people admitted fail the first year...Yep...70% MSI do not get to finish their med school journey.

And what is happening now is just beyond any imagination. The students are
striking, so are the universities, because the minister just decided he
will do amnesty for all this year's hs graduates who failed their entrance
exams.
Imagine
that there is a different MCAT for ppl who graduate this year and diff for
the ones who graduated long time ago and that those who just graduated get
the amnesty, meaning even if they failed on one section they are still
addmited...yeah i know it is the most rediculous thing you've heard.

...All this is of course against our constitution(which
says everyone should have equall opportunity for education) but our "smart"
president said "he will TRY to talk to mr. minister"...it is one big mess.

So i checked the results for polish med school and it makes me laugh...out
of over 300 ppl who took the exam i did(so the graduates from previous years) only
1! yeah that is right ONE person got in...can you belive...this is like
.0033 aceptance rate LOL, what a genious, he should try for Harvard, whith
that acceptance rate ...geee.

Anyway i wasn't that person and I am kinda
happy about it because i wouldn't want to go there even for free, now that
i know how everything there is based on combination,bribing and cheating
and group effeort during the exams.

ANd it's scary to know that future
doctors think it is absolutely ok to cheat during the exams which supposed
to teach them how to save ppl's lives...whatever. I could have applied for
the paid program, which is still cheap but knowing that i will have to
bribe professors to pass my exams or looking at all those idiots who are
going to go out there with no knowledge "treating ppl" makes me sick...
If I am going to get in to med school here at leat i will know that i
deserve to be there and that i have a chance to succeed and at least i
will LEARN. I do not want a diploma i want a knowledge. This is serious
stuff for Godsake.

.............................................................................................

so i am very happy i am back in here...besides i woudln't be able to get a DO in Poland and that is trully what i have a feel for

this was just an insight from another country, be happy you live in a LIVABLE one


ps.
i acctually could have taken an option of payed 6 year program. I had enough points...but you know what....
i rather LEARN and do it the right way
definition of the "right way"----> get my education in US DO school (CCOM i ihope).

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[erleichda]

ok i do not feel like writing it from th ebeggining for the gazilonth time so i will just post an email i wrote to my friend describing the med school application rediculous process in Poland.
First to clarify: I went to Poland this june to get into med school there( i was thinking like what the heck, why wait here for one more year, take the mcat ect ect)plus so i could study for free(yes it is free there if you are Polish citizen)...but trust me it's not worth it even if they were PAYING you for it.
Oh, I also went to Poland after being here for straight 7 years so i was expecting that a lot things have changed...and they did but not neccecerly for the better.
Let me explain a little bit about the med education in Poland. First of you start right after hs.No clinical experiance, no volunteering, no LORs...oh and did i mention all your hs grades are a waste of time too...yeah that is right because all that determins your addmitance is ONE exam. It used to be more fair back in the days when every candidate would sit for the same entrance exam but now they changed everyhting and divided candidates in to recent hs graduates and the graduates from years before. The two groups r treated unfairly and write totally different exams. The second group caN only apply to one school while the recent hs graduates can apply to all med schools.
So here is the story:

Poland was a big dissapointment...maybe except for my dad and
grandparents and the non-GMO fruit there is absolutely nothing there that
would make me want to live that country.

The exam to the med school was ridiculous. Not the content of it or the
knowledge that would be normally tested on such exams, but the fact that
this test was checking absolutely nothing.

They ask very subjective and vague questions and it's not multiple choice
so u do not really know what they actually want you to write. They also
have a grading key and very often they decide that only one answer will be
counted as correct which is nuts taking in consideration questions like:
What was the biggest shock when Dolly was cloned?

What this test is checking is basically if your opinion is the same with
the opinion of the person who wrote the test...which by all means has nothing to do with the abbility to predict if the student will succeed in med school.
And as we can see it has no such abbility since 70% of people admitted fail the first year...Yep...70% MSI do not get to finish their med school journey.

And what is happening now is just beyond any imagination. The students are
striking, so are the universities, because the minister just decided he
will do amnesty for all this year's hs graduates who failed their entrance
exams.
Imagine
that there is a different MCAT for ppl who graduate this year and diff for
the ones who graduated long time ago and that those who just graduated get
the amnesty, meaning even if they failed on one section they are still
addmited...yeah i know it is the most rediculous thing you've heard.

...All this is of course against our constitution(which
says everyone should have equall opportunity for education) but our "smart"
president said "he will TRY to talk to mr. minister"...it is one big mess.

So i checked the results for polish med school and it makes me laugh...out
of over 300 ppl who took the exam i did(so the graduates from previous years) only
1! yeah that is right ONE person got in...can you belive...this is like
.0033 aceptance rate LOL, what a genious, he should try for Harvard, whith
that acceptance rate ...geee.

Anyway i wasn't that person and I am kinda
happy about it because i wouldn't want to go there even for free, now that
i know how everything there is based on combination,bribing and cheating
and group effeort during the exams.

ANd it's scary to know that future
doctors think it is absolutely ok to cheat during the exams which supposed
to teach them how to save ppl's lives...whatever. I could have applied for
the paid program, which is still cheap but knowing that i will have to
bribe professors to pass my exams or looking at all those idiots who are
going to go out there with no knowledge "treating ppl" makes me sick...
If I am going to get in to med school here at leat i will know that i
deserve to be there and that i have a chance to succeed and at least i
will LEARN. I do not want a diploma i want a knowledge. This is serious
stuff for Godsake.

.............................................................................................

so i am very happy i am back in here...besides i woudln't be able to get a DO in Poland and that is trully what i have a feel for

this was just an insight from another country, be happy you live in a LIVABLE one

well we're happy that you will be going to school with us. i'm from russia, and there's no way in hell i would go to med school in that country. same corruption crap like you describe. although it probably goes on everywhere, but it seems to be to a lesser extent here.

would you consider working in poland after you graduate?

 

[dr.kicia]

would you consider working in poland after you graduate?

no. i wouldn't and i was acctually going to Poland thinking i will be an FMG after i come back here....what was i thinking??? *slap in a forehead*

plus i really want DO...the more i learn about it the more i think this is the one and only

 

[xTinaBna]

dr. kicia, i noticed your profile says you're in chicago! we are neighbors! are you originally from this area? best of luck with med school!!

ok i do not feel like writing it from th ebeggining for the gazilonth time so i will just post an email i wrote to my friend describing the med school application rediculous process in Poland.
First to clarify: I went to Poland this june to get into med school there( i was thinking like what the heck, why wait here for one more year, take the mcat ect ect)plus so i could study for free(yes it is free there if you are Polish citizen)...but trust me it's not worth it even if they were PAYING you for it.
Oh, I also went to Poland after being here for straight 7 years so i was expecting that a lot things have changed...and they did but not neccecerly for the better.
Let me explain a little bit about the med education in Poland. First of you start right after hs.No clinical experiance, no volunteering, no LORs...oh and did i mention all your hs grades are a waste of time too...yeah that is right because all that determins your addmitance is ONE exam. It used to be more fair back in the days when every candidate would sit for the same entrance exam but now they changed everyhting and divided candidates in to recent hs graduates and the graduates from years before. The two groups r treated unfairly and write totally different exams. The second group caN only apply to one school while the recent hs graduates can apply to all med schools.
So here is the story:

Poland was a big dissapointment...maybe except for my dad and
grandparents and the non-GMO fruit there is absolutely nothing there that
would make me want to live that country.

The exam to the med school was ridiculous. Not the content of it or the
knowledge that would be normally tested on such exams, but the fact that
this test was checking absolutely nothing.

They ask very subjective and vague questions and it's not multiple choice
so u do not really know what they actually want you to write. They also
have a grading key and very often they decide that only one answer will be
counted as correct which is nuts taking in consideration questions like:
What was the biggest shock when Dolly was cloned?

What this test is checking is basically if your opinion is the same with
the opinion of the person who wrote the test...which by all means has nothing to do with the abbility to predict if the student will succeed in med school.
And as we can see it has no such abbility since 70% of people admitted fail the first year...Yep...70% MSI do not get to finish their med school journey.

And what is happening now is just beyond any imagination. The students are
striking, so are the universities, because the minister just decided he
will do amnesty for all this year's hs graduates who failed their entrance
exams.
Imagine
that there is a different MCAT for ppl who graduate this year and diff for
the ones who graduated long time ago and that those who just graduated get
the amnesty, meaning even if they failed on one section they are still
addmited...yeah i know it is the most rediculous thing you've heard.

...All this is of course against our constitution(which
says everyone should have equall opportunity for education) but our "smart"
president said "he will TRY to talk to mr. minister"...it is one big mess.

So i checked the results for polish med school and it makes me laugh...out
of over 300 ppl who took the exam i did(so the graduates from previous years) only
1! yeah that is right ONE person got in...can you belive...this is like
.0033 aceptance rate LOL, what a genious, he should try for Harvard, whith
that acceptance rate ...geee.

Anyway i wasn't that person and I am kinda
happy about it because i wouldn't want to go there even for free, now that
i know how everything there is based on combination,bribing and cheating
and group effeort during the exams.

ANd it's scary to know that future
doctors think it is absolutely ok to cheat during the exams which supposed
to teach them how to save ppl's lives...whatever. I could have applied for
the paid program, which is still cheap but knowing that i will have to
bribe professors to pass my exams or looking at all those idiots who are
going to go out there with no knowledge "treating ppl" makes me sick...
If I am going to get in to med school here at leat i will know that i
deserve to be there and that i have a chance to succeed and at least i
will LEARN. I do not want a diploma i want a knowledge. This is serious
stuff for Godsake.

.............................................................................................

so i am very happy i am back in here...besides i woudln't be able to get a DO in Poland and that is trully what i have a feel for

this was just an insight from another country, be happy you live in a LIVABLE one

 

[Hardbody]

no. i wouldn't and i was acctually going to Poland thinking i will be an FMG after i come back here....what was i thinking??? *slap in a forehead*

plus i really want DO...the more i learn about it the more i think this is the one and only

What were you thinking? If it was the fact you didn't want DO behind your name, there are better ways to get your MD (caribbean), but why would you even want to do that?

It is good that you made the decision to go DO, at least you know if you put an honest effort in during medical school you will become a physician!

 

[dr.kicia]

What were you thinking? If it was the fact you didn't want DO behind your name, there are better ways to get your MD (caribbean), but why would you even want to do that?

It is good that you made the decision to go DO, at least you know if you put an honest effort in during medical school you will become a physician!

no... as i wrote i wanted to SAVE money and study for FREE...but as i figured out there is nothing for free and if there is it's most likely cr@p... at least in terms of med education in Poland.
I was and still am all the way DO , i was going to take the August MCAT, i even studied for it but then i decided to try out Poland which was a total mistake but not a waste of time...couse i got to study a lot and now have a diffeent perspective which gives me even more appreciacion for an osteopathic medicine....and that it is something that no one will take away from me. It was worth it

 

[Hardbody]

no... as i wrote i wanted to SAVE money and study for FREE...but as i figured out there is nothing for free and if there is it's most likely cr@p... at least in terms of med education in Poland.
I was and still am all the way DO , i was going to take the August MCAT, i even studied for it but then i decided to try out Poland which was a total mistake but not a waste of time...couse i got to study a lot and now have a diffeent perspective which gives me even more appreciacion for an osteopathic medicine....and that it is something that no one will take away from me. It was worth it

Ah, I see. Most SDN posters/readers (myself included) will just skim a really long post, so I apoligize if I missed some important details in your post. Next time shorten your post a little bit.

 

[n0chi]

very interesting to know how its done in other countries

 

[Ema]

Ah, I see. Most SDN posters/readers (myself included) will just skim a really long post, so I apoligize if I missed some important details in your post. Next time shorten your post a little bit.

I cant believe this! The same stuff goes on in Serbia, but not in med school
( maybe on individual basis here and there which is scary.) School of menagment is known for this. You go to school and there is a menu with prices for each exam( figure of speech).

What really sucks in med school is that there is no money for the school and cadavers are old many years that students can't freakin even recognise what part of the body they are disecting, I guess they get the ones that are already disected and used previously. My friend is in the MS3 so she was telling me. Medical university is the only one respected, everything else is corupted. They are trying to fix it and make reforms but its gonna take some time.


Well, at least now you know how things are there and you can be happy that you have the chance to live here. I wish you all the luck!

 

[Kuba]

Kicia, you ever consider practicing in the UK or Germany or something? As UN citizens it may be easier for us.

 

[dr.kicia]

I cant believe this! The same stuff goes on in Serbia, but not in med school
( maybe on individual basis here and there which is scary.) School of menagment is known for this. You go to school and there is a menu with prices for each exam( figure of speech).

What really sucks in med school is that there is no money for the school and cadavers are old many years that students can't freakin even recognise what part of the body they are disecting, I guess they get the ones that are already disected and used previously. My friend is in the MS3 so she was telling me. Medical university is the only one respected, everything else is corupted. They are trying to fix it and make reforms but its gonna take some time.


Well, at least now you know how things are there and you can be happy that you have the chance to live here. I wish you all the luck!

thank you and the same your way

by the way...it is similiar in med schools in Poland with cadavers and stuff...lack of money, but hey that is what you get for free...i guess. Plus it's no wonder everything is so corruptive. On average a professor in Poland makes 300 bucks a month. Oh and try getting a residency spot for instance neurology....2 spots per state...it is some kind of abstraction. Oh and being an intern you make 200 bucks a month, after residency maybe you will have twice that much, if you are lucky. Of course there are individuals who could be envied even in US but they are INDIVIDUALS....unfortunetly. Polish Government lately decided to get rid of the budget hole by cuting health care funds...this was like a week ago news...so here again goes the money in a wrong way.
All i have to say is
WE ARE VERY LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO STUDY AND PRACTICE IN US

 

[Kuba]

yea...itd be crappy to be a polish doc... but most are well off anyway since patients tip(bribe) docs to get better healthcare.

 

[dr.kicia]

yea...itd be crappy to be a polish doc... but most are well off anyway since patients tip(bribe) docs to get better healthcare.

yeah it's true...and as for your question about the UK or Germany...i woudn't be able to get a DO there, plus it would be hard to be so far away from home, bf, my cats etc...
I rather try here first and if i won't get in i will think of alternatives

 

[Oculus Sinistra]

Wow. Just wow. I'm glad I'm not studying medicine in Poland, that's for sure.