Can I get an MD from Australia?

[gozeemer]

If I was to be accepted to medical school in Australia from the United States would I be awarded an MD? Im not sure how this process works. I was looking at ACER last night and some other schools.

Heres the thing, I have pretty good MCAT scores and GPA...but havent had luck getting into Med school in the states. If I have to, Ill go to the Carribean...however, the idea of Australia seems much more appealing because USyd, Umelb, and the others are all reputable schools.

If anyone could, please give some feedback. Thanks

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[AusMeds]

If you studied medicine in Australia, you would be awarded a BMBS degree (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery). This degree is equivalent to the American MD degree. In order to have your degree recognized in the US and be able to apply to US residency programs - you must obtain ECFMG Certification which entails passing USMLE Step 1 and 2. You can read more about ECFMG certification here:

http://www.ecfmg.org/2006ib/ibcert.html#requirementsforcert

You probably shouldn't discount the Carribean programs though as there are some good schools there. If your intent is to return to the US to practice, then one advantage of the Carribean schools is that they are designed specifically to prepare students for the USMLE exams.

In Australia, obviously the programs here are training students for practice in Australia - so USMLE prep is not formally part of the program; however, there are many North Americans at each school who write the USMLE's every year - so there is quite a lot of informal USMLE support through study groups and library materials, etc. Basically, if you're a self-motivated individual who is willing to accept responsibility for your own USMLE prep - then Australia is also a good option worth considering.

 

[littlephiLLy]

i too am a US student. I have heard that if you attend UQ and plan to remain in Australia, you must wait one year before applying to residency programs. Is there any validity to this? i plan to apply to UQ but if i attend would choose to remain there.