Do you all plan to return to the U.S.?

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For those of you who go or will be going to med schools in Australia, do you plan to return to the U.S. (or your original country) for residency and practice? Because Australia internship prioritizes Australian students first, and as an international graduate from Australian med school, you'll have to practice (as a PCP?) in an Australian underserved area for 5 (or 10) years before you can get fully licensed...

I would love to practice Medicine in Australia, but IMO, their moratorium requirement is awful so I'm thinking that if I get into an Australian med school, I'll plan to do residency in the US and practice here (or in Canada). But I've heard that it is very difficult to return to the US partly because Australian schools don't prepare you well for the USMLE and clinical work at all. So... what are some plans that can make this process less of a hassle?

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Well you just have to study on your own for the USMLE. Its not completely unfeasible.
 
For those of you who go or will be going to med schools in Australia, do you plan to return to the U.S. (or your original country) for residency and practice? Because Australia internship prioritizes Australian students first, and as an international graduate from Australian med school, you'll have to practice (as a PCP?) in an Australian underserved area for 5 (or 10) years before you can get fully licensed...

I would love to practice Medicine in Australia, but IMO, their moratorium requirement is awful so I'm thinking that if I get into an Australian med school, I'll plan to do residency in the US and practice here (or in Canada). But I've heard that it is very difficult to return to the US partly because Australian schools don't prepare you well for the USMLE and clinical work at all. So... what are some plans that can make this process less of a hassle?

Theres two main points to consider. As far as Australian prioritization - it is state dependent, and after your intern year you apply for colleges. I would suggest browsing through some of the posts here to see how it actually works. If you are referring to the moratorium in that first statement as well, that isn't how it works.

The second main point is that returning to the US is difficult because of USMLE prep and clinical work is not really accurate either. Everyone studies for the USMLE. You don't magically get all of the information in a US school. Additionally, the content of my education seems directly ripped out of USMLE study guides, so I feel like with class and self preparation, there are no issues with my preparedness. As far as 'clinical work' that isn't even remotely true. Whatever you have 'heard' is not from an objective or even accurate source. If your entire purpose was to post about 'woe is me I don't think Australia is an option' why did you even bother posting a question in the first place?
 
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For those of you who go or will be going to med schools in Australia, do you plan to return to the U.S. (or your original country) for residency and practice? Because Australia internship prioritizes Australian students first, and as an international graduate from Australian med school, you'll have to practice (as a PCP?) in an Australian underserved area for 5 (or 10) years before you can get fully licensed...

I would love to practice Medicine in Australia, but IMO, their moratorium requirement is awful so I'm thinking that if I get into an Australian med school, I'll plan to do residency in the US and practice here (or in Canada). But I've heard that it is very difficult to return to the US partly because Australian schools don't prepare you well for the USMLE and clinical work at all. So... what are some plans that can make this process less of a hassle?

Hello. I have been accepted into a Australian medical school and will be going there this coming January. I do plan on taking the USMLE and possibly applying for residency back here in the states. That being said, I do wish to stay in Australia and try to be involved with the Royal Flying Doctor Service. As for Australian schools not preparing you well for USMLE, I believe a lot of the education you get, both in school and board prep, is proportional to the effort you put into it. There are documented cases here on SDN of Australian graduates scoring very well on the USMLE. The school cannot do the learning for you. The material you learn rest squarely on your shoulders, but we must be cognizant of where we need to put a little extra effort. From my understanding, Australian schools put a lot of emphasis on clinical aspect of medical education and may not cover pharmacology or other subjects as in depth as US schools.

As for the moratorium, I believe it applies to those who are practicing physicians who got their education and licensure outside of Australia. However, if you graduate from an Australian medical school and do an internship then you are not subject to the moratorium. Please correct me if I am wrong. The australian internship is what is key to practicing in Australia and where issues arise. There seems to be an internship shortage; and thus, internships aren't guaranteed for international students.

Anyways, that is my take. I wish you the best on your decision and applications to medical school.

Cheers
 
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Theres two main points to consider. As far as Australian prioritization - it is state dependent, and after your intern year you apply for colleges. I would suggest browsing through some of the posts here to see how it actually works. If you are referring to the moratorium in that first statement as well, that isn't how it works.
Erm, I asked about it here and someone kind of confirmed it? http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-financially-feasible.1112788/#post-16426909

As for the moratorium, I believe it applies to those who are practicing physicians who got their education and licensure outside of Australia. However, if you graduate from an Australian medical school and do an internship then you are not subject to the moratorium.
Could someone please confirm if this is true? Better yet, if you could give official sources :)
 
Erm, I asked about it here and someone kind of confirmed it? http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-financially-feasible.1112788/#post-16426909


Could someone please confirm if this is true? Better yet, if you could give official sources :)

Hi PhoenixFire, I did some digging up of information for you. Hopefully others will be able to see this post and possibly clarify their questions. In regards to the internship priority of each state/territory, here is a link with a PDF created by the ANU Medical Students' Society:

anumss.org/sites/default/files/internship_table.pdf

In regards to the moratorium, I found this link posted by the Australian Government Department of Health:

http://www.doctorconnect.gov.au/int...nsf/Content/medicareProviderNumberLegislation

based on this my understanding is that the moratorium is applicable if you are Overseas Trained Doctors (OTDs) and Foreign Graduates of Accredited Medical Schools (FGAMS). Where ODT = a doctor licensed to practice in another country. After looking at this info I would like to correct my previous statement. I now believe that as an international student studying in Australia, we would qualify as FGAMS. A FGAMS is based on several criteria:

a. whose primary medical qualification was obtained from an accredited medical school; and
b. who was not one of the following when he or she first enrolled at an accredited medical
school:
i. a permanent resident/citizen of Australia;
ii. a New Zealand citizen; or
iii. a permanent resident of New Zealand.[1]

That being said, the moratorium refers to time required to serve prior to getting a medical provider number. I believe that if you graduate from an Australian medical school and you gain an internship that you will still be able to practice. You can apply for Australian residency and that point apply for Section 19AB exemption. This exemption allows you to "attract Medicare benefits for your services." So at that point the moratorium is probably of little concern.

I would love for others to verify this information and chime in. :D

Regards
 
For those of you who go or will be going to med schools in Australia, do you plan to return to the U.S. (or your original country) for residency and practice? Because Australia internship prioritizes Australian students first, and as an international graduate from Australian med school, you'll have to practice (as a PCP?) in an Australian underserved area for 5 (or 10) years before you can get fully licensed...

I would love to practice Medicine in Australia, but IMO, their moratorium requirement is awful so I'm thinking that if I get into an Australian med school, I'll plan to do residency in the US and practice here (or in Canada). But I've heard that it is very difficult to return to the US partly because Australian schools don't prepare you well for the USMLE and clinical work at all. So... what are some plans that can make this process less of a hassle?

I think you took what I said in the USyd thread to the wrong conclusions. I didn't say that the schools didn't prepare you well for clinical work. I said that there is a level of 'discomfort' from US programs to accept students that haven't been exposed to US clinical settings. Therefore, ideally, you just need to get some level of exposure through away rotations and LoRs from physicians during those rotations to help assuage those concerns from US residency programs. And, as others have already said, regarding USMLE, you just need to put in a bit more effort in some cases as international schools don't always have the same focus as a US-based school might in trying to get their students to be successful on them. In the end, it is self-directed prep for everyone, regardless of where they go. It just might mean that you have some extra stuff to go over.
 
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the moratorium is applicable if you are Overseas Trained Doctors (OTDs) and Foreign Graduates of Accredited Medical Schools (FGAMS). Where ODT = a doctor licensed to practice in another country. After looking at this info I would like to correct my previous statement. I now believe that as an international student studying in Australia, we would qualify as FGAMS.

That being said, the moratorium refers to time required to serve prior to getting a medical provider number. I believe that if you graduate from an Australian medical school and you gain an internship that you will still be able to practice. You can apply for Australian residency and that point apply for Section 19AB exemption. This exemption allows you to "attract Medicare benefits for your services." So at that point the moratorium is probably of little concern.
I'm confused :D So if you graduate from Australian med school, will you have to serve 5-10 years before you can get licensed?
 
No. It has to do directly with setting up a practice. You can work for any hospital.

No it means that after graduating you would have to work in a designated district of workforce shortage, basically rural/underserved areas that are short of physicians. You will do this for 5-10 years depending on the area before being unrestricted and able to practice anywhere.
 
No it means that after graduating you would have to work in a designated district of workforce shortage, basically rural/underserved areas that are short of physicians. You will do this for 5-10 years depending on the area before being unrestricted and able to practice anywhere.

Negative. It has to do specifically with being able to accept medicare payments as a private doctor. If you never care about that, it is irrelevant. Which is why I said what I said.

Under the “Ten Year Moratorium” an IMG registered in Australia on or after 1 January 1997 is required to work for a minimum of ten years before being eligible to obtain an unrestricted Medicare Provider Number (in other words, before they can practice privately)
 
Under the “Ten Year Moratorium” an IMG registered in Australia on or after 1 January 1997 is required to work for a minimum of ten years before being eligible to obtain an unrestricted Medicare Provider Number (in other words, before they can practice privately)
so if you only want to work for hospitals, you don't have to do moratorium?
 
Negative. It has to do specifically with being able to accept medicare payments as a private doctor. If you never care about that, it is irrelevant. Which is why I said what I said.

Under the “Ten Year Moratorium” an IMG registered in Australia on or after 1 January 1997 is required to work for a minimum of ten years before being eligible to obtain an unrestricted Medicare Provider Number (in other words, before they can practice privately)

Ok, but as far as I know most physicians would care about that because most of their payments will come from "Medicare" seeing as it is the basis of the free Australian Healthcare system (for those that do not supplement their care with private insurance).
 
not just "the basis".
medicare is the ONLY payer in Australia....
so.... what's the truth about this moratorium?
 
not just "the basis".
medicare is the ONLY payer in Australia....
so.... what's the truth about this moratorium?

The truth is that it's a real issue and not often well-considered by premeds for obvious reasons. It's not easy to understand medical practice and licensing laws until it's directly relevant to you. But it behooves everyone to give it serious consideration. The 10 year moratorium can put serious restrictions on your life when you'd rather live where you want/work where you want after 10+ years of medical training. It's no joke.

PS - I've actually lived in Australia before and some places are extremely rural even if you just drive an hour out of any of the bigger cities. It doesn't seem bad when you think "Hey this looks so rural it must be underserved." Eh, think again. There are maps available on doctorconnect that illustrate this point.
 
not just "the basis".
medicare is the ONLY payer in Australia....
so.... what's the truth about this moratorium?

This is not true. Medicare is the publicly funded single payer system, but it also co-exists with a private health care system. People CAN get private insurance. The last numbers I saw based on some 2013 data showed that 55 percent of Australians have private insurance. They get it for a variety of reasons, there's a levy tax on people making over a certain income to incentivize higher earners to get private insurance, for others they would rather go to private hospitals instead of public ones, for shorter wait times, etc.
 
still doesn't change the fact that you have to do 10-year moratorium, unless you're Australian citizen or permanent resident.
 
still doesn't change the fact that you have to do 10-year moratorium, unless you're Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Ok. I'm aware of that. I'm not disputing that part.
 
ugh, that is THE barrier to me.
i'm not considering Australia any more because of that :(

how hard is it to graduate from an Australian med school and seek internship/residency training in Europe?
 
ugh, that is THE barrier to me.
i'm not considering Australia any more because of that :(

how hard is it to graduate from an Australian med school and seek internship/residency training in Europe?

Difficult. Possible if you are an EU citizen though.
 
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