Europe vs USA

[jraces]

Ok... so here is my problem.... I'm finishing up high school, and want to become a doctor. So I have 2 different possible ways of doing this

1. Going to college, and then go to med school in US/carib/Europe.

2. Going to a medical school in Europe right out of highschool, and then come back to the US.

Well the thing is that I can go to Europe for free.. the Norwegian state will pay for it, or my parents can pay about 300k for the first option. Either case though I will not pay anything... My parents wouldn't have a problem paying financially, but I feel like it is wrong for me to make them pay it if I can do it for free in Europe....... What would you do? I mean I'll become a doctor either way, right?

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

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[Toother]

It depends on what country you're going to stay in for life.
I assume you want to stay in America, so here's the downside:

You'll have to go on some additional educational program for foreign trained professional as long as the medical school abroad is not accredited by US government. That means more admission tests, more stress and time to finally become a doctor.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[maple07]

I wouldn't recommend going to a Carribean school; I read that they have trouble working in the US afterwards.

I you plan to stay in the US, go to a US school and pay your parents back later. US residencies prefer doctors trained in the US to FMGs (foreign medical graduates) and I think about half of programs the the US don't even glance in the direction of FMGs as possible applicants. And yes, you would have to get additional licensing, tests, and waste time (graduating as a doctor's time consuming enough).

I recommend you think very carefully about which country you would prefer to live in, eg. in terms of quality of work, hours of work, salary, taxation on salary, living expenses (although all that's liable to change, but it's good to have your eyes open anyway), visas, personal life etc. Also, I THINK that if you graduate in Europe, you're accredited all over Europe (or most of it) and can work anywhere in the continent without additional equivalency exams; I don't know if that's the case if you train in the US. On the other hand, if you graduate from the US you could apply for a residency in Canada; however, if you get a residency in the US you'd have more trouble working in Canada afterwards that it would be the other way round except in Family Medicine, because other Canadian residencies are longer than US residencies.

If you speak French and would like to consider studying in Canada, there's an accredited program that lasts only six years (2 premed, 4 med school including internship). It's at the U of Laval, I think. My cousin goes there and he's very happy.

 

[Meatwad]

I wouldn't recommend going to a Carribean school; I read that they have trouble working in the US afterwards.

I you plan to stay in the US, go to a US school and pay your parents back later. US residencies prefer doctors trained in the US to FMGs (foreign medical graduates) and I think about half of programs the the US don't even glance in the direction of FMGs as possible applicants. And yes, you would have to get additional licensing, tests, and waste time (graduating as a doctor's time consuming enough).

I recommend you think very carefully about which country you would prefer to live in, eg. in terms of quality of work, hours of work, salary, taxation on salary, living expenses (although all that's liable to change, but it's good to have your eyes open anyway), visas, personal life etc. Also, I THINK that if you graduate in Europe, you're accredited all over Europe (or most of it) and can work anywhere in the continent without additional equivalency exams; I don't know if that's the case if you train in the US. On the other hand, if you graduate from the US you could apply for a residency in Canada; however, if you get a residency in the US you'd have more trouble working in Canada afterwards that it would be the other way round except in Family Medicine, because other Canadian residencies are longer than US residencies.

If you speak French and would like to consider studying in Canada, there's an accredited program that lasts only six years (2 premed, 4 med school including internship). It's at the U of Laval, I think. My cousin goes there and he's very happy.

The OP never said they were Canadian. If they are an American, it'd be borderline impossible to get into a Canadian med school. That goes double for an accelerated program.

Usually I'd say do not go to Europe unless it's your last option. You are an interesting case, however, since your family is obviously from the country you are thinking of going to school in. From what I've heard, getting into a Norwegian medical school is ridiculously difficult. If you had the grades in HS to get into a Norwegian school, there's no reason for me to doubt that you could do well in college and the MCAT. With that said, I'd suggest you stay in the US/Canada, do well in your first 3 years of college, do well on the MCAT, and get into a US med school.

The Caribbean is an option as well. You will not have a better chance getting a residency coming from a Norwegian school than a Caribbean one; if anything, the Caribbean would probably give you a better chance. Schools like St. George's in Grenada have decades worth of graduates now, in every specialty from plastic surgery to cardiology to dermatology. Program directors are familiar with their grads (at least on the coasts), so this could always be a back-up plan if you don't get into a US school.

Norway sounds like an awesome country, and if you got into a Norwegian med school, congrats; that's quite a feat, and you should be proud. Save yourself a headache, though, and just do the pre-med + med school in America thing if you plan on staying here or in Canada. You could go to the Harvard of Norway/Sweden/Finland/Germany/Japan, etc., and no one here will know the difference between it and any other foreign school; you are all lumped into the "IMG" category.

 

[shreypete]

Hey there, first of all where do you want to practice?

second of all, you might find it a bit tough entering into medical school right outta high school (unless you've done the IB program or something equivalent to that).

The plus point about studying medicine is that the country pays it's doctors really well and the medical schools are quite "westernized" in their approach of teaching medical students (the schedules and currcula are quite flexible)...

it's gonna be tough to get back to the US, bit it's definitely possible. I'm currently in the czech republic, but I eventually wanna return to the US. The only disadvantage is that you have to learn for the USMLEs all by yourself (and ofcourse if there's a coaching center near by) and the european medical schools don't cater to the USMLE or PBL approach...so that might be bit of a disadvantage....but at the end, it's doable...many students have done it (many from my univ. have entered into some of the most competitive residencies).....

 

[LosingStreakers]

If I were in your shoes I would study in Norway. Why pay for something (school tuition in the US/Carib) that you and your family have already paid for in taxes?

Another thing to consider is salary. What if it so happens that the Dollar continues to slide and by the time you're in to practice the exchange rate is $1 = 2.5 Kroner? (Don't laugh.. the way things are going... it could happen!)If that were the case, then practicing in the US will be a hell of a lot less lucrative than it is now.

I know that money should not be the primary reason for going into medicine, but it is something to consider.

BTW, my personal opinion is that Uni of Trondheim sounds a whole lot better than St. George, Granada. The designation of where you went to school will be with you your entire career.

 

[shreypete]

ofcourse LosingStreakers is assuming that you are fluent in norweigen...

 

[shreypete]

ofcourse LosingStreakers assumes that you are fluent in norweigen...

 

[pruritis_ani]

It depends on what country you're going to stay in for life.
I assume you want to stay in America, so here's the downside:

You'll have to go on some additional educational program for foreign trained professional as long as the medical school abroad is not accredited by US government. That means more admission tests, more stress and time to finally become a doctor.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

You are wrong in that there are the same number of tests. I agree with more stress. More time, well it actually sounds like less.

If you are going to a school in Norway, you should have little problem returning to the states. You may have some difficulty with the more competitive specialties, however. If your plan is to practice primary care medicine, it makes great financial sense to go abroad. Coming home with no loans to repay makes it a LOT nicer when you start to practice.

But, if you want to do something like Radiology or Opthamology, or some competitive specialty, much better to stay in the US. Jobs are just easier to come by as a US grad.

I studied in the Czech Republic, and I would do it all over again in one second if I could. Saved a ton of cash, had a great time, and got the exact job I wanted.

Best of luck

 

[UTHSCSA]

I did do my medical School for free 10 minutes from my parents house, right out of my High School. I did the Steps 1 and 2, got a residency in the US and now I am a practicing physician in academics.
More important than advice is to find out what do you really want, what is your dream, and pray God will confirm that.
Should you ever be interested on Surgery, we offer a 2-6 months rotation for senior medical students in our Institution. Good luck.
http://surgery.uthscsa.edu/vissa/program.asp

 

[Lini007]

It's hard choice.
I think med school in Europe is very good and you learn a lot. It's also good to be confronted with the health care systems Europe has. Any European country really. Generally they won't make you pay thousands of Euros for a great education because good doctors (educated people in general really) are essential for a country and can also offer international aid.
In Germany (sweden, the netherlands etc etc) you pay very little for med school itself meaning you won't have the giant debt you would have in the USA. Also you can just do the USMLE, very well, and then do your residency in the USA and have the best of both worlds. Munic has, I think a program with HMS so you can go there.
Also PBL is given in universities in The Netherlands and also Germany I believe.
And I think because you won't pay thousands of euros for your education, you can spend the money on travel and enjoying everything besides studying which is maybe more important during your student time than only the studies.

good luck

 

[191440]

There's no Princeton University College of Medicine...

 

[bambi]

From what I've heard, getting into a Norwegian medical school is ridiculously difficult.

Getting into med school in Norway is actually relatively easy. One of my best friends is from Norway and applied there as a back-up in case she didn't get in in the UK because basically applying there is next to no effort compared to a lot of places. She is sitting her finals in the UK this week and is going home to Norway to work, again it is much easier to get a job there, you literally give them your name and tell them you want a job.