Foreign Doctors

[Techmonkey]

Anyone know how well foreign doctors fare when coming to the US to work? Does the US recognise foreign qualifications i.e. MRCS/FRCS or does a consultant have to start from residency and take the USMLEs?

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[Faebinder]

Anyone know how well foreign doctors fare when coming to the US to work? Does the US recognise foreign qualifications i.e. MRCS/FRCS or does a consultant have to start from residency and take the USMLEs?

Gotta do residency... gotta take the USMLEs..

 

[f_w]

Anyone know how well foreign doctors fare when coming to the US to work?

Very well.

Does the US recognise foreign qualifications i.e. MRCS/FRCS

The USA recognizes graduation from a medical school approved in your home country and recorded in the WHO directory of medical schools. Specialty certifications and residencies are typically not recognized.

or does a consultant have to start from residency and take the USMLEs?

In rare cases, highly qualified foreign docs get hired for tenure track academic positions. In some states, these university employed docs don't have to pass USMLE and don't have to finish a residency. But again, rare exemption, 99% of foreign docs in the US had to go through residency and USMLE.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Just to update f_w's post:

WHO no longer produces a list of medical schools world-wide. It is compiled, in a joint project with ECFMG, by IMED: http://www.faimer.org/resources/index.html#imed

If your school is listed by IMED, then you are eligible for ECFMG certification on that basis (ie, there are a number of other requirements as well).

Otherwise, he is correct: only a very few number of internationally recognized experts are allowed to practice medicine/research in the US without having completed their residency here. It would be best to assume one is not in that category and would have to repeat training if they wished to work in the US.