How does it work in the US?

[us_navyls]

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Hi, I'm an italian medical student and I would be interested in doing the postgraduate education in the US. I think I have understood that you call it residency (we call it "specialisation"). I.e. you study a specific field, say pediatric surgery or endocrinology..., and work quite a lot in the hospital side by side with the MDs of that department.
I haven't understood if you have to pay to do this or get paid (in Italy we get paid...not much..but...)...I mean you are getting towards the end of your twenties and still don't get any $? how do you live? And I think I have understood that college fees are quite high, like $40000. Do you need to borrow, to take debts? Sorry if I have understood something wrong.

Can someone explain what is the US medical student way to become a MD?

 

[OSUdoc08]

Hi, I'm an italian medical student and I would be interested in doing the postgraduate education in the US. I think I have understood that you call it residency (we call it "specialisation"). I.e. you study a specific field, say pediatric surgery or endocrinology..., and work quite a lot in the hospital side by side with the MDs of that department.
I haven't understood if you have to pay to do this or get paid (in Italy we get paid...not much..but...)...I mean you are getting towards the end of your twenties and still don't get any $? how do you live? And I think I have understood that college fees are quite high, like $40000. Do you need to borrow, to take debts? Sorry if I have understood something wrong.

Can someone explain what is the US medical student way to become a MD?

After graduation from medical school and recieving your degree (MD or DO,) you enter a residency (such as general surgery, pediatrics, internal medicine, etc.) You are paid approximately $30-$40,000 a year and do not have to pay back your loans from medical school and college until you are done. If you are interested in subspecializing after residency, you will enter a fellowship (such as pediatric surgery, cardiology, neurosurgery, etc.) where you are paid approximately the same, but a little more than a resident. After you complete the training and pass the boards for the specialty, you can work and get paid as a regular practicing physician in your specialty.

 

[us_navyls]

thank you very much...but I haven't undrstood one thing (sorry)...You said you get paid 30000-40000 $, so what loans you don't have to payback until you're done? why do you need loans if you get paid?

 

[Blade28]

Usually you can defer your loans until you're done with residency. Most people will choose to do so because loan amounts in excess of $100-150k makes it difficult to afford payments during residency.

 

[scotttennis]

thank you very much...but I haven't undrstood one thing (sorry)...You said you get paid 30000-40000 $, so what loans you don't have to payback until you're done? why do you need loans if you get paid?

In the U.S., you have to pay money to go to medical school. On average it costs about $50,000 a year. Also, a lot of people take out loans to pay for their undergraduate education. So, you are getting paid during residency, but much of this money goes to pay back these loans from medical school and college.

 

[synapse lapse]

Let me explain better. The loans are from college and medical school, as the government does not pay for our education past high school. We go to college for 4 years, get a Bachelors degree, then go to medical school for 4 years and get an M.D., then do residency (specialize) which lasts from 3-7 years, sometimes adding a fellowship after residency of 1 year to specialize further. You pay for school in college and medical school, and the avg. US med student at a state school graduates with $130k in loans if I remember figures correctly. Private school average is $150k I think. You get payed between $35-$45k /year during residency, and your loans are not required to be payed back until after this. They do accrue interest during this time however. Physicians in America make a substantial amount of money in most fields, though disparities exist. The avg. physician makes $175k/year if I remember correctly, but there is a disparity between specialties (surgery vs. medicine) and between private practice vs. academic. To practice in the U.S. you would need to take the USMLE and pass to get licensed, and then apply for residency program. Hope this helps.

 

[mysophobe]

Why is your name us_navyls if you're an Italian med student? Do you just have a love for our military for some reason?