i have a lot of questions

[enchantingmagic]

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hello guys
iam an indian citizen .i went to carribean medical school.i did my basic sciences there.i want to do my clinics in the states and practice here.iam sure i will be able to get a good score on step1 and get into clinics.but i donot have an under grad.will this make it difficult for me to practice?iam also on an h4 visa. i wont be dependent on my dad any more next year.i need a legal status to stay here.i have no idea how to go about thingsshould i go ahead and start clinics here and hope things will work out or should i enroll in some course which will give me legal status.any advice would be extremely helpful.
magic

 

[Winged Scapula]

You've raised some difficult issues my friend. Taking things one at a time:

1) doing US clinical rotations: if you have completed your Basic Sciences generally you are NOT ALLOWED to do Core Clinical Rotations (ie, Surgery, Medicine, Ob-Gyn, Pediatrics, Psych and sometimes Family/General Practice) in the US unless your medical college has a formal relationship with a US school allowing this.

International students ARE ALLOWED to do final year ELECTIVE rotations in the US at *some* US medical schools. You will be required to have medical defense/liability and health insurance in effect in the US, good academic standing at your medical school. Some schools require passing USMLE Step 1 and others may request that you have faculty permission/approval, still others may charge tuition for visiting electives.

Information about doing final year electives can be found on the web sites of the various medical colleges. Choose a program which has ACGME approved residencies - this is some guarantee that the education you receive is of some minimum quality.

Bear in mind that getting a good score on the USMLE does in NO WAY guarantee you US clinical rotations (most schools I looked at didn't even request that you have done it) or a US residency.

2) Some states DO require an undergraduate degree or a minimum of 90 hours of work before you can be licensed. However, this is generally covered in the first 3 years of your medical course (presuming a 6 year program). I don't know a centralized site which lists state by state requirements. Perhaps someone here can suggest a resource for this information.

3) Enrolling in courses will not change your legal status. You do NOT have to be a legal US citizen to do US clinical rotations or even US residency, although it is becoming extremely helpful for the latter as the number of visas offered is dwindling. Check out <a href="http://www.ecfmg.org" target="_blank">www.ecfmg.org</a> for details on getting into US residency training.

As a US citizen, I don't have detailed information about gaining citizenship but suggest that the above web site should have information or you can check with the American embassy in your town about gaining permanent US residency (it is rather complicated and time consuming).

 

[Winged Scapula]

Hey enchantingmagic...

I've read the PMs you sent, but since you have selected not to allow responses to your PMs I am unable to reply.

If you would like me to do so, please change this on your Profile and PM me again.