International M.D.

[ahndoruuu]

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Would an M.D. from an international university carry the same weight as a U.S. one? As far as job opportunities and whatnot go?

To be more specific, I've considered going to college in Japan for a while now, and I initially planned to do it for undergraduate studies, however I realized my Japanese is not up to par for university-level study. Specifically, I'd like to go to the University of Tokyo. In 2009, it was ranked the 3rd best university in the world by some organization or something, so I figured it'd be pretty legit. Anyways, since my Japanese isn't up to par I figured I'd do undergrad here and then maybe grad/medical school there in Tokyo, since I'd have 4 more years to study the language. Money isn't really an issue for me, as I have quite a few family members in that immediate area.

But yeah, I doubt I'd want to live there permanently so I'm concerned what effect it might have in the job market, because I'd hate to lose an opportunity to someone who went to a US school just by virtue of the location of the school.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

FMGs (Foreign Medical Grads), don't match nearly as well as US grads. Odds are that you would wind up in Peds, IM, FP, PM and R or some other noncompetitive specialty like psych or neurology. FMGs are discriminated against i.e. they aren't given referalls and may have difficulty gaining licensure in some states i.e. California, New York, Kansas and Texas. Foreign medical school is thought of as the easy way to an MD and as the route for those who failed to gain entry to a US MD/DO School. 40% of FMGs overall and 60% of US IMGs (International medical grads) match into any specialty. Read ValueMD regarding the fact that fewer FMGs are matching and it is becoming harder to do so even out of the Caribbean big 4 Ross, Saint George's, AUC and Saba. A Japanese MD will not carry the same weight as even those. Also with more US slots there will be a contraction regarding residency slots. US MDs and DOs get first choice FMGs especially non-US, non-Big 4 grads get last.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Do not go to Japan for medical school. As noted above, you will be making it harder on yourself to try and get a residency position in the US.

If you like, consider doing research during medical school or something else that will allow you to spend an extended amount of time there, but if you can get into a US medical school it should be first (second, third....) choice.

The issue is not just one of respect for the degree but the fact that US medical schools are churning out more and more grads every year while the number of residency positions stays static. IMGs will almost always be the last choice; there is a good chance that without any increased Medicare funding for residency positions, IMGs will get squeezed out.

 

[schrizto]

Isn't medical school in Japan a 6-year program you go to directly from high school? I don't think they do the 4-year after college style, do they?

 

[Hopes2BMD]

I hope this is not considered "stealing" a topic because I think there's really no need to create a new topic for what I want to ask.

So an MD degree in Australia is also not the same as an MD degree in the US?
There are other ways in Australia to study medicine, but one of the ways functions by the same system as the one in the US (undergraduate + graduate MD program)... It's also named an MD program and is it not supposed to be the same as an MD program in the US?

Also, is it possible to switch from an MD school in Australia to an MD school in the US?

 

[voitokas]

Isn't medical school in Japan a 6-year program you go to directly from high school? I don't think they do the 4-year after college style, do they?

That's true. OP would have to take the central college entrance exam, then the medical school's exam, then do the 6 years +... Although I've heard that there are some schools that have started taking transfer students for four-year programs (who have done research graduate degrees, etc.), but I don't know what the entrance requirements are or if Tokyo Daigaku is one of them.

OP, I think you should do college and med school here. You could take a year abroad in Japan perhaps, or apply for a fellowship there between college and med school...

Good luck!