international --> U.S. practice ... residency required?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

bc2m

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2012
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
For someone who was trained and who practices outside of the United States, if they wish to work in the United States, is it necessary for them to apply to a residency program along with all new medical graduates, or is there another pathway?

Members don't see this ad.
 
in general yes it is necessary to do residency from scratch but it depends on specialty (i believe this is not the case for anesthesiology and some surgical subspecialties) and state. usually some supervised training is required in the US such as a fellowship. Also those who are international superstars in some states can have the USMLE and residency requirements waived if sponsored by an academic institution but in these cases you would only be allowed to work for that institution, no other, and certainly no private practice. It also may depend on the country where the individual was trained, but in the past 10 years it has become increasingly difficult to work in the US with equivalent training from elsewhere.
 
Yes USMLE Steps I - III and residency. States will not give you a license without US residency training.
 
For someone who was trained and who practices outside of the United States, if they wish to work in the United States, is it necessary for them to apply to a residency program along with all new medical graduates, or is there another pathway?

In general, yes, you'd be applying to US residency programs as an IMG/FMG and it's a tough road (especially if you're shooting for a competitive residency program).

As I see you're currently trying to decide where to go to med school...if you're at all interested in coming to the US for your residency training, I would strongly encourage you to explore US med schools. Not sure if you're a US citizen or not though.
 
Canadian Training is recognized in US. Don't need to do residency again.
 
Canadian Training is recognized in US. Don't need to do residency again.

In most, but I don't think in all. And not recognized federally so you can't apply to come in to work as a physician with Canuck credentials - you have to figure out some other way to immigrate into the US, and then you can get a medical license from the state (if it's one of the states that recognizes Canadian licensing).
 
I talked about this before in this thread http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=908562

yes, there is a way for you to practice here in the US without having to go through residency again, however, in most cases, you will still need to do a clinical fellowships. the usual reason that they will allow this is because you are highly, highly specialized in your field and your skill is in very short supply in the US and you could potentially train people here, in that case, a hospital/university will sponsor you to get a visa and a temporary/institutional//faculty/training license so you can practice medicine.

this is a very rare exception. for the >95% of people who want to practice here from another country, you will need to do USMLE, residency all over again
 
Top