Irish Medschools = Easy Or Hard To Get Us Residency?

[berkeleyboy]

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Hi Everyone, this is Berkeleyboy's sister, Berkeleygirl. I am considering attending and Irish medschool and I was wondering if it will be difficult to get a US residency? Is there a website I can go to w/ the stats? Thanks very much.

 

[southerndoc]

If you want to get a US residency, then it's best to go to a US medical school.

Medical education in the UK is different than in the US. For one, medical school is 5 years long in the UK and only 4 years long in the US. You will learn a lot about socialized healthcare.

 

[Ctrhu]

Ireland is not part of the UK.
Had two attendings who attended schools there. Very good education. Maybe better thought of than Caribbean schools.

 

[southerndoc]

Originally posted by Ctrhu
Ireland is not part of the UK.

Sorry. You're right. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but Ireland is not.

 

[smackdaddy]

there is a pulmonary fellow at the hospital here who is from ireland. he did residency in the states after medical school in ireland.

 

[jon_jon]

Originally posted by berkeleyboy
Hi Everyone, this is Berkeleyboy's sister, Berkeleygirl. I am considering attending and Irish medschool and I was wondering if it will be difficult to get a US residency? Is there a website I can go to w/ the stats? Thanks very much.

Depending on what type of residency you are looking for, it may or may not be difficult. If you want to become a dermatologist or a neurosurgeon, it will be extermely difficult, if not impossible. If you want to go into family practice, psychiatry or pathology, it will be fairly easy.

You should contact the Irish medical schools and ask for a listing of residency programs that their US alums have matched at.

 

[kfc]

I am currently going through the match process as a US Citizen in an Irish Medical school. There are about 20 or so people in my class (the 5th year) who are also going to train in the US. Most of them have already taken offers outside of the match - at above average institutions. As for myself, I am applying as a couple - so we did not accept the offers that we got outside of the match.
For myself applying in Anesthesiology, I applied to 36 programs, got 28 interviews, and went to 12 places. I was received well everywhere I went. Actually moreso at the large prestigous university programs - they have a lot of respect for the Irish and British systems. Do not allow yourself to fall into the trap of thinking that US Med Schools are the only thing. Yes they are 1st class institutions, but it would be ignorant to say that no other country is at least comparable.
As an International Graduate, you do have to jump through a few more hoops - you have to take both sets of exams, as well as the money-grubbing $1200 CSA. Although it may have taken a bit more effort, it has been well worth it. I would never trade my experience.

Being at berkeley, I'm sure you'd be interested to know that one of my classmates matched at UCSF in Optho which we all know is pretty damn competitive.

If you want specifics, feel free to e-mail me privately. Good Luck and don't believe the hype!!

 

[clarkalim]

I am currently going through the match process as a US Citizen in an Irish Medical school. There are about 20 or so people in my class (the 5th year) who are also going to train in the US. Most of them have already taken offers outside of the match - at above average institutions. As for myself, I am applying as a couple - so we did not accept the offers that we got outside of the match.
For myself applying in Anesthesiology, I applied to 36 programs, got 28 interviews, and went to 12 places. I was received well everywhere I went. Actually moreso at the large prestigous university programs - they have a lot of respect for the Irish and British systems. Do not allow yourself to fall into the trap of thinking that US Med Schools are the only thing. Yes they are 1st class institutions, but it would be ignorant to say that no other country is at least comparable.
As an International Graduate, you do have to jump through a few more hoops - you have to take both sets of exams, as well as the money-grubbing $1200 CSA. Although it may have taken a bit more effort, it has been well worth it. I would never trade my experience.

Being at berkeley, I'm sure you'd be interested to know that one of my classmates matched at UCSF in Optho which we all know is pretty damn competitive.

If you want specifics, feel free to e-mail me privately. Good Luck and don't believe the hype!!

I'm wondering if this is still true ten years later...are medical schools in the Republic of Ireland still well respected by the U.S.?

I'm a US Citizen...I want to do my medical education & training in the EU--I want to live in Europe for the rest of my life. But, I'd like to go to a school in the EU that is respected well enough by the U.S. that if I don't get into a residency in the EU then I can possibly match into a residency back in the U.S....

Anyone on these boards now have any input?

 

[Paddington]

If you can get into any U.S. M.D. program, always do that ahead of going to a foreign medical school.

The deck has always been stacked against FMG's, and it's getting even harder for them to find spots as new medical schools open in the U.S. but the residency slots stay the same year after year.

 

[Steiner]

I think one of the main reasons that foreign grads have issues with matching is due to Visas. If you're an American citizen who goes overseas for school, I don't think that is an issue. I know people who have gone to medical school in Ireland, Poland, & Australia. All American citizens and all matched into US programs (all primary care). Probably still easier to get into US residency from a US school, but if you're up against a foreign born graduate, you'll likely get the nod due to less issues regarding general employment.

 

[K31]

I think one of the main reasons that foreign grads have issues with matching is due to Visas. If you're an American citizen who goes overseas for school, I don't think that is an issue. I know people who have gone to medical school in Ireland, Poland, & Australia. All American citizens and all matched into US programs (all primary care). Probably still easier to get into US residency from a US school, but if you're up against a foreign born graduate, you'll likely get the nod due to less issues regarding general employment.

I don't think that holds up. Looking at the 2012 Match results, 50% of US citizen IMGs matched, as opposed to 40% of non-citizen IMGs. Compare that to 95% of US MD seniors and 70% of US DO seniors. So while being a US citizen likely does give one an advantage (possibly due to the visa issue, although I'd argue a larger factor is they tend to go to schools where a large portion of their clerkships are done in US hospitals) they are still at a large disadvantage compared to graduates of US schools.

 

[shan564]

Until now, grads from developed English-speaking countries have had pretty good luck in the Match. But 4 years from now, things will be different. There has been a huge increase in the number of med school spots in the US, and for some reason, there are still more and more people going to the Caribbean every year. That means that the chances for an IMG will get slimmer and slimmer.

A lot of people ask me if it's still a good choice to go to Australia for med school, like I did. My answer is generally "only if you think you'd be happy to stay in Australia long-term" (which may not actually be an option for non-Australians in the future anyway). I think the same goes for Ireland... but I'm not sure what the job prospects are like in Ireland for people without Irish citizenship.

 

[smq123]

Moving to the International forum.

 

[Medstart108]

I don't think that holds up. Looking at the 2012 Match results, 50% of US citizen IMGs matched, as opposed to 40% of non-citizen IMGs. Compare that to 95% of US MD seniors and 70% of US DO seniors. So while being a US citizen likely does give one an advantage (possibly due to the visa issue, although I'd argue a larger factor is they tend to go to schools where a large portion of their clerkships are done in US hospitals) they are still at a large disadvantage compared to graduates of US schools.

Don't forget US citizen IMGs are mostly people who couldn't get into medical school in the US. non-US citizen IMGs are a huge mix that includes superstars in their home country who want to emigrate to the US for different reasons.

So yes, its definitely harder to get in as a non US citizen but certainly not impossible. If it comes down to 2 equal candidates the US citizen will be taken just because of visa. It costs the hospitals money and time to sponsor a visa and most would rather not do that.