Korean Medical School vs. American Medical School

[jyy3gx]

Hello I am a non-traditional student who is planning to transition medical school. I used to be a premed in undergrad but gave up my 3rd due to the workload with engineering classes.

Now I have been looking for different options and ended up with either doing a post bacc and go to a American med school or go to a Korean med school. I am a Korean American and my family still lives there so the language and cultural barrier doesnt really affect me. On top of that Korean med schools don't really have a mcat or premed stage since medical school is a 6 year program not a post graduate thing. So essentially its going to be cheaper and take less time to complete given that I get into a program within two years.

To get to the point, I was wondering what the biggest difference would be to complete med school in Korea compared to the States? To my understanding it doesn't really matter whether or not you graduated from a international medical school or a American one given that you pass the licensing exams, is this true? Would I have a disadvantage in getting my medical license and residency in the states if I did medical school abroad? Is there a stigma against International medical school graduates?

Thank you in advance!

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[Animalcules]

Yes, it matters. Not the quality, but with regards how hard you have to work to match. If you want to practice in the US, go to a US med school. If you do not need to practice in the US, go the easier route.

 

[jyy3gx]

Yes, it matters. Not the quality, but with regards how hard you have to work to match. If you want to practice in the US, go to a US med school. If you do not need to practice in the US, go the easier route.

I mean I don't think its easier to get into a Korean medical school compared to an American one. If the quality of education doesn't differ much, what do you mean by "how hard you have to work to match"? Do you mean the licensing exam itself or just due to the stigma that International Medical Schools have? Thanks

 

[Animalcules]

Yes, you will have a much harder time to match. Welcome to America.

 

[jyy3gx]

Yes, you will have a much harder time to match. Welcome to America.

I mean I'm American and I know med school is hard, but I didn't know that there was that big of a difference. Thanks for the info!

 

[shadowblade]

Complete medical school in the country you plan to work in. Getting a residency/fellowship etc is MUCH harder if you go to medical school outside of the US and plan to return.

If you plan on staying in Korea than yes of course go to school there. Otherwise plan to get into a US school whether MD or DO.

 

[gyngyn]

In the only reliable analysis of outcomes for US IMGs, there was an insufficient number from Korea (<50) to be included.
For non-US IMGs who attended medical school in S Korea, 30 matched, 29 did not.
See p.22: Applying to Medical School as an International Applicant

With US grads enjoying around a 97% Match, the comparison strongly supports attending a US school if the goal is to practice in the US.

 

[jyy3gx]

In the only reliable analysis of outcomes for US IMGs, there was an insufficient number from Korea (<50) to be included.
For non-US IMGs who attended medical school in S Korea, 30 matched, 29 did not.
See p.22: Applying to Medical School as an International Applicant

With US grads enjoying around a 97% Match, the comparison strongly supports attending a US school if the goal is to practice in the US.

Yeah have a feeling that its mainly due to the language barrier given that the stats are for non-US immigrants. But then again if I learn all the medical terms in Korean, it is going to be difficult. Thanks for the stats!

 

[gyngyn]

Yeah have a feeling that its mainly due to the language barrier given that the stats are for non-US immigrants. But then again if I learn all the medical terms in Korean, it is going to be difficult. Thanks for the stats!

Sorry for the abbreviation! IMG is international medical graduate.
Looking at the outcomes for US IMGs from other countries, you can still see a big difference in outcomes in the Match, I'm afraid.