Med school in India?

[lefty07]

Hi everyone! I'm new here and have a few questions -- I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out.

I'm a grade 11 student from Canada, thinking about going back to India for medical school. I was born there & moved here when I was 8 or 9, but I still miss it a lot. There's a really good med school in my hometown and recently I've really been wanting to go back, but I have some concerns.

Some of my family members have studied in India and moved to Canada/USA after med school and they got residency pretty quickly, but I've also heard stories about people who don't get in for a long time (or don't get in at all, which is really scary). I've also heard that if you're a FMG, there's a lot of discrimination in the residency process because they're not sure if you know the way of working in Canada/USA, and that you can't get the competitive ones like dermatology, radiology, etc. Is this true? Does being a Canadian citizen help in any way?

Also, someone told me that AIIMS does accept a certain percentage of NRI students based on just the entrance exam and I know that even if this is true, my chances of getting in would be VERY slim. But let's just say I do get in and decide to go there -- would there still be a problem in coming back to Canada/USA, since AIIMS has a reputation abroad?

Just to be clear, I'm not thinking about going to India because I want to be done 4 years sooner, because I know that those extra 4 years could easily be used up with USMLE, trying to get a residency, etc. I just really miss it there and I want the opportunity to go back. If I decide to go to med school there and not come back, what is the doctor situation like over there? I've asked people about it but everyone has a different opinion. What do you guys think? Would it be better to stay there? What I want more than anything is to make a difference and help people in India, because it's more needed over there... but then sometimes I feel like I should just finish med school here and then go back.

Sorry for the long post and commentary, I'm just really confused and would really appreciate your input on this matter.

Thanks for your time!

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[Law2Doc]

Hi everyone! I'm new here and have a few questions -- I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out.

I'm a grade 11 student from Canada, thinking about going back to India for medical school. I was born there & moved here when I was 8 or 9, but I still miss it a lot. There's a really good med school in my hometown and recently I've really been wanting to go back, but I have some concerns.

Some of my family members have studied in India and moved to Canada/USA after med school and they got residency pretty quickly, but I've also heard stories about people who don't get in for a long time (or don't get in at all, which is really scary). I've also heard that if you're a FMG, there's a lot of discrimination in the residency process because they're not sure if you know the way of working in Canada/USA, and that you can't get the competitive ones like dermatology, radiology, etc. Is this true? Does being a Canadian citizen help in any way?

Also, someone told me that AIIMS does accept a certain percentage of NRI students based on just the entrance exam and I know that even if this is true, my chances of getting in would be VERY slim. But let's just say I do get in and decide to go there -- would there still be a problem in coming back to Canada/USA, since AIIMS has a reputation abroad?

Just to be clear, I'm not thinking about going to India because I want to be done 4 years sooner, because I know that those extra 4 years could easily be used up with USMLE, trying to get a residency, etc. I just really miss it there and I want the opportunity to go back. If I decide to go to med school there and not come back, what is the doctor situation like over there? I've asked people about it but everyone has a different opinion. What do you guys think? Would it be better to stay there? What I want more than anything is to make a difference and help people in India, because it's more needed over there... but then sometimes I feel like I should just finish med school here and then go back.

Sorry for the long post and commentary, I'm just really confused and would really appreciate your input on this matter.

Thanks for your time!

If you hope to practice in the US, this is a really bad idea. By percentage most IMGs don't get residencies, and those odds are getting progressively slimmer every year as the number of US med students starts to become close to the number of US residency slots. It's just a bad idea. And even if you are lucky to get a US residency, it will be a noncompetitive field in a part of the country US grads didn't want to go. There really isn't much room for debate here -- if your goal is to practice in the US you need to try to attend school in the US as your first, second and third choices.

 

[davidbm95]

If you hope to practice in the US, this is a really bad idea. By percentage most IMGs don't get residencies, and those odds are getting progressively slimmer every year as the number of US med students starts to become close to the number of US residency slots. It's just a bad idea. And even if you are lucky to get a US residency, it will be a noncompetitive field in a part of the country US grads didn't want to go. There really isn't much room for debate here -- if your goal is to practice in the US you need to try to attend school in the US as your first, second and third choices.

This is all true. It is very competitive with an MD from out of the country. The only thing is if you do decide to do it I will advise you to get incredible grades but ultimately I advise you to stay away from the idea itself especially if it is not needed.

 

[safiajen0055]

Best Medical schools in India are :-

 

[IridescentNight]

This was actually a situation I grappled with for a while before I ultimately decided to stay in the US for medical school. I am Indian as well and I feltsimilarly attached to my hometown, my family, and my "roots" but I want to emphasize that 1. going to medical school in India is not at all like going on a vacation in India and 2. you should think twice about sacrificing a promising career here for the sake of spending 4 years there. With an MD degree from the US, it is easier to go to India and then practice there if you so choose, but it is much more difficult to do the reverse with an MBBS degree from India.

About AIIMS...if you had a decent shot at getting in there, then you might as well attend a prestigious medical school here.

 

[Attending1]

I don't know the process for getting into AIIMS as an NRI (nonresident Indian), but getting into it via MERIT as an Indian is outrageously difficult.

I've not trained there, but I did my medical training in India before coming to the US. I've seen the quality of residents and fellows from there.

The quality of medstudents there is outstanding -even compared to the best in the US - not because of training or facilities at AIIMS, but because of the extreme mental faculties, IQ and study discipline needed to get there.

This is a centre of excellence way above the standards of average Indian medical schools/ teaching hospitals.

A post fellowship physician from AIIMS would be an academic monster compared to even someone similar from Harvard.
Probably 2 or 3 fellows graduate yearly in each discipline (cardiology/ gastro/ plastic surgery etc) every year from AIIMS

You get selected into AIIMS by competitive national entrance examination (for undergrad/ residency/ fellowship) and medical subject based interview - strictly based on merit - No recommendations/ no personal interactions/ observerships/ previous experience considerations whatever - No one cares if you are the ugliest boor, the only thing that matters is your subject and genius.

A few people get selected into AIIMS based on ethnic caste reservations quota. They are academically not in this exalted league

Few AIIMS medical grads try for residencies abroad US/ UK - (score extremely high on the USMLE), but the vast majority successfully obtain postgraduate training in India.

Post residency/ fellowship AIIMS physicians generally become leaders in their specialties in India, and are offered plum salaries by Corporate hospitals. Many of the AIIMS faculty are invited as Visting Professors by Ivy League US universities, and prominent UK, Asian and Australian academic medical centres.

That being said, an average American med school/ Univ hospital has comparable facilities, better cleanliness than AIIMS. An Ivy League American univ does a lot more research than AIIMS

However, the spectrum and breadth of diseases treated there, number of patients, patients with very rare manifested disease presentations, quarternary referrals, and ESPECIALLY the mental faculties and clinical excellence of the residents and professors/ head of departments at AIIMS are mind boggling....

I don't like hyping up anything/ anybody, but the breadth of medical knowledge, clinical excellence and IQ of the people (selected via merit) from AIIMS esp. those post residency/ fellowship is really something...