Originally posted by Carmen1981
This one is for Mies.
I know i'm thinking about it too early, but i just wanted to know if you can give me some information on the way about going to do that i.e. what schools/hospitals, selection, international application pool for medical residency in belgium, how long is pediatrics residency there (here it is 3 years, after 4years of med school).
Thanks soooo much!
If you're thinking about doing your residency in Belgium, you probably already know about the incredible bureaucracy that accompanies every move in this country
1. With a non-EU degree there are two possibilities:
- your degree isn't equivalent to an EU degree, so you aren't allowed to practice in Belgium. Of course, you could be accepted by one of the medical schools to train as a resident, but the residency isn't "official". In this case you would be allowed to stay only 1 or 2 years in Belgium, you wouldn't even be able to complete the residency.
- your degree is equivalent to an EU degree, this is of course a better option as it would allow you to do your residency without any further problems. You would think that an American degree is equivalent, but the administration looks at every case individually. There is no published list of countries or universities that are considered equivalent, but they probably have one lying on their desk. Maybe you should contact them now, the address for the flemish universities is:
Bestuur Universitair Onderwijs - t.a.v. Mevr. Ir?ne POCKET
Koning Albert II laan 15
B-1210 Brussels
Belgium
tel: +32 2 5539818
e-mail:
[email protected]
The administration of the walloon universities:
Mr. Yves ROGGEMAN
Avenue Louise 65 / 9
B-1050 Brussels
Belgium
tel: +32 2 5337111
e-mail:
[email protected]
2. There is no such thing as ERAS in Belgium, you apply to the programs right away. They are always university-based, but you can spend some of the training at community hospitals or abroad. You will compete with the Belgian students for limited training spots (from 2004 on, the amount of certifications will be drastically reduced, we don't know whether we will be able to practice medicine ourselves! The jury is still out on the exact number, as far as I know it's 600 in 2006 and a bit more for 2007 (maybe as much as 700 spots) Half of those are for family medicine, and then there are quotas for every specialty).
Anyway, competition for pediatrics is harsh. Programs usually accept students from their own medical schools, and those students have spend half of their final (seventh) year with them (not everywhere, but this is the case in Leuven, where I study). Grades are also very important.
That doesn't mean you don't stand a chance. They'll simply evaluate your application on other bases I guess (maybe your board scores??? class rank?? research? recommendation from a well-known and befriended professor?? who knows).
You should also keep an eye on your future goals: do you want to stay and practice in Belgium afterwards or not? (why would they train someone who won't contribute to Belgian healthcare instead of someone who would?) Do you speak and write Dutch or French well enough for interviews and patient interaction? (Dutch for Flanders or French for Wallonia will suffice)
3. The international application pool is rather small. There are some Dutch applicants in Flanders, and several other nationalities in small numbers.
4. A residency in pediatrics is 5 years (after 7 years of medical school (right after secondary school)).
5. Websites for Belgian medical schools which award the degree of medical doctor, with their affiliated hospitals (unfortunately most of the pages are either in Dutch or in French):
Flanders:
- Antwerp:
Universiteit Antwerpen, Faculteit Geneeskunde with a very informative
page about residency selection, and the main
university hospital.
- Brussels:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Faculteit van de Geneeskunde en Farmacie with their main
university hospital.
- Louvain:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Faculteit Geneeskunde with the main
university hospital.
- Ghent:
Rijksuniversiteit Gent, Faculteit Geneeskunde en Gezondheidswetenschappen and the main
university hospital.
Wallonia:
- Brussels:
Universit? Libre de Bruxelles, Facult? de M?decine, there's a link to the affiliated hospitals.
- Li?ge:
Universit? de Li?ge, Facult? de M?decine with the
university hospital.
- Louvain-la-neuve:
Universit? Catholique de Louvain, Facult? de M?decine, a link to the affiliated hospitals is on the website.
Hope that helps!
P.S.: to avoid any confusion: the word "Dutch" is the name of the language the Flemish speak, but also the adjective and name of the inhabitants of The Netherlands.
Are you familiar with the federal structure of Belgium?
