China and Eastern Asia Need Advice. Went to China w/out doing research!!!!!

Started by 2BOrNot
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2BOrNot

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Hi, I know I should have posted a long time ago before taking the plunge but it is still never too late to ask for advice. I am a non-traditional american student currently enrolled in a medical university in china that are teaching in English. They have not been teaching foreign students for long since it is a Very New program.
I saw this ad about going to china for medical studies and got excited because of the idea of being able to practice back in my home country and becoming a Doctor and that it was really cheap. After going there I found out that it was in fact really cheap but got jipped through the person I went through.
Everyone kept saying that if you score exceptionally well on your Step 1 then you will definitely get a residency. It did not occur to me to ask relevant questions such as what is the success rate of students getting licensed in the states after passing this program? If they were going to prepare us for the USMLE? Where are the clinical rotations conducted? etc..... I was misinformed about the information about this school and due to my stupidity did not bother to conduct any further research.
To make a long story short, I have completed 1 year in that university undergoing a lot of drama. The facility is not at all good. I have a feeling I made a big mistake. People say if you score well on your USMLE, you will get a residency.
How easy will this be and I know it won't? I guess it will take a lot of hardwork and internships and LORs and research work.
My question is, is it worth continuing, since the program is 5 years including internship? At first we were told that we could do our internship anywhere if approved by the school. Then we reconfirmed and the person responsible said that he would like if we did our internship in China. So it seems that he is going to make the chances of doing 5th year in States(hopefully I get one) very slim.
My option is staying here and continuing with a career I already had, and losing a lot of money that was given to the person that got the admission through misinformation and maybe if my desire to be a Doctor is so strong try a different option such as maybe America or Carib
Or continue and not know where I might end up 5 years from now and losing 5 years when I can still be in my current profession gaining experience and maybe pursuing a masters.
Please any kind of advice will be helpful. I have a family member who is saying stick with it and Work very hard. But if I had known it was going to be SOO hard then I would not have gotten myself in this position. PLEASE ANY ADVICE!!!!!!
Thanks
 
you didn't mention which uni you are studying in. china has a couple of good, world-class universities. beijing university is ranked among the world's top 20 (it occupies the 16th position). there are others like fudan, tsinghua, sun-yat -sen(zhongshan), tianjin and sichuan. most unis have excellent facilities for alien students. a recent edition of newsweek magazine had some very positive reviews about education in china. the university teachers are usually highly qualified and the teaching hospitals provide unmatched clinical exposure. i know i sound like a publicist trying to advertise chinese universities but i know a few students who have been studying med there and they're all very competitive and have positive things to say about their unis. the only difference between them and you is that they are scholarship students and are studying everything in chinese and you're slogging it out in english. for a non-chinese, studying in either medium poses many difficulties. chinese is a tough language and one needs to be super-committed to master it. it's doable nevertheless. many non-chinese have done better than the locals in the past. the difficulty you might be experiencing is probably in communicating with the teachers. you have no choice but to make the most with what they have to offer and you must do your bit. don't get disheartened. graduates of top medical schools don't always make the best doctors. you need the knowledge but clinical exposure and experience is what counts in the end. application of your knowledge, whatever little of it you might have, is what you need to be able to do. if you are an international medical graduate, you have to pass the usmle exams to get a residency position in the u.s. and if you get good scores, and can sell yourself, i don't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to carry on with your post-grad education in the u.s.
you haven't been very specific in your post. i would love to give you further opinions and advice if you told me more. but for now, all i have to say is, stick with it and do your best. study a lot on your own and try and make the most of what you have.