Need help! Would my plan work?

[enjoy216]

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Hello,


I am currently a junior, majoring chemistry degree.

Last semester, I took a semester off and went to Korea (I am a citizen there). I got accepted into a med school there, but the problem is that I ultimately want to practice medicine in the states.

My plan is to study in Korea for a year and apply to med school in States as first year student. (I have a permanent resident).

I think this plan would work because since the med schools only require 90 credit hours along with prerequisite classes taken in the states, which I completed.


Q. Would study in Korean med school for a year actually help me get into med school in the states?


I plan to go back to Korea to start my med school this August, but if this plan has zero possibility of getting that residency in the states, I think I would stay and finish my degree and go on.

Q. If I finish med school in Korea, what do I need to do for getting residency as Plastic surgeon in the states?

I need an expert to help me before making this big decision. PLEASE HELP!!

 

[AkGrown84]

I'd recommend staying here and finishing up your degree. Don't quote me on the exact number, but 99.5% (or something relatively close to this) of those matriculating at US Med schools have at least bachelor's degrees. I would say that those 90 credit, non-degree matriculants are far and few between. I'm not so sure that starting med school in Korea would help in any way....in fact, traditionally, schools here typically look upon matriculating in an international school with suspicion, and I would avoid it if possible.

Going to a medical school in Korea and getting a residency-any residency-in the states is going to be a tough road. Foreign medical graduates are the last on the list for residency programs, and therefore either don't end up placing or ending up with the scraps left over. I can guarantee you that there will be NO plastics residency slots for a FMG/IMG. Plastics is a very tough residency to land as an MD or DO here in the states.....I'd say next to impossible in today's world as an IMG.

I should also note that you asked for an "expert" opinion on a pre-med forum. I am by no means an expert, but know enough to understand that IMG's in general have a tough time getting into many residencies-let alone competitive ones-here in the US. I'd look elsewhere if you're looking for experts 😉

 

[UTsksk]

The best thing you can do if you want to attend medical school in Korea is to see how graduates from Korea do with matching in the US. Plastics is hard no matter if you're MD or DO. I think the easiest path for plastics is going to a US school though. Good luck with what you decide to do.

 

[SN12357]

There are other people here with international experience who can give you more specific advice, but this seems like a pretty bad plan to me. From what I know medical schools don't like applicants who don't have bachelor's degrees and they don't like applicants who have attended another medical school at some point. You're proposing to be both? Bad plan.

Your best bet if you ultimately want to practice in the USA is to finish your undergraduate degree here and apply to US medical schools. Failing that you could go to medical school in Korea and try to get a US residency but you should research ahead of time, and understand that it is getting more difficult for international graduates to match. If you aren't willing to be a primary care provider things could be very problematic.

 

[Aelius]

Like everyone else has said, your plan is not good. I think the better plan for you is to do medical school in Korea, do your residency in Korea, practice there for a bit and then come to the US. There is pretty much no sure fire way for you to predict you will get into a US med school and do well enough to get a plastic surgery residency. If you only a junior, you are talking about something that is at least 6 years or more away. There is nothing you can do that will be a guarantee.

 

[smpbound]

Which Korean Med School? If it's Yonsei or Seoul National, those have enough name recognition in America where you have a fighting chance for a residency.

 

[Vince411]

I would personally stay here and get a Bachelor's of Science---if you're at U-Texas right now---from the Longhorns logo on you avitar---I would stay there and finish up a BS in chemistry and study for the MCAT. That would be much more helpful in getting into a US med school. If you want to practice medicie in the US, best bet is to stay here and make it happen!!! UT is a good school and I think that the vast majority of med schools in the us require an undergraduate degree that either includes the pre-reqs or is a bachelor's Plus the prereqs--i.e. for folks like me who got a BA and are going back to get the pre-reqs. I know that all of the med schools in my state--michigan---require a bachelors degree. I also agree that getting a residency coming from a forieng school is incredibly difficult with what I've heard from a sibling who is a doc.

Good luck!

 

[Aelius]

I agree with @smpbound. If you got accepted to Yonsei or Seoul National, I think you should go there. That is an accomplishment by itself. Getting into top-tier medical schools from medical schools in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are just as difficult as they are in the States.