Pakistan Med Schools Good Idea or No?

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issyed

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Hi guys,

So I need help deciding whether or not to go to Med School in Pakistan. I was born and raised in Canada and my initial plan was to try to apply to the med school's in Canada however the process takes way too long here and is very expensive. I've heard good things about Dow International in Karachi and Agha Khan. What do you guys think?
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:laugh:.

Uh....no.
 
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Bad idea, there's a reason its hard in Canada. Its the best option, if you go to Pakistan you are going to have a very difficult time coming back to Canada. You might be able to scrape a residency by in the US, you'll probably have a limited choice of speciality as well.

Also, you probably won't actually survive medical school in Pakistan. Its really tough, very strict. You'll be surprised how good you have it in Canada when you go there.
 
i can't believe there are so many racist people who hate Pakistan on this forum
 
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DermViser said:
Yup, what could possibly go wrong.
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OP don't listen to dermviser, he's just jealous he won't have the opportunity to hit on all those beautiful Pakistani women like you do. OP book the tickets, then you can thank me in 5 years, Doctor.
 
Priapism4tooLong said:
OP don't listen to dermviser, he's just jealous he won't have the opportunity to hit on all those beautiful Pakistani women like you do. OP book the tickets, then you can thank me in 5 years, Doctor.
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If the OP is Pakistani, I'm sure his parents know Pakistani women living in Canada or the U.S.
 
DermViser said:
If the OP is Pakistani, I'm sure his parents know Pakistani women living in Canada or the U.S.
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I believe op is female. Go to Pakistan, op. I hear they like educated women in the Mid East.
 
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Bad idea, OP, unless you're comfortable staying and practicing medicine there. IMGs are just facing too difficult of a climb nowadays, regardless of where they come from. You hear about and see the success stories, but many simply fail or barely pass Step 1, which is a death sentence for your residency application. The few that score well enough are usually fighting for lower-level community programs in a limited # of specialties. More likely than not you spend the time/effort to go through medical school, several years struggling to pass the Step exams, and then you're left with limited options and will have to pursue another degree.

The other problem is if you're just out of high school (assuming the Canadian system is similar to the US), you're probably too young to know how committed to medicine you truly are. Just seems like a waste to jump into a foreign system for such a low likelihood of reward, especially at so young an age.
 
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People I know did this...and fast forward 3+ years later and they're STILL "studying" for their USMLE. It's a gamble. And most of the girls i know that went back had a tough time adjusting to the environment. It also depends on where you go in Pakistan (the area, the school, their placement back in the US/Canada, etc etc). i'd avoid it if I were you though. I've heard mostly horror stories with 1-2 "success" stories in the end. And those usually involve the girl coming back with a husband in tow because her relatives couldn't wait to marry her off.
 
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schwasted589 said:
People I know did this...and fast forward 3+ years later and they're STILL "studying" for their USMLE. It's a gamble. And most of the girls i know that went back had a tough time adjusting to the environment. It also depends on where you go in Pakistan (the area, the school, their placement back in the US/Canada, etc etc). i'd avoid it if I were you though. I've heard mostly horror stories with 1-2 "success" stories in the end. And those usually involve the girl coming back with a husband in tow because her relatives couldn't wait to marry her off.
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LOL. Broken culture
 
JP2740 said:
LOL. Broken culture
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Getting married is so damn tragic and a sure sign of cultural degeneracy :rolleyes: The women do have a choice ya know, it's not like they're forced into it 99% of the time. Usually, and I know this sounds crazy, they meet the person they might like to marry while they're over there, since the population of guys that their parents would approve of is astronomically larger than in the US and they're in the age bracket of women that are, for cultural and biological reasons, looking to settle down. I wouldn't jump to assuming every girl that goes to Pakistan for med school and gets married was sold off by their family as a baby-making machine to some Pakistani dude.
 
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I know people who did this and the consensus was you would have to be top 10% of your medical school class, be strong in english (which is not an issue for you since you are a Canadian native), spend two years studying for the USMLE's (or whatever the Canadian version of that is) since they were not prepared for it very well from their medical school, and then have a shot at getting placed into an easier to get into residency lol. But its possible since the majority of my family friends that are doctors are practicing doctors in the US from foreign countries. You are probably much better off if you just go to a Canadian medical school since you wouldn't have to jump through so many hoops.
 
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528d3.jpg
 
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Mad Jack said:
Getting married is so damn tragic and a sure sign of cultural degeneracy :rolleyes: The women do have a choice ya know, it's not like they're forced into it 99% of the time. Usually, and I know this sounds crazy, they meet the person they might like to marry while they're over there, since the population of guys that their parents would approve of is astronomically larger than in the US and they're in the age bracket of women that are, for cultural and biological reasons, looking to settle down. I wouldn't jump to assuming every girl that goes to Pakistan for med school and gets married was sold off by their family as a baby-making machine to some Pakistani dude.
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I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out this way. I just meant that as a woman (someone posted that you are a female, so apologies if I'm wrong), there is a difference in the societal expectations and what not and a few friends that were girls that attended school there DID struggle. Those girls lived at home though and not in the dorms so that may have contributed.

sunnyday993 said:
I know people who did this and the consensus was you would have to be top 10% of your medical school class, be strong in english (which is not an issue for you since you are a Canadian native), spend two years studying for the USMLE's (or whatever the Canadian version of that is) since they were not prepared for it very well from their medical school, and then have a shot at getting placed into an easier to get into residency lol. But its possible since the majority of my family friends that are doctors are practicing doctors in the US from foreign countries. You are probably much better if you just go to a Canadian medical school since you wouldn't have to jump through so many hoops.
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I've heard this too. And unless you're going to Agha Khan (and maybe King Edwards--I've heard varying thoughts on this though) I wouldn't do it.
 
Relevant.

My last patient, an older man from Pakistan, just came up with the following gem(excuse me while I go punch a wall)....

"I cant believe your father let you become a doctor/dentist. In my country, if you were my daughter, I would have at least made sure you were married first"

**** YOU TIMES A THOUSAND, JERKFACE.
 
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fancymylotus said:
Relevant.

My last patient, an older man from Pakistan, just came up with the following gem(excuse me while I go punch a wall)....

"I cant believe your father let you become a doctor/dentist. In my country, if you were my daughter, I would have at least made sure you were married first"

**** YOU TIMES A THOUSAND, JERKFACE.
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Good thing the UES is a ways away from Pakistan, eh?
 
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Hi,
I'm a medical student from Pakistan. I know many students who have been born and raised abroad, and have just come to study medicine in Pakistan, as it only takes 5 years here, instead of 8 years studying in the US. Most of them did very well on their steps and landed their desired residencies in the US. The average USMLE step 1 score from my med school is 245. Many get 260's.
What used to happen was that students would spend 5 years in med school here and then spend another 2 years giving their steps. This trend is changing as many students now give their step 1 and 2 (cs + ck) while in med school ! In some institutions e.g Aga Khan up to 1 in every 4 students does this, and gets a residency right after their 5 years of med school.
It is important to choose a med school with a modern curriculum (e.g Aga Khan University, Dow University, Shifa College of Medicine And a few others).
And you don't necessarily have to be in the top 10% of your class. (Although it does help!) Many average students did very well on their Steps and landed good residency spots. The key is good Usmle scores, research and good LORs from practicing US physicians.
Also many medical school graduates from Pakistan do very well and get competitive residency spots at Universty affiliated teaching hospitals in the US. Some have landed residencies at Hopkins and Harvard and in fields like Ophthalmology and Neurosurgery.
The thing is that, yes it is considerably harder to match in a U.S. residency program being an IMG, but if one works hard enough, it can be done.
Just weigh the pros and cons and do what you think is best.
Good luck !! :)
 
Pro- cheaper
Con- live in Pakistan for 6 years

Pro- may do well on USMLE
con- may need to study for 2 years to do well

Pro- may be faster
Con- may end up as Dr. Mike the best damned cab driver in Scranton.

Pro- may match in a competitive specialty
Con- may end up on a YouTube video put out by Isis
 
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IlDestriero said:
Pro- cheaper
Con- live in Pakistan for 6 years

Pro- may do well on USMLE
con- may need to study for 2 years to do well

Pro- may be faster
Con- may end up as Dr. Mike the best damed cab driver in Scranton.

Pro- may match in a competitive specialty
Con- may end up on a YouTube video put out by Isis
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LMAO :rofl:
 
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IlDestriero said:
Pro- cheaper
Con- live in Pakistan for 6 years

Pro- may do well on USMLE
con- may need to study for 2 years to do well

Pro- may be faster
Con- may end up as Dr. Mike the best damed cab driver in Scranton.

Pro- may match in a competitive specialty
Con- may end up on a YouTube video put out by Isis
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:roflcopter:
 
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Successful BM said:
I believe op is female. Go to Pakistan, op. I hear they like educated women in the Mid East.
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This is so racist. I should be pissed but instead ended up laughing. I will now hate you forever
 
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DoctorofDelight said:
My cousin from India just got married at 22 to a 27-ish year old guy. Basically her parents introduced her to a dude and they went on a date. They decided they like each other and about a month later they were married. I guess traditional Indians are just pragmatic and think casual dating is a "waste of time" when you could just find someone decent and marry them outright, which has its pros and cons.

They do seem super happy though (constantly post fb statuses/pics of themselves)
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Lol I hate to be the guy who brings this up but the couple's who are always in Facebook talking about how happy they are are usually the first ones to break up or are usually privately miserable. The posts and excessive pictures could be an attempt to overcompensate.
 
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NeedToStudy said:
Lol I hate to be the guy who brings this up but the couple's who are always in Facebook talking about how happy they are are usually the first ones to break up or are usually privately miserable. The posts and excessive pictures could be an attempt to overcompensate.
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so glad I got rid of fb. now no one knows where I am or what im doing and cant tag me in stupid ****
 
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issyed said:
Hi guys,

So I need help deciding whether or not to go to Med School in Pakistan. I was born and raised in Canada and my initial plan was to try to apply to the med school's in Canada however the process takes way too long here and is very expensive. I've heard good things about Dow International in Karachi and Agha Khan. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Based on my experience and the experience of seniors who have gone through something similar, I'll say this: if you can attend medical school in Canada or the usa then do it. If not, for financial reasons or otherwise, and you know more than anything else that you want to become a doctor, you can take the risk and go overseas. I feel like schools in Australia, ireland, even pakistan, would probably be a better option than the caribbean. You have to stay motivated and make sure you perform well. From what I know med school in pakistan is not easy. Aga khan is the better choice, but dimc isn't too bad either. You can succeed anywhere you go as long as you have the drive to do so. Be determined and work hard, and there's no reason you shouldn't succeed.
I know many people here will disagree with me on this, but I'm just speaking my mind based on my experience and that of my seniors.
 
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theprince911 said:
Based on my experience and the experience of seniors who have gone through something similar, I'll say this: if you can attend medical school in Canada or the usa then do it. If not, for financial reasons or otherwise, and you know more than anything else that you want to become a doctor, you can take the risk and go overseas. I feel like schools in Australia, ireland, even pakistan, would probably be a better option than the caribbean. You have to stay motivated and make sure you perform well. From what I know med school in pakistan is not easy. Aga khan is the better choice, but dimc isn't too bad either. You can succeed anywhere you go as long as you have the drive to do so. Be determined and work hard, and there's no reason you shouldn't succeed.
I know many people here will disagree with me on this, but I'm just speaking my mind based on my experience and that of my seniors.
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Based on what?

Also, realize that past data will not = future data. Class of 2018 had the highest enrollment numbers ever and it will continue to increase while the number of residency slots is still relatively stagnant. 20-25 years ago (or heck, even 5-10 years ago) is not comparable today's medical environment and if you want nothing more than to become a doctor then you should do what you can to stay in the US. Going to a foreign school is an all around bad idea if you want to practice in the US.
 
darklabel said:
Based on what?

Also, realize that past data will not = future data. Class of 2018 had the highest enrollment numbers ever and it will continue to increase while the number of residency slots is still relatively stagnant. 20-25 years ago (or heck, even 5-10 years ago) is not comparable today's medical environment and if you want nothing more than to become a doctor then you should do what you can to stay in the US. Going to a foreign school is an all around bad idea if you want to practice in the US.
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I agree. The best thing to do is to stay in the US. I suggested those countries based on the fact that the OP has financial issues.. the caribbean is still very expensive so why not look at cheaper alternatives? I didn't mean for it to sound like the caribbean is subpar. Med school is med school and no matter where you go, if you end up as a doctor it's a win in my book. Of course some places you might have to work harder but if one really wants to become a physician then one will do what it takes.
 
To answer your original question.

Only consider international options if you are rejected from the medical schools in Canada and the USA.

If anyone tells you otherwise, they are not well informed.
 
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