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Some random-ass premed college student hasn't heard of a place, therefore it's invalid. Got it. 🙄
as for the bolded part, no one gives a f-ck what you did as a premed.
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Poland medical schools
Started by ka$hh
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Some random-ass premed college student hasn't heard of a place, therefore it's invalid. Got it. 🙄
as for the bolded part, no one gives a f-ck what you did as a premed.
A
AnatomyGrey12
I agree with you. My point here (and I think a lot of people's) is that there are so relatively few of these types of FMGs applying that it makes Farva's point moot. Browsing residency programs At top places it is clear to see that the FMGs who match those programs are in fact these individuals. But the majority of FMGs out there are no better than US grads, so no they don't get spots, nor should they.
It's like (hypothetically) me being in EU and arguing that it isn't fair to Americans that EU grads get picked before the US grads because "the top students from Harvard and Stanford are better than the average EU student." How many students actually meet that mark? Very few.
if it comes down to an average FMG and an average US grad the US grad should get the spot 10/10. That's the point I think a lot of people are trying to make.
My point was that the "American training is for Americans" line that was going about sells short the fact that it should be "GME training should go to the best students." These students are usually not IMGs, but sometimes they are. Painting a broad brush with American=better is incorrect.
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Superstars from a handful of extraordinary international medical schools or teaching hospitals will be able to train/work here and can successfully match or get hired by premier programs even places that are essentially closed to IMGs and DOs. That's certainly a fact. However the number of applicants this applies to is extremely small. The OPs english speaking Polish Water Ice Medical School almost certainly doesn't qualify. It's likely to be viewed in exactly the same light as the Caribbean to an American PD, possibly worse if they've never seen a grad from there.
Well we certainly know what part of the country you're coming from with that reference...
I've lived all over the country. NE, South, West.
Overall there's no denying that the West Coast is the Best Coast, and the South won't rise again.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/west-coast-best-coast_n_5618326.html
In and Out trumps Polish Water Ice all day every day.
Overall there's no denying that the West Coast is the Best Coast, and the South won't rise again.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/west-coast-best-coast_n_5618326.html
In and Out trumps Polish Water Ice all day every day.
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Does anyone have any thoughts on how one might go about creating a thread for "Polish Medical Schools"? I realize this thread has a similar title, but I've been having trouble finding information about...well, you know, Polish medical schools.
ITT: "You can't come back to the US as an IMG."
ITT: "You can't come back to the US as an IMG."
Here is what you can expect when you choose to go to a Polish med school (English Divisions):
- except for maybe Poznan and Jagiellonian, none of the med schools is familiar with the concept of USMLE. So it will be entirely up to you to plan your USMLE journey.
- the same goes with arranging electives abroad. None of the schools have direct affiliation with US/Canadian med schools
- Clinical rotation are very different from US and Canada. In Europe, medical students are generally not trusted to see patients on their own. Most of your clinical rotations will look like an observership. A typical clinical day will be 2-3 hrs of boring dry lecture + 1.5-2 hrs of actually seeing patients (you will be accompanied by a doc or resident)
- Language barrier is a huge problem. Surprise surprise! Probably the main reason that should deter you from going to Poland if you don't speak Polish fluently. Most patients do not speak English, so you're left with two options. Learn Polish (a difficult language + there is no time to learn Polish in med school + even Poles are struggling with it). Or ask your Polish speaking classmates or docs to translate for you..which sucks.
- If you are non-EU, you will always face visa issues. Poland is one of the strictest countries when it comes to issuing visas, even to US/Canadians.
- most of your classmates will be from UK, Ireland, and other European states. This means that relatively a very small number of students are actually doing the USMLEs. You will find yourself isolated and alone while preping for those tests.
- the Polish med schools are not geared towards anything. Eventhough the majority of students apply for UK Foundation Programme, the school has no interest in helping students along the way, e.g. no information sessions, no counselling or guidance. As long as you pay your tuition fees, they are cool with you and won't bother you.
- except for maybe Poznan and Jagiellonian, none of the med schools is familiar with the concept of USMLE. So it will be entirely up to you to plan your USMLE journey.
- the same goes with arranging electives abroad. None of the schools have direct affiliation with US/Canadian med schools
- Clinical rotation are very different from US and Canada. In Europe, medical students are generally not trusted to see patients on their own. Most of your clinical rotations will look like an observership. A typical clinical day will be 2-3 hrs of boring dry lecture + 1.5-2 hrs of actually seeing patients (you will be accompanied by a doc or resident)
- Language barrier is a huge problem. Surprise surprise! Probably the main reason that should deter you from going to Poland if you don't speak Polish fluently. Most patients do not speak English, so you're left with two options. Learn Polish (a difficult language + there is no time to learn Polish in med school + even Poles are struggling with it). Or ask your Polish speaking classmates or docs to translate for you..which sucks.
- If you are non-EU, you will always face visa issues. Poland is one of the strictest countries when it comes to issuing visas, even to US/Canadians.
- most of your classmates will be from UK, Ireland, and other European states. This means that relatively a very small number of students are actually doing the USMLEs. You will find yourself isolated and alone while preping for those tests.
- the Polish med schools are not geared towards anything. Eventhough the majority of students apply for UK Foundation Programme, the school has no interest in helping students along the way, e.g. no information sessions, no counselling or guidance. As long as you pay your tuition fees, they are cool with you and won't bother you.
I graduated from a Polish medical school, if anyone has any questions please PM me. I prefer not to share more info on a public forum where my identity can be easily identified. However, I will add some "general" facts.
The english program at my school has improved drastically from when I first started. Honestly, I wish I was in first year all over again with the resources they have now. Most of my classmates did terrible in basic sciences when we first started. My school is actually making everything about the USMLE from day 1 now, and we frequently have many events organized by upperclassmen with tips. We have NBME shelf exams just like American students which count as our final exam. Students preparing for their boards will benefit from this. Our matching statistics are improving and are actually excellent, out of the several people who applied only 1 person did not match last year. Am I saying it's easy to match from a Polish medical school? Absolutely not, these people worked their butts off to excel in basic and clinical sciences, getting U.S. electives and externships, and passing the steps with good scores. Of course, maybe one or two people had some connections, but you will find that everywhere you go. The truth is, those who match work extremely hard and i'm actually in the process myself right now... when I passed step 1 with an above average score I thought to myself this is just the beginning of climbing Mt. Everest... I made it past the start, but it's a long way to go and not all of us will make it.
The english program at my school has improved drastically from when I first started. Honestly, I wish I was in first year all over again with the resources they have now. Most of my classmates did terrible in basic sciences when we first started. My school is actually making everything about the USMLE from day 1 now, and we frequently have many events organized by upperclassmen with tips. We have NBME shelf exams just like American students which count as our final exam. Students preparing for their boards will benefit from this. Our matching statistics are improving and are actually excellent, out of the several people who applied only 1 person did not match last year. Am I saying it's easy to match from a Polish medical school? Absolutely not, these people worked their butts off to excel in basic and clinical sciences, getting U.S. electives and externships, and passing the steps with good scores. Of course, maybe one or two people had some connections, but you will find that everywhere you go. The truth is, those who match work extremely hard and i'm actually in the process myself right now... when I passed step 1 with an above average score I thought to myself this is just the beginning of climbing Mt. Everest... I made it past the start, but it's a long way to go and not all of us will make it.
