I don't know if this is the proper forum for this question, as my intended path is only "non-traditional" in the sense that it's different from the American way, so please excuse me, apologies in advance.
I'm a dual citizen of the United States and the UK, both of my parents are British, but I was born in the states while they lived abroad for my dad's work. I've spent most of my life in Scotland, but I relocated to Philadelphia last year for personal reasons. I've known for most of my life that I wanted to work in mental health, and from my early teenage years I knew that within mental health I wanted to focus on Freudian (Jungian) psychoanalysis, as it has and continues to help me tremendously. However I've been torn on whether to go the "psychologist route" (that is, study Psychology as an undergraduate, and either go for an Masters in Social Work or PsyD, followed by training at the psychoanalytic institute in Zurich or Boston) or the "psychiatrist route" and after much thought I think that the psychiatrist route will not only be a better path for me to take, it could lead to my beginning work years earlier than otherwise.
I plan to go back to Britain for my MBBS and my two years of foundation training in the UK, which will qualify me as a doctor, then either return to America or go to Switzerland for my 2-3 years of psychoanalytic training. This will qualify me to work as a psychoanalyst for the NHS, or even to work with a Harley St practice (or open my own), but I would much prefer to work in the US. The reason for that is purely practical, the work is roughly the same in either country, but to be a doctor in Britain means to have a very comfortable living making somewhere between £70,000 and £130,000, where to be a doctor in America, especially in a niche like psychoanalysis, means to potentially make millions, or at the very least make whatever I want to make, since I will be able to set my own rates as opposed to being salaried by the NHS or being bound the NHS pay scales in private practice.
I want to make it clear that I'm not bashing the NHS, it's — in my opinion — the greatest British invention since parliamentarism, but it does put a damper on one's earnings.
My question is, will an MBBS and two years of foundation work (altogether 6 years of study, perhaps 7 depending on whether or not the MBBS comes with an integrated BSc programme) allow me to work as a doctor in America? It qualifies me to be a doctor in Britain, and I plan on qualifying there and then trying to transfer my qualification, but I want to know in advance if it will be enough to be considered a doctor, equal to any American MD or DO, and not just in one or two states, either. If not, I'm going to have to have a big think about whether I want to commit to spending my professional life in Britain or whether it would be better for me to go the psychologist route, since I know that the educational requirements are roughly the same and there is reciprocal recognition for professional designations. An American medical education is well over a decade, and often near two decades from beginning to end, and if I'm being perfectly honest I am unwilling to wait until I'm halfway through my life, in my mid-30s, to begin my career.
Thank you.
I'm a dual citizen of the United States and the UK, both of my parents are British, but I was born in the states while they lived abroad for my dad's work. I've spent most of my life in Scotland, but I relocated to Philadelphia last year for personal reasons. I've known for most of my life that I wanted to work in mental health, and from my early teenage years I knew that within mental health I wanted to focus on Freudian (Jungian) psychoanalysis, as it has and continues to help me tremendously. However I've been torn on whether to go the "psychologist route" (that is, study Psychology as an undergraduate, and either go for an Masters in Social Work or PsyD, followed by training at the psychoanalytic institute in Zurich or Boston) or the "psychiatrist route" and after much thought I think that the psychiatrist route will not only be a better path for me to take, it could lead to my beginning work years earlier than otherwise.
I plan to go back to Britain for my MBBS and my two years of foundation training in the UK, which will qualify me as a doctor, then either return to America or go to Switzerland for my 2-3 years of psychoanalytic training. This will qualify me to work as a psychoanalyst for the NHS, or even to work with a Harley St practice (or open my own), but I would much prefer to work in the US. The reason for that is purely practical, the work is roughly the same in either country, but to be a doctor in Britain means to have a very comfortable living making somewhere between £70,000 and £130,000, where to be a doctor in America, especially in a niche like psychoanalysis, means to potentially make millions, or at the very least make whatever I want to make, since I will be able to set my own rates as opposed to being salaried by the NHS or being bound the NHS pay scales in private practice.
I want to make it clear that I'm not bashing the NHS, it's — in my opinion — the greatest British invention since parliamentarism, but it does put a damper on one's earnings.
My question is, will an MBBS and two years of foundation work (altogether 6 years of study, perhaps 7 depending on whether or not the MBBS comes with an integrated BSc programme) allow me to work as a doctor in America? It qualifies me to be a doctor in Britain, and I plan on qualifying there and then trying to transfer my qualification, but I want to know in advance if it will be enough to be considered a doctor, equal to any American MD or DO, and not just in one or two states, either. If not, I'm going to have to have a big think about whether I want to commit to spending my professional life in Britain or whether it would be better for me to go the psychologist route, since I know that the educational requirements are roughly the same and there is reciprocal recognition for professional designations. An American medical education is well over a decade, and often near two decades from beginning to end, and if I'm being perfectly honest I am unwilling to wait until I'm halfway through my life, in my mid-30s, to begin my career.
Thank you.
