Question about practicing in China with US MD.

[JKFprnlife]

Can any expat doctors(preferably US MDs) tell me a bit about their experiences so far working in China?

I'm currently a US medical student who is contemplating about moving to China to practice and just live there as an expat doctor for personal reasons. The plan would look something like this: finish surgical residency in the states and once I pay off my debt and earn a few years of income, I'd consider the move to China to work and live my life there as an expat. However, I'm quite unsure as to what the lifestyle/pay/and overall future outlook on business aspect of healthcare in China. Is financial upward mobility possible being an expat doctor in China (I'm unsure what the private practice scene is like and whether it's even profitable to try and start one for yourself)? Overall, I just want to understand what I should expect if I were to just move to China a little after becoming a US MD doctor.

Thanks in advance!

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[lanzhou_lamian]

I'm also a US medical student, so I can't give you first-hand experience, but I also plan to go to China following graduation. I've spoken to several US/Canada MDs that currently work in China.

To my knowledge, if you have a US MD, becoming licensed to practice in mainland China is not super hard. You have to retake licensure exams (which can be taken in English), but you don't have to redo a residency. Finding work is generally going to be limited to private hospitals, but there are several large private hospital chains in the majors tier-one cities, such as 和睦家医疗. You can follow their WeChat to see their job postings for foreign doctors if you want to get a better idea of the nature of jobs you might expect.

Compensation for foreign doctors in China seems to be better than compensation for local Chinese doctors working in public hospitals, but not quite as high as in the US. That said, Chinese cost of living is gonna be much lower in most places, so your spending power will probably be higher in China, even with the slightly lower salary.

 

[InformMe123]

I'm also a US medical student, so I can't give you first-hand experience, but I also plan to go to China following graduation. I've spoken to several US/Canada MDs that currently work in China.

To my knowledge, if you have a US MD, becoming licensed to practice in mainland China is not super hard. You have to retake licensure exams (which can be taken in English), but you don't have to redo a residency. Finding work is generally going to be limited to private hospitals, but there are several large private hospital chains in the majors tier-one cities, such as 和睦家医疗. You can follow their WeChat to see their job postings for foreign doctors if you want to get a better idea of the nature of jobs you might expect.

Compensation for foreign doctors in China seems to be better than compensation for local Chinese doctors working in public hospitals, but not quite as high as in the US. That said, Chinese cost of living is gonna be much lower in most places, so your spending power will probably be higher in China, even with the slightly lower salary.

Interesting idea, do you know where is the best way to get more information on practicing in China, googling did not give much information

 

[jhmmd]

Can any expat doctors(preferably US MDs) tell me a bit about their experiences so far working in China?

I'm currently a US medical student who is contemplating about moving to China to practice and just live there as an expat doctor for personal reasons. The plan would look something like this: finish surgical residency in the states and once I pay off my debt and earn a few years of income, I'd consider the move to China to work and live my life there as an expat. However, I'm quite unsure as to what the lifestyle/pay/and overall future outlook on business aspect of healthcare in China. Is financial upward mobility possible being an expat doctor in China (I'm unsure what the private practice scene is like and whether it's even profitable to try and start one for yourself)? Overall, I just want to understand what I should expect if I were to just move to China a little after becoming a US MD doctor.

Thanks in advance!

The general wisdom is to do your residency in the country where you plan to practice. If you plan to practice in China, you better start planning now. Don't have first-hand exp. w/this but what is your reason for wanting to leave the states?

 

[Suzukaze]

I'm also a US medical student, so I can't give you first-hand experience, but I also plan to go to China following graduation. I've spoken to several US/Canada MDs that currently work in China.

To my knowledge, if you have a US MD, becoming licensed to practice in mainland China is not super hard. You have to retake licensure exams (which can be taken in English), but you don't have to redo a residency. Finding work is generally going to be limited to private hospitals, but there are several large private hospital chains in the majors tier-one cities, such as 和睦家医疗. You can follow their WeChat to see their job postings for foreign doctors if you want to get a better idea of the nature of jobs you might expect.

Compensation for foreign doctors in China seems to be better than compensation for local Chinese doctors working in public hospitals, but not quite as high as in the US. That said, Chinese cost of living is gonna be much lower in most places, so your spending power will probably be higher in China, even with the slightly lower salary.

Hello! US DO here and have the same thought. According to AOA/OIA, we DOs have unlimited practice rights in theory, so I assume that it would be similar to your situation. Though, I would also be far more interested in working in larger research hospitals (which quite likely will need me to pump out a lot of pubs, but as a M1 I figure I do have the time to do it), so private hospitals are probably not an option for me.

Granted, as a citizen things may be less complicated (or more, I genuinely have no clue). AOA does say I need to get a short term practicing permit, which I don't even know if it would be an option for me (probably not). Would you think it would be worth it to finish (at least a year of) US residency to be licensed if I have zero intention to return to the States? I probably still need to do residency in China, but I am wondering if being licensed or board certified in the US will bring me any additional benefits other than being able to come back.