Residency in the EU after med school in the US

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sfmdphd

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Hi all,

I'm a rising fifth year MD-PhD right now. For a variety of reasons, I have decided to move to the EU for residency/equivalent post-med school training, with the intention of staying long-term. I'm not going to get into all of them here, but one of the major ones is that my parents are older and have moved to Switzerland permanently for retirement, and it is important to me to live and work closer to them, especially as they are not in the best of health. In addition, my partner is currently living and working in the EU (not in medicine). Finally, more abstractly, over the course of medical school I have realized that, personally, I don't see a future for myself living or practicing medicine in the US and its healthcare system, and politically I do not see a path to any sort of universal healthcare happening in the near future in this country.

It is important to me to move after medical school rather than doing residency in the US first. I know that it will be harder than if I decided to move after residency, so I am open to going basically anywhere if I can get a training spot. The exception is the UK which I have decided to rule out given unclear transferability of training post-Brexit as well as concerns I have with the Tory government's slow dismantling of the healthcare system. I am planning to use the remaining 3-4 years I have in the program to get ready to move.

A little about me, I am a US citizen and unfortunately am not eligible for family citizenship in any EU country. However, I am good with languages and speak French, German, Spanish, and Italian fluently, and could probably pick up a language that is adjacent to one of these in the next few years if necessary (my school has very high quality language courses). Specialtywise, I am interested in a surgical subspecialty, though I understand that differentiation into subspecialties in most of Europe is not immediate like it is in the US, and I'd probably have to do the equivalent of prelim first. I am also interested in places that provide research opportunities integrated with medical training, though I am pretty open to the type.

I am currently considering Switzerland (non-EU but EU-adjacent) as well as France and Germany, though as I said I am open to other suggestions. I know what I am proposing is uncommon (I haven't had much luck with my local sources) and obviously every country is different, which is why I have decided to take to the Internet. My questions are:

-What EU countries are welcoming to American trained doctors?
-What is the reputation of different countries in how willing they are to accept non-EU graduates for postgrad medical training?
-If you know a country, what is the process to get your degree recognized, and how hard is it as non-EU?
-What is the training process in your country like in general?
-What steps should I take now to have a high likelihood of getting a spot in your country as an IMG four years from now?
-If you or someone you know has been in a similar situation, I'd very much appreciate hearing your experience (either here or PM!)

Thanks!

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