Should I go to the US?

[over_the_rainbow]

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I am currently a pre-clinical medical student in Hong Kong. I have an uncle in the US and my family applied for family reunification immigration to the US. After 15 years of waiting, we have been notified by USCIS that we can obtain our green cards in the coming two years. To be honest, I did not make any plans about developing my medical career in the US before, but I am now seriously considering this possibility. However, if I decide to move to the US, I have a very low chance to return to Hong Kong as the medical council in Hong Kong does not recognise foreign medical trainings. In other words, this is a one-way road. Should I stay in Hong Kong or move to the US?

 

[Bonejorno]

Where do you want to live for the rest of your foreseeable life? Literally nobody can answer this for you

 

[Naruhodo]

I think both the above posters are right about location preference. We were just visiting some family friends originally from HK. Eldest daughter was 14 when the family immigrated, and she said there was an adjustment period in the education system and that she considers herself lucky to have gotten into an excellent US university (Berkeley). I don't know exactly how old the other daughter was when they came, but she's now finishing up her medical residency in upstate NY (mom says it's freezing and she hates it though, and she will be moving back to southern California for fellowship ASAP). It's hard to move between systems in *either* direction as a medical doctor, so try to project forward which place you see yourself long-term. It might be worth talking to physicians in both countries to see if you get a sense of pros/cons in practicing either place, though my impression from a limited sample is that workload/income/prestige are roughly comparable (with giant inter-specialty variability both places).

Also, you are already *in* medical school in HK, versus the incredible pain in the neck it is to get into medical school in the US (especially as a foreign graduate). Depending on how many years you have left in you degree, you might consider coming to the US for residency training after medical school. It will also be challenging/expensive (take the step exams, jump through all the hoops to get good recs, etc.) but at least you shouldn't add too much more time to training going that route.

Minor tip, and your name is generic enough that this may not be an issue, but many posters chose to use pseudonemes on this site for anonymity.

 

[FMDoge2020]

American life is not for everyone. There's some cultural difference even in area with most Eastern Asians. I don't know about the health system in HK or your current living situation so it's hard to decide for you.

I would move only if you feel like your living situation or job opportunity will improve.

 

[honey0102]

I am currently a pre-clinical medical student in Hong Kong. I have an uncle in the US and my family applied for family reunification immigration to the US. After 15 years of waiting, we have been notified by USCIS that we can obtain our green cards in the coming two years. To be honest, I did not make any plans about developing my medical career in the US before, but I am now seriously considering this possibility. However, if I decide to move to the US, I have a very low chance to return to Hong Kong as the medical council in Hong Kong does not recognise foreign medical trainings. In other words, this is a one-way road. Should I stay in Hong Kong or move to the US?

You can PM me for details but I'd recommend staying in HK. After speaking to multiple International Medical Graduates I know it's no easy feat to become a doctor here after having studied medicine abroad. And if you intend to apply to medical school here...that is pretty difficult too. So yeah, highly recommend HK but you can PM me if you want to know more

 

[Osminog]

Hong Kong is a fantastic place to live—low crime, beautiful culture, and economic prosperity. Also, physicians are well-compensated there. Why would you want to abandon your medical studies in Hong Kong for a dubious future in the United States?

 

[miu2015]

Every country has its own problems, but America is great in my opinion. It is not easy to obtain a green card to come to live in America , but it is easy to leave if things do not work out. Medical school in the US is challenging, but how would you know you cannot do it if you do not at least try? No one can decide where you should live but you because you know yourself best. I enjoy new experience and think it's such a blessing to be able to attend college in the US! Good luck to you.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Do you want to work in HK or the US? If you're already in med school you will likely face a much longer road in terms of time if you want to restart in the US.

 

[Cheeni17]

What makes you want to come here? I’d would require a lot of reasons to change counties and these r things only you can decide.

 

[StarDancer]

I know at least 3 Chris Wongs =)

If you decide to immigrate, make sure you finish your medical program in HK and then apply for residency here. Hard, if not impossible to transfer into a med school here.

 

[Espadaleader]

If you are already in medical school in HK, stay there and finish it. You won’t have trouble matching in the US coming from HK if you’re doing IM/primary care.

 

[Premed2295]

If you want to practice medicine in the US, come to school here.
If not, there are schools that are qualified closer to home as well.
But it’s an uphill battle to get a US residency from a foreign school no matter where it’s located. Of course it can be done, but it’s a challenge

 

[StarDancer]

@Chris_Wong If you do decide to come, timing is key. As an immigrant myself, I know that there is a certain window where you need to make the move and after you make the move, you need to be in the US at least every 6 months or you lose your green card and cannot apply for citizenship later.

But first, you need to figure out where you want to spend the rest of your life.

 

[Iris42]

I abandoned foreign medical school to come to US medical school, I'm an 2nd year medical student now, while my classmates back home are second year residents!! In the hindsight I wish I had finished my med school back home and came here for residency!

 

[Alin622]

Hi OP, I have similar struggles as you do, in a slightly different situation, but also looking for suggestions! I am currently attending a pretty good college in the U.S. and I am an international student applying to U.S. medical schools as well as HKU/CUHK this coming cycle. Because my home city to close to HK, I am thinking that staying in HK in the future should be a viable option. I have a strong preference to come back to the HK region in the future (b/c of cultural differences, sense of belonging, etc. which are important indeed), but I do not see that happening with the current protectionist policy of the hospital authority in HK and low passing rate licensing exam if I choose to do MD/DO in the U.S. I am sorta worried about the work/life balance in HK public hospitals and additional medical education in UK/US after I complete my first year of internship in HK. Any advice will be appreciated!

 

[StrawHatPillow]

I absolutely understand where you are coming from. I immigrated from HK when I was 15 and am currently enrolled in a MD program in the US. Trust me, either choice isn't going to be easy. So let me try to break it down what I have experienced or heard from my friends working in the medical field in HK.

1. HK is and will continue to be politically unstable. That being said, there is also a good chance that the med council will allow more mainland doctors to practice in HK. I personally don't know any mainland doctors, but from their medical documents that I have seen, there are quite some discrepancies from our guidelines. So honestly, I cannot fathom how it would be like once the laws have passed.

2. You still can return to HK if you'd like. You just have to play by their rules. I've heard the med council is recommending some kind of 5 year internship? So again, very dependent on politics.

3. I believe that there's more diversity here in the US because of the immigrant population. For instance, my friend, who is a medical student in HK, told me that they have never seen a sickle cell patient before, while it's extremely common in my university hospital. So medically or for knowledge wise, it may be worthwhile to consider coming to US.

4. Leaving HK is going to be hard because you know you are able to end up here in a US medical school ONLY because of HK taxpayers and the free education that comes with them. I hold this to my heart very dearly every day and it is not easy to cope with. You are going to feel homesick, especially when things escalate in HK. But it's never a one-way road in life. For example, I consider both HK and US my hometowns - one in which I was raised, one where I spend the majority of my adulthood. So I'm going to help out whenever these two places are in need of my service. Now, I am seriously considering practicing in HK when I'm done with my medical training, because of the severe shortage of physicians there. OR in contrast, it's never too late to start your career in the US. You can potentially start it when you have attained your medical degree in HK.

Those are my honest opinion. I hope it gives you some insights.

What do you mean by pre-clinical medical student? What year (out of 6) are you in or have you already graduated? Your options may change depending on which year you would be put into when you are here in the US. Feel free to PM me!

 

[RaidenXVC]

1. If you are already in medical school, stay there until you graduate. Period. Getting into medical school in the US is a crap shoot even for the best applicants. You are able to match into residency as a foreign medical graduate. But you won't get to be a doctor anywhere unless you have a degree.

2. If you are not in medical school, I'd say just come to the US and try it. Opportunities like this don't come very often. If you don't like it then you can always move back to Hong Kong and at worst you may have only delayed your career by a couple of years.

3. As others have said, where do you want to live for the next 10-20 years. Have you ever visited the US for an extended period of time? If you have did you ever go outside of one of the major cities to a small town? If you graduate from a medical school in HK and move here for residency this is where you will most likely end up working for a few years. Most people I have met that have never been to the US have an opinion that tends to be pretty skewed by Movies/TV/pop culture when in reality I'd say >50% of the country kinda sucks as a place to live.

 

[watermelon master]

The easiest and most straightforward piece of advice is - go do residency in the country in which you would like to practice medicine