Medical Should I pursue school in the US now or after med school?

[Mr.Smile12]

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Right now I am in year 12 in the UK and want to work in the US as a doctor.

There are 2 options available for me - either get into a UK med school and after graduating secondary school, take the USMLE and get into a residential programme, which will eventually train me to become a doctor in the US, or to apply to a US university now.

However, there is a very lengthy and convoluted application process for international students and I have no idea where to start (I have read some stuff about SAT and ACT but have no clue about the syllabus, or any exam dates for the UK)) and it also turns out that I must do a 3 year bachelor's degree before studying medicine, which I don't really want (let me study and graduate already!!). Any links/websites/advice for international applicants and info about these US tests and the process for med students would be appreciated (I don't know too much about it right now and should start prepping soon).

On the other hand, the USMLE is an incredibly difficult multi-stage exam that really pushes everyone to the limits, which all US med school graduates take and the med school tailors their teaching for it, unlike UK med schools that tailor us for the UK version of it. The whole USMLE process takes about 6 months to prep and then about 6 another months to take the tests and do the interview etc. Then I have to apply for a residential programme and this process will probably take another couple of months and not to mention only a fraction of the people who apply are successful. I will probably study for this along F1 just in case things don't go to plan.

It's really doing my head in if I should just prep for AS and A levels and worry about all this after med school or apply to go to a US med school now, which saves me the hassle and worry of passing this exam. Any advice?

I guess it depends. I am guessing plenty of doctors who trained in the UK transition to the US. There are barriers but it's probably not a problem if you have the focus to do it. Networking is always a path towards seeing whether this is the way to go.

It is very expensive to go to college in the US and then more to go to medical school with your own resources. You could try Canada though but I'm not sure if it's that is much cheaper.

 

[Apollyon]

You are over thinking this. There are literal thousands of people that do either pathway every year (but not school in the UK and US medical residency).

The most time efficient way is go to school in the UK. If you are looking at going to undergrad in the US as a drag (and the bachelor's degree is usually 4 years), then it will feel like a LONG time while you do it.

Also, you are young. Your priorities may likely change. My niece was dead set on becoming a physical therapist when she was your age. She is in graduate school now for a master's degree in social work; she changed her aim in her second year of undergrad.

 

[lord999]

Agree with the above, but one specific matter, you have to be an actual British citizen (or BOTC in certain cases) to emigrate to the US with a British education. Should you not be a British citizen or if you were originally from a country that the US Department of Homeland Security has some restrictions on, the rules fall over to wherever you are from in terms of the visa system. As far as qualifying, this happens on a fairly regular basis to motivated and competent UK graduates. However, the UK does have restrictions on emigration that you need to figure out with your BM BCh route and that you have to go out of your way in your clinical years to rotate in the US at least once. You probably also have to deal with the choice between J1 and H1B (there is another pathway for exceptional postgraduates, but that is far beyond this discussion).