south africa universities

[Drwanabe]

Hi, I was wondering if anybody knew if any south african med schools accepted international students (i.e. University of cape town). Also are there any grad entry programs, or are they 5-6 year programs, thanks for your time.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[riverwoman1040]

I studied abroad at UCT and actually briefly considered going to med school there. It's a great place to be, but they don't have a grad admit program, so you'd be starting with all of the students straight out of high school. They don't do undergrad like US schools do before med school, so you wouldn't be repeating all of the courses you took, but it's a longer path.

 

[Maevlyn]

South African Universities do accept international students but only from other SADC countries like Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana, so if you're from one of those countries you may have a chance of getting in. Most of the Universities offer a 6 year programme, followed by 2 internship years and 1 community service year so you're looking at +-9 years to complete your degree. Otherwise if you want you can also do clinical rotations here to get some practical experience. We have a very hands on approach here and you learn lots.

Good luck!

Mae

 

[riverwoman1040]

South African Universities do accept international students but only from other SADC countries like Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana, so if you're from one of those countries you may have a chance of getting in. Most of the Universities offer a 6 year programme, followed by 2 internship years and 1 community service year so you're looking at +-9 years to complete your degree. Otherwise if you want you can also do clinical rotations here to get some practical experience. We have a very hands on approach here and you learn lots.

Good luck!

Mae

Something else to consider- medicine is different in different parts of the world. Yes, South Africa has some wonderful modern facilities, but you will also probably end up working with poor patients when you're in school. I had a wonderful experience working in a moblie clinic in the townships, but the resources are quite limited and it is very different. For example, yearly mammograms are not recommended, instead it's 2 to 3 years. Also, when patients had symptoms of a STI we treated them for multiple potential issues instead of testing them. Even in one of the top private hospitals, when one of my roommates got very sick, I noticed some major differences. Equipment is different, protocals are different, etc. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but if you're planning on ultimately practicing in a different country, plan on an adjustment period.

 

[KayBee]

To Maevlyn and any other med students or doctors in South Africa.

Hi. Im a fourth year med student in Ghana but from Botswana. I was considering doing my internship or residency in SA and haven't been able to get much information on how i would go about it or how eligible i would be. The websites were not very helpful im afraid, including the UCT one!

Could you provide any info? What exams would you have to take? Registration with the medical council? Which residencies are more accessible to foreigners? etc...

Any help would be appreciated. Thanx

 

[Maevlyn]

It might help you to look at the Health Professions website: www.hpcsa.co.za. They have info about registration exams etc. I'm not sure that any foreigner that has studied outside of SA can do an internship here. Could be wrong but I think they only want qualified doctors here, so you'd probably have to write the registration exam etc. Most doctors work as general practitioners here and that is actually what is needed- Doctors to provide healthcare in the rural areas. I spoke to a Dr from Russia who is working here and she worked as a paramedic for 3 years before obtaining conditional registration and she can still (after 10 years) not practice in the private sector, only in state facilities. Of course,you've studied in Ghana so I'm not really sure how it would work for you.

There are a lot of specialists in the cities here and competition for posts to specialize is FIERCE. That means that even South African doctors have to work for a couple of years and wait for a post to open up before they can specialize (get a residency). I don't think it's as easy as in let's say the USA. I'm not sure that a foreign dr would easily get a residency post, but I suppose it's all about who you know and where you are etc.

Make a point of contacting the HPCSA, I think they can provide you with lots more info than I can.

Good luck!

 

[KayBee]

Maevlyn hi.
I never did thank you for your reply. I guess i was a little dissapointed with the truth of what you said. I did check out the link you gave and it helped a lot, thanks.

Still a few details i would like to have that i think you or others in the SA might be able to help with. Im really interested in surgery. Do you know how many years they spend in residency over there? Do you have fellowships like in the US? Can you go straight into a subspecialty or all subspecialists have to go through general first? How many years to become, say, an ENT doc, orthopedics surgeon, urologist etc. Can you do an elective in any of these or it has to be in one of the four major rotations (i.e Internal medicine, general surgery, paediatrics and O'n'G)?

Thanks again