studying medicine in the Czech Republic?

[ChimeraAlly]

Hello,

I'm new to the forums, and I wonder if there is anyone else studying in the Czech Republic, either Czech or a foreigner (I know that Czech medical schools offer the education in English, too)

I'm Czech, studying the Palacky University, currently the 2nd year out of 6.

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[shreypete]

I'm in the 3rd year at Charles University (First Faculty of Medicine). Welcome to the studentdoctor network =)

 

[ChimeraAlly]

How do you like it in Prague? Are you in Czech or in English Progamme?

I was accepted to Prague too, but I chose Olomouc because it was closer to home, and my mom studied there too, so she was highly reccomending it.

I heard the 3rd year is the most difficult, I'm really not looking forward to it

 

[shreypete]

Prague is ok. It's a nice, little charming city but frankly, after having stayed here for 3 years, I just wanna go back home. I'm in the English program.

3rd year is indeed a nightmare. I think once you get past the pre-clinical segment of studies, things should be "slightly" better (I say slightly because the coursework and the subjects only get harder...but they do fail fewer people.)

How is Olomouc? I do have 2 friends studying there but I haven't really been in touch with them for a long time now.

 

[ChimeraAlly]

Olomouc is a very nice city, the classes are smaller than in LF1 (with about 150-200 people in the Czech program, 50 or so in the English program), so it's much more "personal" than in Prague (or at least, everybody says so )
The city itself is quite small, the accomodation and public transportation are several times cheaper
eg. the student 90 days public transportation ticket is 390Kc, in Prague it's 720Kc, a decent 2-3 person shared apartment close to school with internet is about 2-3,000 Kc (I'm not talking about the school campus dorms, those are okay even in Prague, but the actual apartments in Prague, yay)
Economy played the role when choosing the school, too.

Do you speak Czech, already? I know few 3rd year English program students and they spoke a bit Czech, not much, but enough to survive here.

Where are you from? What made you choose the Czech Republic? I'm always curious about this, I know some people are here because of the government scholarship, some pay the tuition themselves.
Do you like Czech people, culture etc? I know that for some, especially muslim, students it's quite a culture shock.

I can absolutely understand your wish to return home, I'd like to study abroad at a summer school or maybe a year-long exchange program, but I cannot imagine studying whole 6 years abroad ... (well, many Czechs are like that, we are more homebound than other countries, I guess)

 

[shreypete]

I can speak a fair bit of Czech. I've been self-learning for the most part but I don't really like this language. I am however, working on improving my German (which is not really useful as of now lol.)

I'm from the US and I chose this university because I never actually did a bachelor's degree (i.e. college). I wanted to go to med school directly (little did I know back then that I had a huge price to pay.) But I am really satisfied with the university as I've learnt a lot over the years. The profs. are also quite good, which makes things a lot better.

I do pay for my own tuition (which isn't really that expensive when compared to schools in the US.)

I do like certain aspects of Czech culture (like the fact that they're quite family oriented.) I'm not really a fan of Czech food or rather the Bohemian cuisine as I find it quite limited in choice (but I do love gulash, svickova, blbovina, and a few other dishes.) I also don't mind being around Czech people...well most of them. I've had some awkward/bad encounters but I guess these sorts of people are ubiquitous in every country. And if you don't mind me asking, where are you from? How's 2nd year working out for you?

 

[ChimeraAlly]

Living in a little village near Boskovice town, I'm a countrywoman

Ah, yes, I consider the American way - college before med school - absolutely crazy ... Why? It's just more money (and years) spent in my opinion ...
Is the American med system very different? I've heard they have only one semester of anatomy, but not like here, they learn only the anatomy, nothing else at that time. I don't know what to think of it ... I'd probably go crazy from studying only the anatomy all the time.
I like the 2 - 3 semesters here better.
I don't know much about other subjects, since anatomy used to be my main worry until now.

Will your title be recognised? Or will you have to do some additional exams in the US?

As I wrote in the Overcoming Perfectionism topic, I'm kinda burned out ...
We had 3 semesters of anatomy, and this semester, so much pressure has been lifted ... but I can't bring myself to study ... now, it's mainly biochemistry and physiology and I want to take the biochemistry first (because I don't like it and I find it more difficult, and I always took the most difficult exams first).

EDIT: About the German ... Aww, I choose French at high school, at that time I was glad I didn't have to learn German (I didn't really liked the language), but now I regret it ... After seeing the huge job opportunities in Germany, I really consider taking German lessons...

 

[shreypete]

Actually American medical schools are rather diverse. Some of them follow the block system while others don't. Some use the PBL (problem based learning) approach, while others stick to the traditional approach.

But in general, as most American med schools are 4 years in length, it's a lot more intense and difficult as you have tons of subjects every year (which explains why many medical schools follow the block system, where only one subject is dealt with for 5 - 6 weeks or longer.)

The title we receive here is CR (MuDr.) is equivalent to MD but one does have to undergo the USMLE Steps (3 steps) + ECFMG certification and also getting licensure from the state.

Our anatomy course here at Charles is 2 semesters (1 year) in length and yes, it was quite hard. I think we had almost 15 students who failed it and couldn't go on to the next year (in addition to another 13 subjects who either failed Histology or dropped out.)

2nd year was a lot harder than the first. I had a tough time with Biochem in the beginning but everything turned out fine in the end. Physiology is a lot harder mainly because it's such a vast subject. But I really loved it.

3rd year has been the worst. I've only finished Microbiology and Propadeutics in Internal Medicine but I still have 5 to go (Pathology, Pathophysiology, Pathobiochem, Prop. in Surgery, and Czech.)

And you're right, Germany is undergoing a huge shortage of doctors at the moment (and this trend is said to continue for the next few years). I'm actually looking into the Netherlands or Scandinavia as my alternative (in case I don't get into the US).

 

[hashimahmad]

Actually American medical schools are rather diverse. Some of them follow the block system while others don't. Some use the PBL (problem based learning) approach, while others stick to the traditional approach.

But in general, as most American med schools are 4 years in length, it's a lot more intense and difficult as you have tons of subjects every year (which explains why many medical schools follow the block system, where only one subject is dealt with for 5 - 6 weeks or longer.)

The title we receive here is CR (MuDr.) is equivalent to MD but one does have to undergo the USMLE Steps (3 steps) + ECFMG certification and also getting licensure from the state.

Our anatomy course here at Charles is 2 semesters (1 year) in length and yes, it was quite hard. I think we had almost 15 students who failed it and couldn't go on to the next year (in addition to another 13 subjects who either failed Histology or dropped out.)

2nd year was a lot harder than the first. I had a tough time with Biochem in the beginning but everything turned out fine in the end. Physiology is a lot harder mainly because it's such a vast subject. But I really loved it.

3rd year has been the worst. I've only finished Microbiology and Propadeutics in Internal Medicine but I still have 5 to go (Pathology, Pathophysiology, Pathobiochem, Prop. in Surgery, and Czech.)

And you're right, Germany is undergoing a huge shortage of doctors at the moment (and this trend is said to continue for the next few years). I'm actually looking into the Netherlands or Scandinavia as my alternative (in case I don't get into the US).

hello my friend.

I am a 16 year old US student with a 3.45 GPA and a drive to make it to the czech republic. I am very nervous about the entrance exam to charles university. Any tips or tricks you can please teach me so i do not fail in my life? Please and thank you!

 

[Olaa49]

Hey everyone!
I am very interested in applying to a couple of the czech universities and have a couple of questions to ask!

1) Apart from passing the tests, what other entry requirements are needed?

2) I am currently taking British A levels and I am taking biology, chemistry and maths. And I was just wondering, do I definitely need to take maths?

3) Do I have to get certain grades in my A levels to get a place?

4) Do the universities give you an interview?

5) How early can you take the tests and how long do I need to prepare for them?

Thank you!

 

[kpraguema]

hii so the entrance examination and the interview will happened in one day there will be three multiple choice tests and then if u have gotten a high score u will go to an interview. There are no entrance requirements the reason for it is because Charles university believes that everyone should get an opportunity and also because each school and educational system is different. If i was you i would actually take maths its not needed but it will enhance your logical thinking plus help u with chemistry. The entrance examination usually happenes in the end of may and in June ( in jully there is a lower chance of getting in ) however each faculty is different

 

[hashimahmad]

hii so the entrance examination and the interview will happened in one day there will be three multiple choice tests and then if u have gotten a high score u will go to an interview. There are no entrance requirements the reason for it is because Charles university believes that everyone should get an opportunity and also because each school and educational system is different. If i was you i would actually take maths its not needed but it will enhance you logic thinking plus help u with chemistry. The entrance examination usually happenes in the end of may and in august ( in August there is a lower chance of getting in ) however each faculty is different

Thank you so much! How hard was the test? I am in the US so i will have to take the test In New York. Where are you from?

 

[samwilson]

I'm thinking about applying to the university in Prague. Is it worth it? I lived in France for a couple of years and wasn't accepted for the medical course... they asked me to send all the certificates from Millersville University of Pennsylvania where I studied before.. I couldn't do it..

 

[gyngyn]

I'm thinking about applying to the university in Prague. Is it worth it? I lived in France for a couple of years and wasn't accepted for the medical course... they asked me to send all the certificates from Millersville University of Pennsylvania where I studied before.. I couldn't do it..

If you are planning to return to the US, you should know that there were too few IMG's from the Czech Republic to be included in ECFMG data on US Matches.

 

[Olaa49]

Hi, does anyone know what needs to be on the school leaving certificate?

Thanks in advance

 

[kpraguema]

Hi, does anyone know what needs to be on the school leaving certificate?

Thanks in advance

Hii I guess u have been admitted so congrats. Leaving certificate is either your baccalaureate diploma or a graduation diploma

 

[TheSilentKnight]

I can speak a fair bit of Czech. I've been self-learning for the most part but I don't really like this language. I am however, working on improving my German (which is not really useful as of now lol.)

I'm from the US and I chose this university because I never actually did a bachelor's degree (i.e. college). I wanted to go to med school directly (little did I know back then that I had a huge price to pay.) But I am really satisfied with the university as I've learnt a lot over the years. The profs. are also quite good, which makes things a lot better.

I do pay for my own tuition (which isn't really that expensive when compared to schools in the US.)

I do like certain aspects of Czech culture (like the fact that they're quite family oriented.) I'm not really a fan of Czech food or rather the Bohemian cuisine as I find it quite limited in choice (but I do love gulash, svickova, blbovina, and a few other dishes.) I also don't mind being around Czech people...well most of them. I've had some awkward/bad encounters but I guess these sorts of people are ubiquitous in every country. And if you don't mind me asking, where are you from? How's 2nd year working out for you?

What was the major price which you had to pay? The limited residency options? The tedious process of returning to North America? Is pathology an option for an IMG returning to North America?