Studying Overseas... help!!

[arethousa]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

At this point in time, I want to leave America and attend medical school somewhere in the European Union, preferably the UK. It is my wish to stay there. I will be graduating with my undergrad in May 2012, and I have a mountain of questions that I am having a difficult time finding answers to.

What quality of medical education could I receive? I do not want to compromise this, even if it means that I will have to stay in America longer than expected.

Do I even need to take the MCAT?

How do I go about the application process? Do I need to start applying for a student visa now? The requirements on the websites do not talk about GPAs on our scale.

If I change my mind about the country and want to move back to America, will my medical education be recognized?

I know most of these questions can be answered on a school-by-school basis, so if anyone has any insight or experience, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[Honze55]

SDN is mostly for doctors/students that plan to be educated and practice in America.

check out valuemd.com, as the people on that forum will be better qualified to answer your questions.

 

[arethousa]

thank you!!!!

 

[WNT Signaling]

A few things:

If you do not have EU citizenship, finding an attending position will be extreamly difficult. While graduating from a medical school within the EU will allow you to practice in the EU, if you do not have citizenship, a hospital will have to sponsor you for a visa, and this can be unpleasent in some countries to worse than hell in others. In many countries, such as Germany, there are too many physicians; in other countries, such as Denmark, there are surpluses of physicians in Copenhagen and Aarhus, and shortages in the less desirable parts of the country. However, even in the most under-served areas of Denmark, hospitals will only hire physicians who hold EU citizenship.

If you land an attending position in the EU, you will almost certainly be double-taxed because in order to not pay US income taxes, you would have to make less than $91,400. If you make more than this, any income above this will be double-taxed by the US and the country you are living in.

EU doctors make anywhere from peanuts to decent money, but they do not make nearly as much as their US counterparts.

If you want to come back to the US for residency, you will be classified as a US citizen who is an international medical gradaute (i.e. you will be in the same boat as all the Americans who grdauted from a Caribbean school). If you complete a residency in the EU and want to come back to the US, you will have to repeat your residency (in certain cases though, you could do a fellowship, and your residency abroad would be retroactively credited since you completed a fellowship in the US). Remember, even if you complete a residency in a well-developed country that has excellent medical care like Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, or Britain, your residency will not be recognized

I'm just curious: have you ever actually lived in Europe? Now, I'm not talking about visiting, I mean have you lived in the EU for at least a year.

 

[arethousa]

A few things:

If you do not have EU citizenship, finding an attending position will be extreamly difficult. While graduating from a medical school within the EU will allow you to practice in the EU, if you do not have citizenship, a hospital will have to sponsor you for a visa, and this can be unpleasent in some countries to worse than hell in others. In many countries, such as Germany, there are too many physicians; in other countries, such as Denmark, there are surpluses of physicians in Copenhagen and Aarhus, and shortages in the less desirable parts of the country. However, even in the most under-served areas of Denmark, hospitals will only hire physicians who hold EU citizenship.

If you land an attending position in the EU, you will almost certainly be double-taxed because in order to not pay US income taxes, you would have to make less than $91,400. If you make more than this, any income above this will be double-taxed by the US and the country you are living in.

EU doctors make anywhere from peanuts to decent money, but they do not make nearly as much as their US counterparts.

If you want to come back to the US for residency, you will be classified as a US citizen who is an international medical gradaute (i.e. you will be in the same boat as all the Americans who grdauted from a Caribbean school). If you complete a residency in the EU and want to come back to the US, you will have to repeat your residency (in certain cases though, you could do a fellowship, and your residency abroad would be retroactively credited since you completed a fellowship in the US). Remember, even if you complete a residency in a well-developed country that has excellent medical care like Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, or Britain, your residency will not be recognized

I'm just curious: have you ever actually lived in Europe? Now, I'm not talking about visiting, I mean have you lived in the EU for at least a year.

I was actually born in Scotland, and have a Scottish birth certificate (albeit I was born of American parents abroad).


Thank you for your input! Have you researched this before?

 

[WNT Signaling]

I was actually born in Scotland, and have a Scottish birth certificate (albeit I was born of American parents abroad).


Thank you for your input! Have you researched this before?

No problem. I've lived in Denmark and Germany for a year each, and given the opportunity, I would move/practice in any of the Nordic Countries in a heartbeat