<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by ArielH:
I suppose the bottom line comes down to this: I cannot invest 2 years in the carribean or in Mexico right now, however I could invest the time in an internet based, basic sciences plan of sudy. This model is used in Australia and New Zealand now, and with the exception of such courses and gross anatomy and histology which I can take here at UConn or Yale, I would be well-prepared for the 2 years of rotations in a US hospital.
I do worry that after the 4 years I may not be able to become licensed due to the internet coursework on my transcript, thus I may have to become lisenced in Australia or New Zealand, and try to get reciprocity in the US, which seems unlikely.
As respects becoming licensed as a clinical psychologist, that seems to be redndant in that I already have been trained, a post-doc internship is all that is required. However I wouldstill lack the medical training that I need to be able to d the work I want to do - both in terms of research and practice.•
Hi Ariel,
As a recent graduate of an Australian school I feel I must address some inaccuracies in the above post.
I am not aware of ANY Australian medical school which relies on internet resources to teach medicine. Several of the schools have gone to the 4 yr American model and utilize PBL based curriculums, but the basic sciences are NOT taught on-line. To be sure, the schools do have RESOURCES (programs, lecture notes, etc.) on-line or on CD-Rom and are using the technology to enhance the study of medicine, but ALL of them require PBL and didactic attendance during the first 2 years. In addition, all require attendance on the wards and in clinics during the first two years to teach and hone clinical skills. There is no getting around this. The final two years are hospital based just as they are in the US.
Your last paragraph notes the unlikelihood of getting licensed in Australia and then transferring this to the US. This is correct because of several difficulties.
1) full unrestricted licensure in Australia requires not only the completion of an internship (which "registers" you) but the completion of a residency (known as a registration or advanced training)
2) currently there are not enough spaces in advanced training for OZ citizens who graduate with medical degrees. In most states, a non-citizen, even with an Oz medical degree, will be considered LAST or second to last (before non-citizen, non-Oz grads) for residency placement. The laws vary from state to state, but in general, most of the Americans who trained down there and decided to stay for internship are having great difficulty getting a visa. And when they do, it will require them to leave the country after completion of an internship. Staying in the country for residency usually requires that you either become a citizen of Oz or that you agree to work "bush". Even simply marrying an Oz citizen is no guarantee - I have a classmate who did that and I believe that he was required to be married for at least 3 years before consideration would be given to his citizenship application.
3)there exists no "reciprocity" in licensing between the US and any country except Canada. A graduate of any school outside of the US and Canada is required to go through the same steps for ECFMG certification: USMLE Steps 1 and 2, the TOEFL and the CSA. Having an Australian license to practice medicine does not exclude you from these steps.
4)to become BC in several fields requires that you have done your residency in the US. I have spoken to many Australian physicians who were required to repeat all or a large portion of their OZ residency once here in the US. Check out the professional association for fields you might be interested in.
5) finally, should you find that you could do a residency in OZ be aware that the training periods are considerably longer there than in the US. Thus, a 3 year residency in the US could perhaps take you as long as 6 years in OZ. You've mentioned that you are older - this may be a consideration.
I hope this doesn't sound harsh; I didn't intend for it too. It just has appeared to me that often people are ignorant of the regulations in different countries. I had more than one classmate who assumed he could become an Australian citizen simply by moving down there and going to school, and further assumed he could simply stay for residency training should be choose to do so. It is not like gaining state citizenship in the US. It is MUCH more difficult and physicians are not at the top of the list to gain entry into Oz.
I sympathize with your plight but it appears that to have all the advantages that a medical degree confers, you must do the traditional curriculum. Obviously this would require that you quit your job, a serious undertaking. I wish you only the best of luck and hope that you are able to come to a decision soon. Please feel free to write should you have anymore questions about Australian medicine.
