Why such bad opinions of FMG schools???

[ether]

Hi,

I have been reading this board in the "international forum" for quite awhile and am completely shocked at the opinion to training in a foreign schoool.

Are the opinions of the people here all premed. people, who don't really know what is going on??

I'm a FMG and know MANY FMGs who are started or are starting residency this yr. I talked about this option of going foreign to them and this is what there opinions were:

1. As long as u are open and flexible with the field u may go into AND the location of where u will train then it is okay to go foreign.

2. IF u are SET on doing something very comp. (a la opthal, derm, ENT, Ortho, surg. subspec., rads, ER, etc) THEN u will most likely find serious resistence.

3. Not going to a foreign school due to "not being able to get into top programs when u get back" is true, not only for FMGs BUT the majority of the applicants even among AMGs. There is a reason these are the "top programs" and that is because everyone in the country applies to them and only a FEW ever get accepted, meaning MANY MANY AMGs and FMGs get rejected from the same "top program".

4. Yes, there will always be a stigma if ur an FMG, but as many of my friends say: Who care when ur being paid in practice 4-7 yrs. down the road.

These are just some things I wanted others to take a look at amongst all the negative talk about going foreign for med. school.

OF course, my friends also echoed the same remarks about it being ALWAYS best to get into a american school vs. foreign, which is obvious. I just wanted to show many out there, that going foreign does not mean u can't get a residency and a good medical career afterwards.

Just look at the Ross and St. George websites and see where there grads. got into to.

Make ur own decision about foreign schools, don't just listen to everyone negativity and slanders that "american schools are the ONLY option!!".

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[Winged Scapula]

You've found the answer for most of the problems in your first paragraph. MOST of the stigma against IMGs/FMGs comes from pre-med and med students. I hear very little in the way of that from residents or faculty - as a matter of fact, most of the time its unknown where anyone went to medical school unless one makes a pointed inquiry.

The stigma arises because of the fact that MOST people who go overseas for their education do so because they could not obtain entry into a US school of medicine. Thus, the interpretation is that this person is not qualified to be a physician. I am not sure why foreign-born nationals educated in their own country are also stigmatized, perhaps it is racism to some extent and typical American egocentrism. People who have traveled abroad soon learn that the US way is not the only way and that some countries may actually be capable of doing the same or better job than many US hospitals (leaving out the obvious exception of world-class centers here and abroad).

Anyway, a very complicated issue - residents who pass the USMLEs are usually able to obtain satisfactory residencies in most fields. Rest assured that the stigma, while perhaps always somewhat present, will fade over time as your more learned colleagues will judge you on your work ethic and abilities, not where you were trained in medical school.

 

[BellKicker]

Gaad, Kimberley, you're so cool.

That sounded ironic, I know, but it's not. You can officially consider old BellKicker a fan/jester/supplier of sexual favors of Queen Kimberley.

You cut through the bull **** with surgical precision; you say it how it is! You may not be God ot THE God but certainly a lesser deity of sorts.

When I need to get my third nipple removed by a plastic surgeon........ RRrrrrr, baby.

 

[leorl]

I think you will notice if you've read enough that a lot of US premeds considering international education (especially AUS, UK, Ireland, Israel) are doing so for personal enrichment and desire to explore something different. Many of us have the grades and scores to get into a US school, but are choosing not to for our own reasons. It's not a path many people take, and not the wisest route if we want to practice in the US, but we'll never get another chance to live another culture again . So keep in mind that not everyone goes abroad just because they can't cut US schools, and that is respected. Everyone i've told about attending med school abroad, whether premed or med think it's the coolest thing in the world

 

[ApacheIndian]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by leorl:
• Everyone i've told about attending med school abroad, whether premed or med think it's the coolest thing in the world•••••This is very, very true. I spent 4 years in Hungary before transferring back here. Hungary... sounds weird right? Let me tell you something... it was the absolute BEST 4 years of my life. I made my best friends in the whole world there, we partied, we travelled, we met TONS of girls (gotta love those Eastern European women), we partied :wink: , we really EXPERIENCED Europe... it was friggin unbelievable. Having been back in the States for almost a year now, life here just seems so ordinary, so mundane... I truly miss the rich culture that's so unique to Europe. So much in fact, that after all this residency mumbo-jumbo :wink: , I actually want to settle down in Budapest... in a nice, little (o.k.--big ) house overlooking the Duna and Parliment... maybe become the next Deepak Chopra of the internet lol. If you do decide to go abroad, enjoy it--it truly is a unique opportunity that most others will never get...