If you are planning on applying to foreign medical schools you should read Carlos Pestana’s Foreign Medical Schools for U.S. Citizens which is available in Dr. Fairbanks’ office (PH226A). It contrasts the French-type medical schools (originating with hospitals) and the German-type medical schools (originating with universities). It gives information on the last six years of ECFMG (Educational Commision for Foreign Medical Graduates) statistics for U.S. citizens on % passing the tests needed to get back into the U.S. as well as the language used in the medical schools and difficulties encountered by U.S. students.
Canadian medical schools are most like the U.S. medical schools, but more difficult to enter. You are more likely to be accepted at U.S. schools than Canadian schools unless your scores are extremely high.In terms of quality and similarity to U.S. Medical schools a highly qualified student could consider European schools in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Holland and Switzerland. However it is difficult to get accepted at these schools. France would be next in terms of success in getting back into the U.S. The success of U.S. students in Germany, Italy and Spain is lower. Comparable in quality to the Northern European schools are medical schools in South Africa and Australia. Another possibility in Europe is the Karol Marcinkowski Medical University in Poznan. Currently this school is eager to get U.S. students and has set aside 50 places for fall 1995. The classes will be taught in English.
A possibility for religious students interested in medical missionary work with Spanish speaking people would be Laescuela de Medicina de La Universidad de Monemorelos in Mexico. This school belongs to the Seventh Day Adventists Church and has very high moral standards with many prohibitions.
In the Caribbean there is a wide variety of so-called "off-shore medical schools". The best bets are shown below in the table. The newest and most untested is on the tiny island of Saba (island area - 5 square miles; population - 1,200) in the Netherlands-Antilles. For information call (800) 825-7754. Another is the rather small Antiqua School of Medicine (25 students per class). For information call (809) 460-1391. Avoid any medical school in the Dominican Republic where fraudulent schemes to attract money from desparate premedical students have flourished.
Currently the top choices in terms of quality, passing rates and numbers of U.S. students admitted are listed below with addresses and telephone numbers:
Country |
Language |
School |
Address |
Telephone |
Israel |
English in class; English & Hebrew in hospital |
Sackler School of Medicine |
17 East 62nd Street;New York, NY 10021 |
(212)
688-8811 |
U.S.(1st year) Israel |
English at Tuoro College (NY). English & Hebrew at Technion |
Technion Medical School in Haifa |
Tuoro
College |
(516)
673-3200 |
Ireland |
English |
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland |
123
St. Stephen's Green |
International +353-1-478-0200 |
Grenada |
English |
St. Georges University School of Medicine |
Medical
School Services, Ltd |
(800)
899-6937 |
Mexico |
English
1st year |
Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara |
8801
Callahan Road |
(800)
531-5494 |
St. Maarten |
English |
American University of the Caribbean |
Medical
Educa.Info. Office |
(305)
446-0600 |
Poland |
English |
Karol Marcinkowski Med. Univ. in Poznan |
Corvestor
Services Corp. |
(914)
454-6673 |
Dominica |
English |
Ross University |
International
Educa. Admissions |
(212)
279-5500 |
Newfoundland |
English |
Memorial University of Newfoundland |
St.
Johns Newfoundland |
(709)
737-6615 |
Getting back into the USA for medical practice
ADVANCED TRANSFER: Starting in your first year of foreign medical education you can begin the process of seeking to transfer to a U.S. medical school. Medical schools favor transfer students from other U.S. Medical Schools and usually for reasons connected with marriage situations or for professional reasons (transfers from Dental School in order to go into oral surgery or from Graduate School to complete an MD/PhD arrangement. In 1993-94 there were 73 transfer students who were accepted from foreign medical schools. Nearly 50 of those 73 were from St. Georges where the class size was about 400. To be among the successful 73 it would require that you be near the top of your foreign medical school class +/or do very well on the USMLE (United States Medical Licensure Examination). In 1993 there were 16,655 American Medical Students who took the exam and 91% passed. There were 17,000 foreign nationals who took the test and 45% passed. Only 28% of the 2,241 U.S. students in foreign medical schools taking the test passed. Many of the successful U.S. students in foreign medical school had to transfer to private U.S. medical schools with high tuitions rather than to state medical schools. The schools who have taken most of the transfer students have been N.Y. Med. Coll., U. Miami, Mt. Sinai, SUNY-Buffalo, Robert Wood Johnson, Georgetown, Northwestern, Chicago Med. Sch., Wayne State, U. Alabama-Birmingham, Med. Coll. PA, and Texas Tech. In some transfer situations it is necessary to retake years of medical school already finished at the foreign medical school.
FULL GRADUATION ROUTE: For this pathway you would complete your medical education at a foreign medical school including all clinical years. You would have had to have taken all steps 1 & 2 of the USMLE administered by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates rather than through the National Board of Medical Examiners as is the case with students in U.S. Medical Schools. You would then have to apply to the National Resident Matching Program where 90% of U.S medical students get matched, but only 40-50% of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) get matched. Those that don’t get matched wind up in the 48 hour scramble to find residencies and may wind up in hospitals outside of the match system. The final hurdle is to pass step 3 of the USMLE administered by a State Board of Medical Examiners.
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