Foreign Medical School - Getting Started

Let me explain to you how to choose a foreign medical school. First of all, why do people ever need to study at a foreign medical school in the first place? Well, reasons vary and while some families have to move abroad for a new job opportunity, others do it to save money, and yet there are cases where love is the driving force or the need to explore a new culture. But for whatever the reason, students often decide to study at a foreign medical school.

Of course, this whole story starts with a research so that you can find the perfect foreign medical school for your needs. As always, the Internet comes in quite handy here. All the major international universities have their own websites with detailed information regarding their programs and medical courses.

It's important that you select an educational institution that provides you with a nice environment, has laboratories that are properly equipped and only hires highly-qualified lecturers. The majority of the universities including international medical schools offer a 7-year medical program that is a combination of undergraduate studies and medical studies, and later on culminates in MD.

A lot of people are concerned as to whether or not foreign medical schools as good as those in the United States. You must be aware of the fact that there is strong variation in regards to the quality of foreign medical schools as compared to those in the US. Some of the foreign medical schools are just as good as US ones, even better.

Nevertheless, there isn't an available and reliable accreditation process that can prove the quality of foreign medical schools, so you as a potential student should check for evidence that the courses that are taught there pass certain educational standards. The foreign medical school of your choice must have the proper accreditation.

It must be pointed out that attending a foreign medical school does seem at times like a double edged sword because it may severely damage your chances of working in the USA. You will be qualified as International Medical Graduate. To become licensed to practice, one must score very high on the USMLE and the new Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) examination, which is only administered to IMGs.

No matter which particular institution you will choose, studying at a foreign country also costs money. If you do it in an Eastern European country like Bulgaria, you will definitely save a lot of money as the tuition fees currently are about $2,000 per semester for specialties like Industrial Engineering, Information Technologies, Computing Systems. But in Australia, expect your expenses to rise significantly.

In Australia, it takes six years to earn a Bachelors in Medicine and a Bachelors in Surgery. So you have additional two years because of the medical curriculum in Australia, which results into higher costs.