Thanks everyone who participated this week. I hope it somewhat made up for the lack of real webinars happening in the world!
Our last question comes from Hana, who asked:
I have to admit, medical school is not an issue we?ve ever covered on this blog, and as I started to research this topic, I found out why. Going to medical school in the U.S. as an international student is pretty difficult. So much so that Yale University warns international students thinking of even pursuing a pre-med track as an undergraduate that:
The , but even more comprehensive, diatribe.
I spoke to Dr. Henry Sondheimer, the senior director of medical education at the ), who told me that only a small percentage of medical schools in the U.S. even consider international students for admission to their M.D. programs.
Why? Universities that receive public funding are often instructed to use that funding for producing doctors who will go on to work in that state. In fact, some public universities don?t even accept anyone from a different state, even if they are an American citizen. Private universities are more likely to consider international students, but Dr. Sondheimer said:
» (AAMC)
» (NAAHP)
As far as scholarships, Dr. Sondheimer told me that U.S. medical schools offer very little scholarship money to anyone. U.S. citizens finance a large chunk of their medical education through federal loans, which international students cannot get. An international student wanting to study in America should be, he said, ?extremely wealthy? and ?extremely committed.?
The policies seem to be more or less similar for D.O. degree-granting schools (D.O. = Doctor of Osteopathy). You can find out more on admissions policies for these schools on the .
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But, Sondheimer added, there are opportunities to get some medical experience in the U.S. if you are completing your medical training elsewhere. Many overseas schools have relationships with medical schools or training hospitals in the U.S., and can set up exchanges.
?There?s a huge amount of interest from our students in getting medical experience overseas, just as there is among overseas students in getting medical experience in the U.S.,? he said. ?I think the opportunity to pick up several months of medical experience in the U.S. during the last year of medical school ? is increasingly good.?
In addition, Sondheimer said that it is fairly common for graduates of foreign medical schools to do their residency in America. ?We are not graduating enough graduates in the U.S. to fill all the first year residency positions,? he said. So the rest of those spots get filled by people from overseas medical schools.
And that?s a paid gig, which comes with an average salary of $49,000.