Taking a medicine course as a foreign student in the Caribbean Islands will be of much help if you desire to work abroad. The medical standards in this area have greatly improved. This is due to the increased number of healthcare researchers and practitioners.
Currently, there are about 247,000 foreign physicians in the USA. About 80,000 of them studied and graduated from USA medical schools. The numbers are expected to go up within the next few years. This is because a medical career is a high profile career in the USA.
If you are a foreigner and you wish to practice medicine in the USA here is a guide that will help:
Basic Guide for Foreign Students Wishing to Practice Medicine in the USA
1.Admission
First you need to choose a university. The university of your choice has to be accredited and approved by the USA. Some of the accreditations and approvals are:
- NCFMEA approved
- Approved by the Medical Board of California
- Recognition by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME)
- New York State Education Department Approved
The curriculum followed by these universities should have the required prerequisites to ensure you cover your premed studies.
Some universities may have full accreditation and some may be provisionally accredited. By provisionally accredited, it means that the university needs to satisfy some requirements for the USA to approve it.
It is advisable to study in a fully accredited institution. To avoid problems incase the university is denied accreditation.
2. Course
This is the classes you have to take to be accepted into a medical school. Different medical schools have different requirements on what premed classes to take. Make sure you take all the classes your desired med school requires.
You also have to take the MCAT. Again different med schools have the minimum grade you can get to join. Make sure you know this score and work hard towards achieving it.
After being admitted into med school you will undertake a 4 year journey. The 4 years are divided in two:
- First two years are studies of basic sciences e.g pathology, cell structure, and physiology.
- The second half is the USMLE exams.
USMLE Exams
This is a 3 step exam. Upon completion and success of the exam you will be issued with a medical practitioner’s license in the USA.
The exam mainly tests your abilities in applying medical principles, concepts and knowledge. It also tests your skills in communicating with patients.
Medical students have to study for 4 years before they can take this exam. This is 2 years of premed studies and 4 years of the MD program.
Practicing as a physician in the USA is not hard. All you need to do is make sure the university you attend as a premed student is accredited and approved by the USA. then make sure you take all the necessary premed classes your desired medical school requires. Get good grades in your MCAT. And you will be good to go.
