a few questions regarding funding, etc.

[3Xhelix]

I PM'ed this to one of the regulars on here but have so far received no answers so i thought i'd give it a bash here..

I have lurked around the message board for a while, but don't post that often. I am currently 25 and have lived in the states since I was 15. I lived in australia before then and am considering moving back for medical school. I have got a few questions that I haven't been able to find the answers to searching around and I thought some US expats on here might be able to help.

Are you able to get USA federal student loans to go to medical school like a medical student in the USA could? I know these are capped out at a certain limit and you probably have to take out additional loans, but was just wondering if it is possible to do this. I'm now an aussie citizen/USA permanent resident (soon to be dual citizen) and was hoping that I could pay for school with a combination of US loans for living expenses and hopefully a commonwealth supported place for tuition/fees. Anyone aware of any rules against this?

How are things done regarding specialty training/residency placement in aus? In the US i know it is a "match" system. Was just wondering if it would be likely to be put in the bush somewhere for training. if one really wanted to be in more of a tertiary/bigger city setting, would it be difficult to do with some amount of certainty?

Are there any opportunities for student research? I know in the US some medical schools will even offer a year off for a research project, was just wondering if this was heard of over there. I currently work as an embryology/molecular biology technician and would like to have the opportunity to continue with some form of research whilst in medical school.

Any help you could give me would be really appreciated!

cheers

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[Winged Scapula]

Are you able to get USA federal student loans to go to medical school like a medical student in the USA could?

Yes, if you are a US citizen who has not defaulted on previous federal student loans.

I'm now an aussie citizen/USA permanent resident (soon to be dual citizen) and was hoping that I could pay for school with a combination of US loans for living expenses and hopefully a commonwealth supported place for tuition/fees. Anyone aware of any rules against this?

Only that the Aussie schools will likely "make you" choose whether you are applying as an international or national student. Most likely they will require you to take an international spot because you have lived in the US for so long and are soon to be a US citizen. However, that doesn't mean that you couldn't or wouldn't get a Aussie citizen spot.

Your query is interesting and I'm afraid I am unaware of any real rules against it - that is, being accepted as an Aussie national, with national tuition rates, but using your US citizenship to get loans to pay for school. Unless someone else knows, I would imagine it would be up to the individual schools as I don't see the US government really caring as long as you are a citizen attending an approved school.

How are things done regarding specialty training/residency placement in aus? In the US i know it is a "match" system. Was just wondering if it would be likely to be put in the bush somewhere for training. if one really wanted to be in more of a tertiary/bigger city setting, would it be difficult to do with some amount of certainty?

It depends on what you want to do, at least for advanced training positions. Initially, it is all really based on your locale, citizenship, etc. For example, if you attend school in NSW and are from NSW, you and your likewise colleagues will get first dibs on NSW training spots. Second dibs go to those trained in NSW but are from another state, territory; 3rd choice to those training out of state who are from another state and last would be those trained out of state who are not Aussie citizens.

There is no certainty that you would get the spot you wish, but if you could muster some evidence that you are from a certain province, then it would increase your chances.

Are there any opportunities for student research? I know in the US some medical schools will even offer a year off for a research project, was just wondering if this was heard of over there. I currently work as an embryology/molecular biology technician and would like to have the opportunity to continue with some form of research whilst in medical school.

Any help you could give me would be really appreciated!

cheers

Its not as common to take time off to do research while in medical school in Oz. However, I suppose it could be managed and arranged with some foresight.

 

[craig_rt]

I PM'ed this to one of the regulars on here but have so far received no answers so i thought i'd give it a bash here..

How are things done regarding specialty training/residency placement in aus? In the US i know it is a "match" system. Was just wondering if it would be likely to be put in the bush somewhere for training. if one really wanted to be in more of a tertiary/bigger city setting, would it be difficult to do with some amount of certainty?

It is all done a bit differently. In Aus you do not directly stream into a specialty - you do your intenship and residency (usually 1 year) before you apply for specialty training. Some of the colleges will accept the residency year as part of the training.

Applying for internship positions is done centrally. You nominate your preferences and then a computerised system will allocate people to hospital systems. See this site for more details of how it done in South Australia. Other states will be similar.

As for specialty training, you apply directly to a hospital system. So it is therefor more about references, who you know, research, etc.

Are there any opportunities for student research? I know in the US some medical schools will even offer a year off for a research project, was just wondering if this was heard of over there. I currently work as an embryology/molecular biology technician and would like to have the opportunity to continue with some form of research whilst in medical school.

I think that a few of the medical schools do this. Often it is an extra year and will get you a bachelor of medical science as well as the medical degree. You do research during that year. Some people say that it will help to get into research heavy specialties or help to start a PhD, but there is no real consensus on the benefits yet.

Any help you could give me would be really appreciated!

Hope that it helps.

 

[3Xhelix]

thanks a lot, that information is really helpful.

one more quick question i was just curious about- does anyone know what the chances are of doing residency in a different commonwealth country? i've heard a few stories of aussies doing residencies in london, etc and was just wondering if it is a relatively common thing to do or not, and if so how difficult it is. I know obviously a lot of americans go back to the states but i realise that is pretty difficult to do as the medical systems are set up differently, and as such i'm not planning on that at the moment. Just thought it would be more common between MBBS granting countries..

 

[craig_rt]

Registration as a doctor is reconbised in a number of countries, such as the UK, New Zealand, Singapore and maybe a few others. Many people do part of their training overseas and for some specialties it is stongly encouraged. So this would not be difficult to arrange.

But doing your entire specialty training (and I assume that this is what you mean by residency, as it has slightly different meanings in different countries) would be harder to do and would depend on the individual country.

 

[3Xhelix]

Thanks a lot craig and kimberli!