A warning to all my North American friends considering UK & Ireland..

[Premedguy2017]

Hey, guys. I know this thread is kind of dead, but I am hoping someone has advice for me.

I attended high school in the UK and completed A-levels there before deciding to return to the US for university (I lived in the US from birth to the age of nine and have US citizenship, but my family lives in the UK). Last summer (2016-2017), I applied for US MD programs (no DO) and obtained one interview. Unfortunately, I was not offered a place due to a low MCAT score (508) amongst other factors. During the same cycle, I also applied to UK medical schools and received an offer to study medicine at the Newcastle Medical School in September 2017 on the A100 (5-year) program.

After going through each process, I believe I want to practice medicine in the US. I am confident that if I re-apply to DO schools in the US with my current MCAT score and extracurriculars, I will be accepted to at least one DO program. Additionally, I am deliberating re-taking the MCAT to make my application more competitive for MD programs. My question to you all is this: If I am accepted to a DO program in the next cycle, is it worth 'dropping out' of Newcastle Medical school to obtain a medical degree in the US, or is it still possible for me to be competitive for US residencies as an International Medical Graduate (IMG)? I do not have the worry of not obtaining a place in UK residency programs if I decide I want to stay in the UK, as I have settled status in the UK and can apply for citizenship.

Any thoughts or opinions would be excellent, thanks.

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[RCSI student]

Hey, guys. I know this thread is kind of dead, but I am hoping someone has advice for me.

I attended high school in the UK and completed A-levels there before deciding to return to the US for university (I lived in the US from birth to the age of nine and have US citizenship, but my family lives in the UK). Last summer (2016-2017), I applied for US MD programs (no DO) and obtained one interview. Unfortunately, I was not offered a place due to a low MCAT score (508) amongst other factors. During the same cycle, I also applied to UK medical schools and received an offer to study medicine at the Newcastle Medical School in September 2017 on the A100 (5-year) program.

After going through each process, I believe I want to practice medicine in the US. I am confident that if I re-apply to DO schools in the US with my current MCAT score and extracurriculars, I will be accepted to at least one DO program. Additionally, I am deliberating re-taking the MCAT to make my application more competitive for MD programs. My question to you all is this: If I am accepted to a DO program in the next cycle, is it worth 'dropping out' of Newcastle Medical school to obtain a medical degree in the US, or is it still possible for me to be competitive for US residencies as an International Medical Graduate (IMG)? I do not have the worry of not obtaining a place in UK residency programs if I decide I want to stay in the UK, as I have settled status in the UK and can apply for citizenship.

Any thoughts or opinions would be excellent, thanks.

A couple of good questions. You will also find lots of information in various threads on this forum. It is certainly not a bad idea to retake the MCAT and re-apply to DO and USMD schools. There are anecdotal stories of people doing this and re-starting medical school in their home country after 1-2 years abroad.

A couple of thoughts regarding whether or not its worth it to switch from Newcastle to a US based school
- DO schools on average have a higher match rate than IMG schools but, still get less competitive spots than USMD schools. So if you're thinking of doing something really competitive like highly specialised surgical specialties, derm or radiology than you would be better off trying for USMD schools.
- Take a look at the published match data to give you an idea of the competitiveness of each specialty
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Main-Match-Results-and-Data-2016.pdf
- It is possible to match to competitive specialties as an IMG if you're able to build a competitive application.
- Switching to a DO school will also not guarantee that you will match to a competitive program or your top choice program.
- At the end of the day, its obviously up to you whether or not the cost of an extra year of medical school training is worth any competitive advantage you might gain from switching schools which may or may not lead to a residency opportunity that you wouldn't have gotten applying as an IMG.

 

[Medstart108]

Hey, guys. I know this thread is kind of dead, but I am hoping someone has advice for me.

I attended high school in the UK and completed A-levels there before deciding to return to the US for university (I lived in the US from birth to the age of nine and have US citizenship, but my family lives in the UK). Last summer (2016-2017), I applied for US MD programs (no DO) and obtained one interview. Unfortunately, I was not offered a place due to a low MCAT score (508) amongst other factors. During the same cycle, I also applied to UK medical schools and received an offer to study medicine at the Newcastle Medical School in September 2017 on the A100 (5-year) program.

After going through each process, I believe I want to practice medicine in the US. I am confident that if I re-apply to DO schools in the US with my current MCAT score and extracurriculars, I will be accepted to at least one DO program. Additionally, I am deliberating re-taking the MCAT to make my application more competitive for MD programs. My question to you all is this: If I am accepted to a DO program in the next cycle, is it worth 'dropping out' of Newcastle Medical school to obtain a medical degree in the US, or is it still possible for me to be competitive for US residencies as an International Medical Graduate (IMG)? I do not have the worry of not obtaining a place in UK residency programs if I decide I want to stay in the UK, as I have settled status in the UK and can apply for citizenship.

Any thoughts or opinions would be excellent, thanks.

To be honest you will be fine either way, but DO probably gives you a slight advantage in terms of specialties you can apply to since you probably will be able to apply for DO programs, but Newcastle may also work for you especially in places that take IMGs but not DOs (mainly higher level academic centers), but they often take mainly very experienced IMGs.

 

[Jloyay]

Hey, guys. I know this thread is kind of dead, but I am hoping someone has advice for me.

I attended high school in the UK and completed A-levels there before deciding to return to the US for university (I lived in the US from birth to the age of nine and have US citizenship, but my family lives in the UK). Last summer (2016-2017), I applied for US MD programs (no DO) and obtained one interview. Unfortunately, I was not offered a place due to a low MCAT score (508) amongst other factors. During the same cycle, I also applied to UK medical schools and received an offer to study medicine at the Newcastle Medical School in September 2017 on the A100 (5-year) program.

After going through each process, I believe I want to practice medicine in the US. I am confident that if I re-apply to DO schools in the US with my current MCAT score and extracurriculars, I will be accepted to at least one DO program. Additionally, I am deliberating re-taking the MCAT to make my application more competitive for MD programs. My question to you all is this: If I am accepted to a DO program in the next cycle, is it worth 'dropping out' of Newcastle Medical school to obtain a medical degree in the US, or is it still possible for me to be competitive for US residencies as an International Medical Graduate (IMG)? I do not have the worry of not obtaining a place in UK residency programs if I decide I want to stay in the UK, as I have settled status in the UK and can apply for citizenship.

Any thoughts or opinions would be excellent, thanks.

If you want to practice in the US, do DO. 100% guarantee you'll find a job in America. Especially if you feel like your scores are high enough. It won't look bad at all to switch (except if it's because of failing), but keep in mind that if you are enrolled in a medical school already there might be a hurdle getting another medical school to accept you.

 

[cerebral edema]

Sorry to dredge up an old threat but...

I am an American trained neurologist looking to get some experience in life and training by practicing for a year or so in Ireland. Is this even possible/feasible? I have no connections to Ireland or the EU (other than remote ancestral links I suppose). Thanks

 

[phdtomduk]

am an American trained neurologist looking to get some experience in life and training by practicing for a year or so in Ireland. Is this even possible/feasible? I have no connections to Ireland or the EU (other than remote ancestral links I suppose). Thanks

Yes it's possible. Ireland recognizes American medical degrees and residency/fellowship training. You would have to register with the medical council and then I think you would just apply for jobs. Ireland has a national health system (HSE) so vacancies are posted on the HSE website. A quick search shows they currently have one opening for a neurologist.

There might be more steps involved in there, but your first step should probably be contacting the medical council. They will know the process.