Loren said:
Apologies if I seem ridiculously ignorant, but I'm confused about how to become a doctor in the US. I'm currently studying in London (UK) and I've received an offer to read medicine at Cambridge, but will possibly be offered places at several Ivy League colleges as well. What I'm wondering is - how long does medical school take after you finish your undergrad degree in the States, and after that what do you do (NHS PRHO/SHO/SpR equivalents...) to become, say, a surgeon in a hospital? Would it be easier or faster to study in Cambridge then attempt to become a surgeon in the US and how might I do that?
Sorry for the blitz of questions, but I actually have no idea at all about everything and no one over here seems to know. Thanks in advance!
To do it the U.S. way, you essentially need a four-year bachelor's degree with the appropriate pre-req classes, a very high GPA, letters of recommendation, etc.. Thereafter,
if you gain acceptance into a medical school, it is a minimum of four additional years, before you receive your diploma. The length of medical post-graduate training depends on your choosen specialty. General surgery in the U.S. is a five year residency. So, one would need roughly 13 years to do the U.S. route. That's without any additional fellowships.
Upside: If one is successful, a better range of residencies (post-graduate training) is available to the U.S. medical school grad.
Downsides: Longer; 13 years. Also, getting into a med school in the U.S. is highly competitive and not inexpensive, especially if one has to pay non-resident tuition.
NB There is at least one program that accepts high school graduates and takes a total of six years.
By comparison, UK schools are five or six years (depending on whether one counts the PRHO year). Then one can apply for a U.S. residency provided that one completes the U.S. exams; again surgery residency is five years. So, going this route is 10 or 11 years, depending on whether one does the PRHO year in the UK.
Upsides: Time, cost (a mere fraction of the U.S. route) In addition, UK schools have good reputations in the U.S.; Freedom to decide whether to pursue the UK route or the US route at graduation.
Downside: Probably slightly less competitive as far as post-graduate residencies in the U.S.
My advice: Stick with Cambridge, no question about it.
