Dual Citizen - USA + Aus. Where to study to work in USA

[AnotherGasMan]

I am a 30 y/o USA and Australian Dual citizen.

My final goal is to work and live in New York (where I currently reside). My family live in Melbourne, Australia.

I have a B.Science (Anatomy) and B.Arts (Photography) both from Australian Universities and a total GPA of 2.83 with 242.5 credits.

Undertook the GAMSAT in 2011 and scored 69 (95th percentile).

To study Med School in the USA i need to do the following:
1. Complete prerequisite subjects - Chemistry, English and Org Chem. I've completed most of the others. Improve my GPA in the process.

2. Apply to US med schools.

3. Apply for residency.


To study Med School in Australia and then return to the USA:
1. Apply to Graduate entry med schools (DONE, waiting on interview offers for start 2012. Fingers crossed)

2. Study at Australian med school

3. Complete internship (is this step necessary?)

4. Sit USMLE and apply for residency in USA.




Pros of studying in USA
- Simple path
- Higher likelihood of gaining residency in USA

Pros of studying in Australia
- Lower cost of living (parents)
- Lower cost of education ($10k/year vs ~$50k/year)
- Shorter time frame (no need for prerequisites except for biochemistry for UniMelb)


I realize that it is considerably more likely that I will get a residency if I stay and study in the USA.

Is the financial expense of $150k extra worth it to stay here? as well as the additional time.

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[Canuck455]

Y.

 

[AnotherGasMan]

You wouldn't need to do a internship to get an American residency, it may actual hurt you since some places state that they wont take you if you have been out of school longer than 2 years.

good news.

You will be writing the USMLE regardless of where you go (australia or the states), but your score would probably have to be higher if you are from australia since you need to set yourself apart from the american grads.

yeah, i figured. I took the GAMSAT in Feb and scored 69 - never having taken chemistry or organic chemistry. hopefully that study attitude will keep me going.

Lastly, American MD schools need at least a 3.5 gpa to be considered, so your gpa wont even get you looked at, unless you did much better in one of your degree's. There's also DO schools which have lower entrance requirements. The states actually use your gpa in combination with your mcat and interview to rank you, its not like some australian schools that only use the gpa as a hurdle ( uni of sydney).

I'm coming to realize that and even with additional study within the states it's unlikely that i'm ever going to be accepted into a US school.

My most recent three years of university study give me a 3.57/4 GPA. Fortunately the Aus schools only look at the last three years. Hoping this, combined with my GAMSAT will get me into an Aus school.

Personally, I would go to Australia for school especially if I'm guaranteed an internship. But if you definitely 100% want back into the states, you should look into the Caribbean schools since they pretty much teach you the USMLE the first 2 years, unlike the Australian schools which teach you to be a doctor in Australia. But if you search this forum, you will find people who went to Australia and came back.

Caribbean schools are on the list, but as a third option after US and Aus. I'm an australian citizen so the education in Australia will be considerably cheaper.

Edit: I forgot about UQ's Oschner program. It basically caters to people like you. Some people are of the opinion that its a Caribbean style program run by a Australian university.

I'm finding that other schools - USyd, Flinders and a couple of others - do allow international clinical rotations. I'm aiming for those in order to gain the experience in the US to match when residency is on the table. I have been making connections at different hospitals here in NY and plan on fostering those to help out down the line.


Crossing my fingers right now for the Australian interview offers that come out this week or next. Putting US schools as a low possibility. And looking forward to going back into science and medicine through EMT work and schools.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[AnotherGasMan]

Update

I have been offered an interview at Deakin in Geelong. Another step closer. Now to investigate the possibilities of doing clinicals in the USA.

 

[pitman]

As an Australian, you're gold. Plenty of Canadians and a few Americans at UQ have gone back after internship year (though that option is drying up since most of these are not Australian and thus won't be getting internship spots in the next few years), so while there may be some issues with some American residency programs of staying here an extra year, it's certainly not a deal breaker. Doing such also helps to return to Australia later with less red tape.

Just keep in mind that to get back to the US from any Australian school, you'll need to study extra for the USMLE Step I. USyd, Flinders and UQ have the most experience with this and have support (if not just by numbers) via study groups, etc. Be sure to ask lots of questions about this of any school you're considering here, unless you are extremely motivated/disciplined at self-study.

 

[Leforte]

As an Australian, you're gold.

Not true. You need to decide on where you wish to practice in the end. If you wish to practice in the USA, then you need to do your training there. If you want to practice in Australia, then do your training there.

I can tell you, If you went to an Australian university and wanted to do ENT in the USA - good luck. It will be very difficult... having been academic faculty in the USA, I can tell you that there is a preference for local trained graduates. Similarly, having practiced in Australia as an ENT, there is a preference for local trained graduates in Australia, too.

It is far simpler to enter a training program in the country where you did your undergraduate medical training.

 

[pitman]

Not true.

I didn't mean that one could practice in the US with Australian fellowship, I meant it the way I qualified it, since this thread is not about the difficulties of returning to the US.

What I meant was, someone in the perp's situation, convinced he can't get into the US and who is attracted by the cheaper education here, is gold with dual citizenship for coming here. It's IMO the best scenario for coming from the US. If he were later to complete his training in the US or anywhere else, having done internship here makes it easier to return here. If he wants to stay here, then there's no issue.

The comparison is with those who don't have dual citizenship, who would highly unlikely be able to stay here for internship.

 

[AnotherGasMan]

I feel like i should clear up and simplify a few things.

I am 30 years old.
I am a dual citizen - Australia and USA.
Now studying MBBS at Deakin University in Australia.

Intentions - to work in New York as soon as possible.

Questions:


What should I do while studying in order to better my chances at a US residency after school in Australia?

Should I stay in Australia for the internship year after school finishes?
Will this help with my residency application for the USA? or simply act as a fall back option?

 

[AnotherGasMan]

Update:

Now studying MBBS at Deakin and working on the USMLE while i'm at it.

Intention is to sit the USMLE Step 1 at the end of second year
Do an elective in 4th year in NYC and open up network.
Possibly stay and do internship year in Aus
OR go straight to the USA.

Anyone in Melbourne want to study for the USMLE?

 

[Rotors]

Take this with a grain of salt but some of my friends educated in Western countries have denied a US residency program as they will not take foreign graduates and we're talking things like emergency medicine, anaesthesia, optho, ortho etc

 

[celling]

An intern year in Australia won't help you get a residency in the US. What type of residency are you going after? (Surgery, IM, Ob/GYN, Peds, etc)