Info about medicine in belgium

[African]

Hello everybody, i thought i would help out anyone interested in studying medicine at belgian universities. To introduce myself, i am a med student at a flemish(north of belgium) university. I will talk about the francophone south first, whose system is not that different from that of france, ie everybody can register for medicine, but there is an elimination exam at the end of the first year. As for the dutch speaking north, where i study, you have to pass an entrance exam, it is not the most difficult of exams, but you need to speak dutch quite well, specially for the afternoon session of the exam which has academic texts to be analysed and questions answered just like the mcat texts. As for specialisation, a lot depends on your scores specially your master years(the last four) btw it is a seven year course, a year longer than most other european countries. I think it is a great system, definitely not the best in europe but ranks somewhere up there.


NB; for those who had questions about the dutch system, the lottery system has been stopped, but the implementation of such a directive takes time, and it will be phased out within the next five years, so no more lottery for dutch applicants, they said they will implement a fair system in its place where students are judged by their academic prowess.

Any questions you'd like to ask, shoooooot.

Peace

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[shreypete]

I have a question, not about studying medicine but about practicing medicine there.

What if you were a non-EU citizen studying in an EU country and would like to consider Belgium for residency? How does the process really work? I haven't been able to dig up any information regarding this country (in terms of residency data and stuff).

Thanks in advance.

 

[African]

Regarding residence, the university hospitals give preference to their own students, regardless of nationality, meaning if you study at a certain university you will most certainly get a residence at one of its hospitals. studying at a particular university in belgium and trying to match residence at a hospital that is affiliated with a different university is also hard, as i said each university hospital gives preference to its own. I have not yet met any foreign trained doctors doing residence in any of our uni's hospitals. The country is supposed to produce a certain number of surgeons, dermatologists etc per year, so the best students usually get the highly sought after residences, and i am not sure how a foreign trained doctor will fit in the system, but i would advise you to contact the university hospitals, a quick google search would suffice. Good luck.

Peace

 

[shreypete]

Ah thanks, unfortunately, most of the stuff is in French (and my French and Dutch are rather rudimentary). But I was just wondering because a friend of mine was interested. I guess she will get to find out more since she's doing some sort of an ERASMUS program in Belgium next year.

Thanks again and good luck with the rest of the year!

 

[Nu.Pe]

Hello everybody, i thought i would help out anyone interested in studying medicine at belgian universities. To introduce myself, i am a med student at a flemish(north of belgium) university. I will talk about the francophone south first, whose system is not that different from that of france, ie everybody can register for medicine, but there is an elimination exam at the end of the first year. As for the dutch speaking north, where i study, you have to pass an entrance exam, it is not the most difficult of exams, but you need to speak dutch quite well, specially for the afternoon session of the exam which has academic texts to be analysed and questions answered just like the mcat texts. As for specialisation, a lot depends on your scores specially your master years(the last four) btw it is a seven year course, a year longer than most other european countries. I think it is a great system, definitely not the best in europe but ranks somewhere up there.


NB; for those who had questions about the dutch system, the lottery system has been stopped, but the implementation of such a directive takes time, and it will be phased out within the next five years, so no more lottery for dutch applicants, they said they will implement a fair system in its place where students are judged by their academic prowess.

Any questions you'd like to ask, shoooooot.

Peace

Hello! Thank you so much for posting this just to give out information. I actually find myself in this exact situation right now. I am a spanish dentist who just graduated (in Spain) and I'm planning to apply to Medicine in Belgium starting in 2017.
I was trying to decide which option would be better in my case, as I have a B2 leven in French but I don't speak Dutch at all.
If the francophone zone is as hard as the French system, I don't see any point on even trying to stay after the first year.

I have two questions:

-Do you think that within a year, I have enough time to start to learn and perfect Dutch, starting from scratch and be able to succeed in the IVV part of the Flemish exam?

-On the other hand, I've given a look at the exact parts of the KIW exam and I got a bit worried as I haven't touched Maths or Chemistry for the last 5 years at least, and I've never studied Physics. What's your opinion on the exam, having in mind that I don't remember practically anything that they may ask in the KIW part?

I really appreciate your opinion and your help!

Peace

Anna

 

[LaViidaLocaa]

Hello! Thank you so much for posting this just to give out information. I actually find myself in this exact situation right now. I am a spanish dentist who just graduated (in Spain) and I'm planning to apply to Medicine in Belgium starting in 2017.
I was trying to decide which option would be better in my case, as I have a B2 leven in French but I don't speak Dutch at all.
If the francophone zone is as hard as the French system, I don't see any point on even trying to stay after the first year.

I have two questions:

-Do you think that within a year, I have enough time to start to learn and perfect Dutch, starting from scratch and be able to succeed in the IVV part of the Flemish exam?

-On the other hand, I've given a look at the exact parts of the KIW exam and I got a bit worried as I haven't touched Maths or Chemistry for the last 5 years at least, and I've never studied Physics. What's your opinion on the exam, having in mind that I don't remember practically anything that they may ask in the KIW part?

I really appreciate your opinion and your help!

Peace

Anna

Dear Anna,

As another Belgian (Flemish) medical student (in the new 6-year curriculum; the old 7-year one the OP wrote about does not exist anymore), I can say the following:
-Dutch is rather hard for people who do not speak a language strongly related to it (and even then it takes quite a while of intensive studying). I'm afraid that for Spanish people, you would have to live and study/work completely in a Dutch environment to make that happen within a year. Moreover, the IVV part is quite intense (reasonably high level of vocabulary as texts are articles from a Dutch medical journal) and very time-limited. Nevertheless, if you decide to do so: veel geluk!
-the KIW part is what really separates the students. If you have not come into contact with the different subjects, I strongly advise you to learn for it a long time in advance. Take into account that only about 10% passes the exam, with most people just having finished high school, often with science majors.

All the best!

 

[Xenops]

Dear Anna,

As another Belgian (Flemish) medical student (in the new 6-year curriculum; the old 7-year one the OP wrote about does not exist anymore), I can say the following:
-Dutch is rather hard for people who do not speak a language strongly related to it (and even then it takes quite a while of intensive studying). I'm afraid that for Spanish people, you would have to live and study/work completely in a Dutch environment to make that happen within a year. Moreover, the IVV part is quite intense (reasonably high level of vocabulary as texts are articles from a Dutch medical journal) and very time-limited. Nevertheless, if you decide to do so: veel geluk!
-the KIW part is what really separates the students. If you have not come into contact with the different subjects, I strongly advise you to learn for it a long time in advance. Take into account that only about 10% passes the exam, with most people just having finished high school, often with science majors.

All the best!

I want to thank you for the information. Would you say the main criteria for admittance is the exam in Dutch? Do they consider other criteria? Also, how much is tuition for non-EU students?

Thank you for your time.