CoolCyber said:
Hi all,
I got accepted into the RCSI and I know it has done very well in the past.
(the impressive list of US residents for example) However, as I am neither a citizen of the EU nor the US/Canada, I was wondering what is the possibility of obtaining a rotation/traineeship in the US or in Europe ? I am particularly interested in the US. Can someone help ? Thanks heaps.
CoolCyber
Many non-US citizens obtain residencies in the U.S.
Last year, just over 52.4% of those actively participating in the match as non-U.S. foreign graduates gained a position (2,970 individuals). Also, it is thought that others also gained positions by signing contracts outside the matching process (see
www.nrmp.org for info on the match ). See also
www.ecfmg.org for the process that certifies foreign medical graduates (whether U.S. citizens or not).
However, foreign grads have significant disadvantages when it comes to post-graduate training. Generally speaking, they are less competitive than U.S. grads and end up with positions that the U.S. grads shun. This means that for highly competitive fields and or positions they are virtually excluded, unless they have stellar qualifications. For a measure of how competitive each field is, see my post at
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=165265
Further, non-U.S. foreign grads often encounter difficulties with visas. Search this and the general international forum for visa issues.
Re: Europe. In some ways, Europe is even more restrictive than the U.S. While the U.S. will issue restricted (so called J-1) visas, gaining a work permit in Europe is often mission impossible. Worse, many countries including the UK require non-EU citizens to complete additional examinations (e.g. in the UK, the PLAB) that they do not require of their own citizens.
Miklos
