Surgery Residency/Fellowship in the UK

[southerndoc]

Just curious here...

How hard would it be for someone to do a residency and/or fellowship in the UK (or Canada for that matter) and then practice in the US?

I remember reading that you had to do your residency training in the US (or you'll be tested like crap to get a license here). Someone was arguing different the other day.

Worth mentioning, however, is the fact that Sen. Frist did a fellowship in the UK. Maybe it's easier to do the fellowship than the residency.

Comments?

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[vuillaume]

Re: Senator Frist
He didn't really do a full CT fellowship in England, he took one year in Southampton between his PGY-5 and Chief year at MGH. His "real" CT and transplant fellowship training were done at MGH and Stanford.

When fellowships are generally easier to come by here, I'm not sure why one would want to do fellowship across the pond or in Canada unless there were a particular mentor or research experience one was seeking (e.g. working with CR-UK), or personal reasons, of course.

 

[Winged Scapula]

See my reply to the similar thread above---essentially doing a fellowship abroad is ok, but NOT a residency, especially in the case of someone wanting to be BE/BC.

Check with the appropriate board of surgical specialty for details, but I suspect that to work in the US, requires US residency training UNLESS you are an internationally recognized expert in your field.

 

[eddieberetta]

Most Canadian residencies make you board-eligible as well (also American residents are usually eligible for our Boards (FRCPSC)).

For example, from the American Board of Surgery

"II. ACCEPTABLE PROGRAMS
The residency programs in Surgery in the United
States which are reviewed and approved by the
Residency Review Committee for Surgery (RRC-S) and
the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education (ACGME) are acceptable to the Board as an
adequate educational experience.

In Canada, those University residency programs in
Surgery which are accredited by the Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons offer an acceptable educational
experience. Applicants from such programs must meet
the Board?s specific requirements and cannot receive
credit for postgraduate education in countries other than
the United States or Canada.

Except as mentioned above, participation in postgraduate
surgical programs in countries other than the United
States is not creditable toward the Board?s educational
requirements unless under the specific conditions set forth
in the section Credit for Foreign Graduate Education."

Of course, to practice in the US what you really need is merely state-licensure and a green-card. Board certification is more for hospital credentialling and malpractice... however it is certainly reassuring to have it!

 

[Winged Scapula]

Originally posted by eddieberetta
Of course, to practice in the US what you really need is merely state-licensure and a green-card. Board certification is more for hospital credentialling and malpractice... however it is certainly reassuring to have it!

Actually, as I noted above...more and more insurers, Medicare included, will not reimburse providers or patients who see them, if they are not BC. With the current litigation crisis, I don't see this getting any better, but rather first...

Of course, if you are in private practice, you aren't required to be BC, but if a significant amount of your income depends on it, it would be wise, IMHO.

 

[eddieberetta]

I agree completely -- I would not work as a specialist in the US unless I was boarded by the relevant specialty board (and of course it is illegal to work in Canada as a specialist unless you pass our specialty "board" (RCPSC)).

I mainly wanted to clarify that most Canadian residencies are US board-eligible. Of course, Canadians like myself who want to "keep their options open" should check the website or contact their relevant US board.