Trying to become a doctor in the uk from US

[rgerwin]

I want to eventually immigrate to the uk as a physician. How would it work if I went to med school in the uk? Would I do a PRHO, or an internship in the US? What would be my advantages/disadvantages for these two options?

Thanks!

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[Miklos]

Originally posted by rgerwin
I want to eventually immigrate to the uk as a physician. How would it work if I went to med school in the uk? Would I do a PRHO, or an internship in the US? What would be my advantages/disadvantages for these two options?

Thanks!

IMHO, you must be independently wealthy or seriously misunderstand the financial implications of a decision to come from the US to the UK.

Why?

How do you plan on paying for med school? One sees lots of figures for the average amount of debt a US med student accrues, but unless you have your own resources, it is a very significant figure.

Thereafter, you face a number of bureaucratic obstacles in immigrating to the UK, such as work permits, unless you have EU citizenship. I do not know if you would need to take the PLAB, but would assume that you do.

Following this, you would have to all of your postgraduate training in the UK (your US postgraduate training if you have any will most probably not count) at a pittance of a salary. You may have difficulties having your UK postgraduate training accepted with regard to a US loan deferment. Then, depending on your specialization, you may need to complete more years than a US grad would and end up with a much lower salary and a lower standard of living (due to the UK being a much more expensive place than the US, higher taxation, insane realestate prices, etc.).

The D.O. question has been covered elsewhere on this forum (you may wish to do a search) It seems that the degree is generally speaking not recognized outside the U.S. I recommend that you check with the General Medical Council http://www.gmc-uk.org/ regarding the D.O. qualifications.

Regarding the reverse, you may have an easier time, if you can gain acceptance to med school there and pay for it.

 

[rgerwin]

Thankyou for your response. It's actually easier gaining entrance into the uk if you have a uk or eu ned degree, b/c you automatically can get fullregistration after your intern year. This is not the case for us educated doctors.

I posted this in a reply in a different thread, but I am still confused about this higher cost of living thing. I feel like no one who says that has ever lived in manhattan(which I have), b/c everything there is ridiculously expensive. The average two bdrm apt. is over $900,000, and the mortgage interest rates are double. Health care is always expensive, and the training salaries rarely go over $45,000 for the first 3-5 years. Let's also add the 30% intaxes I pay and 9% sales tax, I barely make over 30,000/year. So, I'm not too concerned about that. Plus, as a qualified GP, there is the HSMP. However, you are probably right about the DO degree, and the nubmer of extra training years.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Miklos]

Fair enough, Manhattan is an exception to the rule. If you compare Manhattan to most anywhere on the planet, you will more likely than not find it more expensive. The rest of the US is not Manhattan. Also true, healthcare costs are probably higher in the US.

If we take the current USD/GBP exchange rates, we find that:
1 GBP = 1.86200 USD

At this exchange rate, most consumer goods are much cheaper in the US than in Great Britain (look at the number of Brits who go shopping in NYC; even after airfare and hotel costs, many feel they are way ahead of the game).

Taxes are significantly higher in Britain. Transportation costs are much higher (petrol taxes), while at the same time (IMHO) British infrastructure crumbles due to a lack of reinvestment. Housing in the Greater London may (if it does not already) soon start to approximate the situation in NYC.

 

[rgerwin]

really? they go shop in NYC? That's funny. President Bush likes to qualify our economic state of affairs by saying since the dollar is down, more people will buy our goods. I suppose even a silly man like that can be right about one or two things.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[periodic]

On that note, Pres. Bush is on sound, basic macro econ terms...when your currency devalues, your goods are cheaper to external sources. Exports tend to go up, while imports (which become relatively more expensive) go down. As long as the value of the dollar doesn't fall too quickly or drastically..

 

[FionaS]

It's true - I'm coming shopping in NYC this June in fact... As well as some good old tourism of course!

I'm watching the exchange rates to decide when to buy my dollars, but fear I may have already missed the best deal...

Yay for strong pound - makes travelling cheaper!

 

[saphenous]

rgerwin,
have sent u a private message. check your pm box.