USDO vs Canadian MD vs Australian MD

[John1356]

Hi,

I am in a little bit of a dilemma. I am an international Pre-med student here in the US. I did my Bachelors and Masters Degrees in the US. I recently got acceptances from a couple of med schools in different countries. One of them is a top-tier USDO school. The second is a Canadian MD school. The third is a top-tier MD school in Australia (a top 30 MD school globally). My ultimate goal is to match into a competitive US residency (probably surgical) and practice here in the US. I was wondering which med school out of three would be the best to match into a competitive speciality and practice in the US. Thank you!

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[newfeet]

You should go to the American DO school because your goal is the do residency and practice in the US.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I don't think it's quite that simple.

The Australian school is clearly the wrong choice. Well peforming IMG's can get community GS and some mid tier Univ GS, but top tier GS and anything in the competitive surgical subs would be very difficult / impossible.

So you're left with US DO and Can MD - not a common choice. I assume you're a Canadian citizen, since getting into a Can MD for non citizens is very difficult. I would look closely at grads from the DO and see what type of surgical residencies they have gotten -- all schools post their match results. You would also be on an F visa during your DO, which may make getting a visa for residency easier.

Can MD, if you're a Canadian citizen, would open the option of a Canadian residency also. So you'd be able to apply to CaRMS as well as NRMP if you desired. If you do a Can MD, then you would absolutely want to do some US rotations also.

In all cases, needing a visa will limit your options.

 

[RustBeltOnc]

Go to the Canadian allopathic school and practice in Canada. You will be better off in the long run.

 

[Medstart108]

I would suggest the Canadian MD school, but are you a Canadian PR or citizen? It affects your tuition and whether you can apply for Canadian residency programs afterwards. Your situation is unique, dm me if you want more info.

 

[Highlander455]

Interesting situation. You need to do further research, but for what its worth, I'd lean toward the Canadian MD program. Right now all Canadian MD programs are LCME approved, although this will change in 2025 before you graduate (Accredited Canadian Programs | LCME). Others can correct me if I'm wrong but this should translate to acceptance to US surgical residencies on the same basis (except for need for a Visa) as US grads, ie you may not be considered an IMG. Also, you could do residency in Canada. Finally, without in any way minimizing DO training, in some circles an MD may be more highly regarded. Bottom line, do your research to check out the above info. Look forward to other's thoughts/corrections re the above.

 

[ROBINHO]

Hi,

I am in a little bit of a dilemma. I am an international Pre-med student here in the US. I did my Bachelors and Masters Degrees in the US. I recently got acceptances from a couple of med schools in different countries. One of them is a top-tier USDO school. The second is a Canadian MD school. The third is a top-tier MD school in Australia (a top 30 MD school globally). My ultimate goal is to match into a competitive US residency (probably surgical) and practice here in the US. I was wondering which med school out of three would be the best to match into a competitive speciality and practice in the US. Thank you!

If visa is not a barrier, then Canadian MD is best option. Canadian MD treated similarly to US MD.

US DO and IMG ( irrespective of ranking in another country) always has some stigma and some programs will not consider you for residency due to their inherent bias