Some Questions About Going To Medical School Abroad

[Mithrandir]

Hello!

I was considering applying to medical schools abroad. My GPA right not is like 3.2 maybe and i'm currently doing a second degree to try to raise that, but even so I will only be able to apply to schools that look at best years or second degree. Also, i'm in Ontario so :\

Nice to dream of backup ideas... 

So I have a few questions, especially about Australia (I have family in Australia so living there would be not quite as shocking.... maybe)

If I were to go to Australia for medical school and want to match for residency in Canada, but want rural family medicine, is that completely unrealistic? There's two new doctors in my home town (small northwestern ontario town) who just graduated from Caribbean schools, so I know it happens, but is it ridiculous to hope for or is it the more competitive residencies and geographical locations that are of concern? 

 

Second question, if I were to go to Australia for medical school, the whole thing would be taken on as debt (I have 0 savings or financial support from my family). How do people do this? Can you do it if you aren't able to pay for it up front? Could you get a line of credit form a Canadian bank to attend and international school? Is that the most stupid idea in the world?

 

Third question, what if I go to school in Australia and love it and just want to stay there or don't match in Canada? Can an IMG going to med school in Australia match for a residency there? How would that work?

 

Thanks for any and all advice:D

[amazonrainforest]

Hello! I am in the same boat as you (i.e. thinking of applying to Australia to do medicine).

 

Got into med school a few years ago in England but decided to give it up and try again because my family moved here. I do have rather competitive stats, enough to get me an interview to my own province's med school last year (ultimately rejected for poor interview score) and interviews at every school I applied to this year! I'm currently waitlisted for one of them, but even if I do get an offer I am very seriously considering heading to Aussie, because I recently visited the place and fell in love with it (to the point where I can see myself living there for the rest of my life). And so i've been doing some research the past couple of days and might be able to help you with some of your questions I hope.

 

1) I wouldn't think it's completely unrealistic, especially if your aim is to do family practice in a rural setting. In fact, that probably puts you at the greatest probability of coming back here to work. It's difficult, but not impossible.

 

2) Line of credit seems to be the best option out there, and is what I'm thinking of as well, but I have yet to speak to the banks here about that, so I cannot help you much here. 

 

3) Australia's postgraduate medical training is different from North America. There, all graduates do 2 years of general hospital work (i.e. more rotations, all of your choice, but this time, you are already a Doctor and receiving actual salary), and thereafter apply to specialize (like our residency matching). How easy it would be for you to get a training spot depends very much on the state where you attend medical school. Different states have different priorities for allocating internship spots, and in recent years there has been a country-wide "internship crisis" that's affecting not only international medical students, but also domestic ones. Basically, after you graduate, internships are given out randomly (yes, randomly, where your grades and references and own qualifications will not put you at any advantage over others) by the state, and if you apply to more states, you have a higher chance of landing an internship. For more info, see https://www.amsa.org.au/advocacy/internship-crisis/. It is something that I am thinking very seriously about myself... Either I keep applying here in Canada (or US) and have a guaranteed / higher chance of coming back to Canada to train/work, or go to Australia where I really want to be, even if it means facing the risk of not being to come back here AND not being to get an internship there (at least for the few months immediately following graduation). 

[NLengr]

 

If I were to go to Australia for medical school and want to match for residency in Canada, but want rural family medicine, is that completely unrealistic?

Just by looking at the pure numbers from the match over the past few years, the match rate for CSA's into a Canadian program is 30%. That includes all CSAs, regardless of what specialty they applied to, but the majority of people applying as IMGs would be applying broadly and focus'd on less competitive specialties (like family med). I can't see the statistics, even accounting for this, putting the CSA-family med match rate at any more than 50% (and I may be being generous with that estimate). The number of CSA's is increasing with time too, which would affect the odds.

 

More CSA's used to match to the States than Canada, but I know there was some talk a year or two ago about the number of spots available for IMGs in the US decreasing due to increased american grad #s. I haven't heard much about it lately so I'm not sure of the status.

 

I think for IMG's the banks want some kind of collateral or a cosigner to secure the LOC. A quick appointment or phone call could probably sort this out for you.

[JohnGrisham]

Family medicine actually has some of the highest requirements for MCCEE exams and such in CaRMs - because everyone who is an IMG is applying. Look at Manitoba, and look at Ontario(they all follow a standardized IMG admissions for FM), their cut offs for MCCEE are super high to even get an interview.

If you go to Australia, you CAN make it back for CaRMS as an IMG - but look at the most recent 2015 stats that were recently released, it isn't great odds. 

[JohnGrisham]

"Second question, if I were to go to Australia for medical school, the whole thing would be taken on as debt (I have 0 savings or financial support from my family). How do people do this? Can you do it if you aren't able to pay for it up front? Could you get a line of credit form a Canadian bank to attend and international school? Is that the most stupid idea in the world?"


Banks will require a cosigner from your family, or collateral(house) from the family. You will not get a 250K LOC from the bank without a cosigner who can back it for a foreign school.

Additionally, i'd be hesitant to say that the bank LOC, and Canada student loans program, would be enough to cover the entirety of your 4 year degree, and 1 year buffer after graduation. Very hesitant, you have to have money on top of that in savings.