Hello,

Just wondering how many of you out there have or are planning to study abroad either in medicine or dentistry.

I have a few friends who have chosen this option, and although it is difficult getting back into Canada, many believe the duration is equal to that of staying and studying home (with the chances of getting into med school in Canada). Also, although sad, many plan to either stay in europe and work for some time, or head to the states, which apparently has greater chances for foreign doctors.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Not sure how much I can help you, but I am also planning on studying abroad.

-- I am currently applying to CDN and US schools but, I also decided to apply abroad (greater chances for my grades/MCAT). Like your friends, I figured that the time will be the same. Looking at this forum you may find an approximate time line, but from my understanding, it will take a 1-2 years longer after you are done (also depends on your specialty, and if you want to return to Canada). Approximatly the same time that it takes to do your masters (which a lot of people do, while they try to increase their chances to get into CDN or US school).... The other "minus" side is that you will have a negative stigma about you for attending med school abroad....

I guess it all boils down to what you want... if you are okay with waiting... also depends on your current grades... if your GPA is 3.65 - 4.0 ish and you think you can get a good mcat score (30+), may be worth staying and trying a CDN school..... otherwise you may want to think more about a school abroad..

If you attend a 4-yr program and you take all your Steps and/or MCCs in time (ie. as do n.american students) you will not lose any time. Getting back to canada for specialties is still an issue, not sure how the recent CARMS changes will impact this, but it's absolutely doable for most primary care type residencies (fm, im, psy). The US is wide open for the most part, even for more competitive residencies, if you're willing to put the effort in.

I was thinking of doing a res in US then going to work in Canada...

say if you get a J1 then wouldn't you have to wait 2 years?


I may be misunderstanding things of course since I am not in that process.. yet