has anyone heard about charles university in prague...just wanted your feedbacks on it...

yes...i have heard of it, and i have attended for the last four years. happy to answer any questions you may have...just post them or pm me.

so wondering....how did u find the experience there....is the education simliar to north american style....was the education in english...i heard some of the courses over there are in foreign language.....where do u plan to work now....and lastly is it possible to come back to North america and work with the degree u have received...

the classes are in english...you MUST learn czech, however, during the first three years, to get the most out of your clinicals. many people learn very little czech, but the last few years are much more difficult.

the education is quite different from the North American style. very traditional and lecture based. you will learn your theory very, very well, but it is not as clinically oreinted as the N.A style schools are. that being said, i just finished a rotation at a major Cali teaching hospital, and they were impressed with the level of knowledge i had. skill wise, i was not up to par, but i caught up within the first three days. to be honest, the clinical skills are much, much easier to grasp than the fund of knowledge required. doing a H&P, writing notes, procedures, etc...are very easy to learn, so i would if i had to choose a school, i would make sure the basic sciences/clinical knowledge were excellent. if you get that and find a school that lets you do a few rotations in the states, you will be very, very well prepared.

it will be possible to apply for residency and work in any of the states. i hope to get back to cali when i finish, but we shall see what is available!

good luck to you

neilc, are you a MSVI? how hard was it for you to secure a rotation at a cali hospital. also, is this similar to clerkships? thanks.

rotation=clerkship

i am actually a fifth year student now, as i finished all of my year 4 exams. getting rotations is very, very easy. i think we have a huge advantage, as we have a hospital affiliated with our school in prague (actually several). so, we can organize exchange relationships with schools like UCLA and others. also, when i contact places for rotations, the first thing they ask is if i go to a carib school. when i say no, it becomes very easy to organize a rotation.

anyhow, as a student from charles organizing a few rotations per year takes very little effort, and you can get great placements. everyone i have applied for, i have been accepted. none of them have cost me anything other than a small application fee at UCI.

hi neilc,
so, you're only a MSV?? when do you get to do rotations?? is this during the school year?? after exams?? also, after what year can you start doing rotations at cali hospitals?? thx.

i schedule my rotations at the begining or end of normal breaks. so, i have rotations in january, and just extend christmas, i have rotations in june and october to bookend my summer, and i do have some scheduled during summer as well, during time off. the best bet is to finish all of your responsibilities (ie. exams) and then head off to rotations. it is easy, but you have to be an organized student to take care of all of it.

you can start rotations year 4.

thx for the reply neilc. let me see if i understand you correctly. you schedule your rotations for after exams in the summer and winter breaks. anytime from the beginning or end of each break. is this right? do you get credit for these rotations? going through the UCI and UCLA website, i found no info for setting up these rotations. the info on the their websites is only for students that are final year medical students. so, how do you go about scheduling these rotations? sorry, to flood you with all these questions. and, how do you know if the hospital is affiliated with your attending medical school, in your case, Charles Uni.? one more thing, if you don't mind, do i have to pass the usmle step 1 exam before scheduling these rotations? thx neilc. i appreciate your kind help.

yep, you got it right...in order to schedule, some places say you must be in the final year, but always send an email or call describing your situation and you get more accurate answers. since it is a 6 year program, i have not had any problem being a fourth year student and getting a spot. another thing is that if you are not even in school yet, clinicals are WAY off. anything can change between now and then. but, if you want a spot in the states, i can assure you that there are plenty of places that will be glad to have you then, too.

i do get credit for the rotations. you can schedule them whenever you want, but it depends on how you arrange it with the dean, with your classes that you are getting credit for, with exams, etc...totally individual on scheduling. as for the affiliated hospitals, charles has a list. also, when are here, you will find that many departments have cooperative research projects going on, and that is a great way to make connections as well.

you do need to pass step 1 before doing anything in the states.