I apologize if this is not the correct forum for this post but I have unable to find a more "suitable" forum. I am a 31 year old paramedic of 12 years that has recently applied to medical schools, 14 in all. All but one were competitive US schools, some upper tier. The "other" was an Israeli school that has a program in international medicine (Ben Gurion). I was accepted there. The school is associated with Columbia University and the graduates seem the get very competitive residencies. During the interview the staff was awesome. A strong interest in third world medicine and an undergraduate degree in anthropology attracted me to this program because of the opportunity to travel and learn new cultures.
On to the questions. Considering my interest in this unique program is there any compelling reason I should accept a US medical school over it? I have a 3.34 GPA and obtained a 27 on my MCAT (working full time). I suppose any doubts are coming from the fact that noone ever talks about Israeli schools in IMG forums. Why is this? Does anyone have any information on the quality of these programs? Any information you could provide as well as points I may be missing about going to a foreign medical school over an american school would be appreciated.

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Shannon Langston, NREMT-P

I don't know much about Isreali schools, but if you got accepted to a U.S. medical school then I think you should go there. Top 5 reasons why foreign medical school is less attractive:


1. You are required to take the TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language) even if your first language is English. This is a big insult to your mother's tongue.
2. It is tougher to get into a competitive residency.
3. The paperwork for residency and state licensing is messier.
4. You may have to pay more and there may not be government loans.
5. The quality of education might not be as good.

I hope this helps,
Hanson

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Hanson Nguyen, MD
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Dear a_ditchdoc,

Although I agree with Hanson that IMG's have a harder time than do US students, I do know of Ben Gurion and it is considered by most to be one of the best medical schools in the world. Getting into Ben Gurion is not considered the same thing as getting into a carrib or US catered UK school, it is a totally different category. The decision of where you wish to go is obviously up to you, but just know that Ben Gurion is extremely well respected.

Sincerely,

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BTS4202
St. Christopher's COM
4th Year
http://www.mdparadise.com

"If there really is a God, He has a lot of explaining to do"
- Dennis Leary

I have friends that attended both Sackler and BGU. If you can get into sackler its the way to go, especially if you are looking for a residency in the NYC area. True BGU is an excellent school, but their english program is not as highly regarded as Sackler, SGU, or Ross. Also, my good friend is a 4th year at Sackler now and in the past year 3 suicide bombings have occured within 1/2 mile of his apartment in telaviv. Just something to keep in mind when deciding where you are going to live for 3+ years.

Sackler definitely is not a light-weight school in any possible terms you can think of...check out their site:

http://med.tau.ac.il/ny/requirements.htm

It seems like an awesome SOM...

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There were over 80 million reports of food poisoning last year...more involving fruits and vegetables than involving beef...


Coming soon:

http://www.re-entry-students.com

1. You are required to take the TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language) even if your first language is English. This is a big insult to your mother's tongue.

I hope this helps,
Hanson[/quote]

This is no longer the case.

As a student in this program, I'd say it's just too new to be regarded as "better" or "worse" than SGU or Ross or Sackler or whatever. Only 2 classes have graduated so far.

But of those who have graduated, the residency results are pretty good. So, you take a risk in becoming an IMG, and you take a risk on a new school that has a good reputation, but not a good and WIDE reputation yet. But if your interest is international and 3rd world medicine - it could be the right place for you. A number of students in the program turned down US schools so they could study medicine with this emphasis.

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Forum Moderator - Israel Med Schools, AMSA

Ben Gurion University M.D. Program in International Health in collaboration with Columbia University

I am in the proccess of applying to Ben Gurion right now. I have competitive grades and test scores- and Ben Gurion is my first choice even though it's not as academically prestigious as other schools I could probably get into. I lived in Israel last year, and met personally with several professors who teach there.

The deal with it basically, is that it is such a new school it's difficult to compare to others at this point. But graduates are placing into good residencies, and since the program is supported by Columbia, there are none of the problems you might encounter with other foreign schools. It's technically an American medical school that happens to be located abroad.

If you want to go into a very competitive/specialized residency- you might want to try for an American school. But if you know you have an interest in International, third world, or tropical medicine, it's really considered one of the best programs there is.

My mother (a doctor) and my premed advisors have all heard very good things about the school and don't think going there would put me at any kind of disadvantage when it comes to residencies (I plan on going into emergency medicine).

As for safety- I lived in Tel Aviv for three months last year, and yes, I was close to terror attacks- but at the same time there have been five shootings in my neighborhood in Baltimore within the past six months. I actually felt safer there most of the time, than I do here. And Beer Sheva is way down in the desert and relatively quiet. There has never been a major terror incident there.

Good luck with your decision.