Thread: INTO St George's, University of London (UK)- Courses for Int'l Students

Hi-

St George's, University of London in partnership with INTO University Partnerships is offering degree programs in International Medicine (Bsc/MBBS- 6 years), International Graduate Medicine (MBBS- 4 years) and in Biomedical Sciences (BSc Hons) that are exclusively for international students. This means that there are programs with spaces for students who are not UK or EU citizens to study in London at the St George's, University of London campus with is co-located with St George's Hospital.

The International Graduate and International Medicine courses are beneficial to students who wish to be exposed to both the UK and US medical systems as two years of US clinical experience is built into the curriculum.

Staff from INTO St George's, University of London are currently holding seminars and attending student fairs across the US, Canada and internationally. Check out INTO SGUL : INTO UK to learn about the upcoming events as well as the available course options.

If you have any questions about these programs please feel free to reach out to an INTO staff member by emailing: namerica(at)sgul.ac.uk or you can submit an inquiry through our website at INTO SGUL : INTO UK.

Best Regards,

Shannon Smith
INTO St George's, University of London

Hi Cpt,

It is definitely a concern of ours that students in the INTO SGUL program be eligible for residency in the US, and more info about this is forthcoming. If you wish to communicate with someone above me, please PM me your email address so I can pass that on. You can also reach out to me directly at intosgul@valuemd.com and I can pass on your contact information from there.

We are very aware of the UQ program and how they're set up. It sounds like you've done some research on them as well which is great-and if you feel like their program or a program at another school fits your needs the best then that's great. You should apply to the schools that you feel best suit your needs and if the INTO SGUL program in it's current state isn't the right program for you then there's no hard feelings on our side.

We at INTO SGUL are constantly working on making the program more robust, and I'll post more info about our clinical set up in the US as soon as I can.

Best Regards,

Shannon

Shannon,

Regarding USMLE support, you have previously said that the curriculum will be designed around the USMLE.

Does this mean that curriculum for the UK Graduate Entry MBBS students has been altered to be geared towards the USMLE too?

Are NBME exams going to be used as final exams for all subjects taught? I know that is what the Polish medical schools use, the English language programs that target North Americans, and it seems to help at least somewhat with USMLE prep.

Also, for any American going abroad to medical school its understood that there will be a great deal of studying required for the USMLE, outside of the SGUL curriculum. Will INTO be making recommendations for supplemental text books and test prep materials that we should buy in the US (prior to moving to the UK) for our USMLE prep?

Hi Targaryen,

I apologize for any confusion. I think it's best to say that we've incorporated USMLE test prep and exam scheduling into our curriculum. This means that in addition to the coursework that students complete in both the UK and US, the SGUL faculty and program advisors fit specific timeframes for when students will be prepping for and taking USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS.

The NBME exam (including shelf and comprehensive exams) will definitely be used. As you mention NBME is quite useful to students.

At this time we don't have any supplemental text books that we're recommending for students to purchase, however, if that does change then accepted students will be notified in advance about anything they need.

Best Regards,

Shannon

Ok. Wow. Some people need to take their finger off the panic button. This program is new, and obviously is not perfect. If you could get into a medical school in the United States or Canada you would just go there. This a back-up option for those people who cannot. Of course there are better backup options out there the Carib (SGU-Grenada, Ross, Saba, AUC, AUA), the English language Polish schools recognized in all 50 states, all the Australian schools, the Irish schools, and the English language Hungarian schools which in some cases cost significantly less and award a more recognized degree (especially Poland and Hungary). Which is the whole point of attending medical school, right? To get a degree that is recognized all over. To the people who are upset about the school not being eligible for California licensing. Its not as big a deal as it sounds. California requires programs like this have 54 weeks of ACGME approved clinical rotations, which obviously this program doesnt have, and 72 weeks of clinical training overall (which this program may have). But if the program doesn't have 54 weeks of ACGME approved clinical rotation California allows doctors to remediate the deficiencies of their clinical training at ACGME approved clinical sites, and get licensed in California. Depending on the number of ACGME clinical rotations that INTO SGUL offers this could take doctors anywhere from an extra year or two to complete their clinical training to be eligible for California. But the important thing is that you can be licensed in California, you just have to jump through more hoops. All of that being said. The asking price of £130,000 is way too steep for a program that currently offers a degree recognized similarly to the low tier Caribbean school. Look elsewhere. Go here as a last resort and only if you or your parents are rich and can afford to burn £130,000 because a degree from here is essentially the same getting a degree from Spartan University in St Lucia when you consider where the degree will be recognized. If INTO SGUL could come up with an agreement where graduates can do their foundation years and specialist training in the UK, similar to DUKE-NUS, then this program would have some merit because you wouldnt really need to worry about not getting a residency in the US. (side note: my username was supposed to be RockOhomosexuales, I don't know why it was edited to this)

Does anybody know if a degree from INTO SGUL will be recognized by the Irish Medical Council? (assuming it is recognized as a UK PMQ by the GMC)

I am concerned because half of the program is taught outside of the UK/EU.

I know that graduates cannot remain in the UK after graduation but can they apply to Ireland as a backup plan in case they cant match into the US or Canada?

Unfortunately, it is becoming a lot harder to get a residency (specialty training programme) position in Republic of Ireland if you are not an EU citizen. Like, a LOT harder. The economic situation there has recently prompted the IMC to stop HSE recruiters from recruiting non-EU foreign physicians for these positions.

In fact, some specialties are now only allowing foreigners to apply (on their own, no recruiters allowed) iff they are independently funded from a foreign government or military source, for example -- and even then, the application process is highly competitive. Now, non-EU foreign physicians can still apply to some individual training programmes for certain specialties -- generally primary care -- but they must now do it (and seek them out, and pay for the travel and application process completely) on their own... and also, the total numbers of positions overall have been cut dramatically.

This is currently the case in Ireland no matter where one graduates (INTO-SGU, or anyplace else) if a non-EU citizen. Much like in the UK, it seems it's got more to do with immigration issues than medical licensing issues.

Originally Posted by INTO- SGUL

Hi Targaryen,

Thanks for the feedback! The goal of the INTO SGUL program is to provide students with the opportunity to study in both the UK and US so that they're exposed to both healthcare systems so that students who are keen on completing residency in the US will have actual US clinical experience. We are working on items that address the accreditation concerns and I will be posting updates about that when finalized information is available.

Best Regards,

Shannon

Hi Shannon,

What about an opportunity for an INTO Student to transfer into the traditional MBBS program at SGUL that is based let's say on overall class performance (for reasons, let's say that they wish to work in the UK)

Originally Posted by lilqu

Hi Shannon,

What about an opportunity for an INTO Student to transfer into the traditional MBBS program at SGUL that is based let's say on overall class performance (for reasons, let's say that they wish to work in the UK)

Hi lilqu-

Unfortunately it's not possible to transfer from the INTO SGUL program into the SGUL MBBS program.

Best Regards,

Shannon

Just wanted to leave a quick note letting you know that we now have dedicated threads for questions about the following programs at INTO SGUL:

-International Graduate Medicine (MBBS 4)- http://www.valuemd.com/st-georges-un...-mbbs-4-a.html

-International Medicine (BSc/MBBS 6)- http://www.valuemd.com/st-georges-un...-mbbs-6-a.html

-Biomedical Science (International)- http://www.valuemd.com/st-georges-un...rnational.html

Detailed information about how to contact a representative at INTO SGUL has also been added and can be found at: http://www.valuemd.com/st-georges-un...sentative.html

It wouldn't matter one whit which program you graduated from if you're not a citizen of the UK/EU/EEA. That is the main sticking point right now for foreigners working in the UK. If you can't get a work permit, then by golly you can't work there... even if you graduated from Cambridge or Oxford.

Originally Posted by lilqu

Hi Shannon,

What about an opportunity for an INTO Student to transfer into the traditional MBBS program at SGUL that is based let's say on overall class performance (for reasons, let's say that they wish to work in the UK)