Thread: Studying abroad vs. Studying in home country?

Originally Posted by JumpThenFall

I'm currently a Canadian high school student and I plan on being a Pediatrician when I'm older. I was pretty much sure that I was going to a university somewhere in Canada, but lately my parents are telling me I should consider going abroad (specifically India) because it's easier/faster.

I know that the process for becoming a doctor in Canada is quite long:
4 years of Bachelors,
4 years of Med School,
and then about 3 years Residency.
Thats a total of 11 years (plus, I'm not sure if specializing and becoming a pediatrician would require a couple more years or not).

If I were to go study in India, what would the process be, and how long would it take? (I would want to definitely come back to Canada to practice).
Please help! I'm kind of overwhelmed looking around some of the topics on this forum!

PS - I hope I posted this in the right section. If not, sorry!

Are you parents from India?

go to India or China...

Come now, dhiveng, that is some awful advice... considering that the OP wants to return to practice in Canada!

Remember that Canada is absolutely BRUTAL for IMG/FMGs who want to return there for residency/practice. The numbers are really awful, please look at them before making any decisions.

If you can get into medical school in Canada, DEFINITELY do so, but according to the information from Canucks on this website, it is extremely competitive. There is no "easy" way to practice in Canada aside from studying medicine there. Any other pathway is extremely risky, at best.

Bottom line: Yes, it may be faster/cheaper to go abroad for your medical degree -- heck, the schools overseas may even be excellent -- but if you can't practice in your country of choice, what good is it?

devildoc's completely right. Stay in Canada, study hard, try to get into medical school in Canada. Give the US a shot also (though I wouldn't count too much on it). Pretty much everyone here says that it is ridiculously difficult for an International Medical Graduate to become a licensed practitioner in Canada. Also, you'll always have an edge being a Canadian graduate as opposed to IMG.