Best Med School in England for a student wishing to practice in the USA?

**Crocodile Dundee** · 03-12-2006, 03:24 AM

Try Birmingham, too. It's very academic - and yes, very scientific! Why they can cook up any thing you have to order!

**Crocodile Dundee** · 03-12-2006, 03:52 AM

The UK is an exceptional place in which to study medicine. If you come here, you will be a guaranteed 4 or 5 years of rigour, as well as a top-rate, entertaining, authentic social life.

**Gizmo says -** · 03-12-2006, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by Anthony0987

wow this is a v interesting thread, def thinking twice about my uni choices now and what course structures are best. cos ive always had this idea of going to canada, even though many have warned me its near impossible, or the US.
pbl does seem to be a cop out of the lecturers, and giving students a free reign over their studies, and strongly reminds me of my alevel experiences did no work for most of the year at all as teachers didnt care and the focus was on 'self learning'

its not a cop out for the med skool though. they employ more staff through PBL, and so it costs more.
so no its lecturess, by your logic that are a cop out.
reverse your finking, pronto, macca.

**abmasrac** · 28-02-2007, 05:44 AM

Anyone with more information on this? I am in a dilemma as to which course I should be following if I intend to do my residency in the US: the 4-year fast-track graduate-entry course or a regular 5+1-year course at a London uni? I will need to make up my mind. Any help is appreciated.

**chadtnl** · 28-02-2007, 12:43 PM

I don't think it will make much difference as neither is really geared towards the USMLE. If you have a degree, you may want to consider a 4 year programme as it is shorter (obviously).
Maybe you want to consider that a regular course may give you more time to prepare for the USMLE.
Don't forget that passing the USMLE is one thing but getting a high enough score to land a competitive residency is another.

**aames** · 06-06-2007, 07:26 PM

Hey everyone

Just wondering would it make a diffence if i have a medical degree from imperial college rather than leicester, for example am i more likey to get jobs in a more competitive post.

**Evolution** · 06-06-2007, 08:29 PM

No. This theory of school with a better history or higher status effecting your ability to get a more competitive post is completely untrue. There are problebly about 7 prestigious universities in comparision to 30+. If students coming out of the 7 or so universities were extremely better as doctors it would be noted. The only benefit from a more prestigious uni is that they may have the ability to specialize in areas other universities can't. e.g. you do some work in emergency medicine and when applying for a job this opportunity can be used to set you apart. Just going to the university won't set you apart, except for the whole "Seriously, you went to Oxford, wasn't it hard?" from a member of public. Also a more prestigious university may have certain doctors who you can get to know and use later in life.

Don't rely on the university's name just to get you in the door. You will have to take full advantage of the university e.g wide inter calculated degree topics, ability to do more clinical work, clubs renown for their skill building and so on.

**Bambi** · 08-06-2007, 04:13 PM

I don't see why a pbl school will mean it's harder to do the USMLE. It will depend how much work you do surely. My pbl notes are extremely detailed and much more complex than the lecture notes. That is just me though, obviously some people do a lot less but if you do enough work you end up with at least as much knowledge, if not more than those on lecture based courses. Also a lot of people I know on lecture based courses, because they are given everything they need to know for the exams don't bother to actually read any books til clinicals, whereas everyone I know on pbl courses reads around loads.

**Gizmo says -** · 08-06-2007, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by aames

Hey everyone

Just wondering would it make a diffence if i have a medical degree from imperial college rather than leicester, for example am i more likey to get jobs in a more competitive post.

neither will offer an advantage.
nottingham mite ave though, since it wuld ave saved you a year of costs and emant you culd set off abroad a year earlier.

**KKerr** · 25-06-2007, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by abmasrac

Anyone with more information on this? I am in a dilemma as to which course I should be following if I intend to do my residency in the US: the 4-year fast-track graduate-entry course or a regular 5+1-year course at a London uni? I will need to make up my mind. Any help is appreciated.

There certainly has been alot of debate about this - so thought I would join in!

As an american citizen, with indefinate leave to remain in the UK (and British Citizenship pending) - I have looked into these issues quite a bit. Background - I am a "mature" graduate starting medicine in the UK in Sept (eek - its so close now!) and have given quite a bit of thought to US/UK dilemma. Basically, for me, I decided to stay in the UK to do medicine because I consider this my home and have every intention of living and practicing here when I graduate. These decisions are mostly personal and less related to the differences between the US and UK medical systems. But I DO intend to take the USMLE's - but in order to be able to apply for a placement at either Johns Hopkins or Harvard during my 5th year. Like someone else mentioned - as settled as I am in the US, I do want to keep my options open (as much as possible without damaging my career prospects - always beware of spreading yourself too thin - sometimes to have to just make a committment and stick to it!). Anyway - a few things that I discovered along the way when looking into both systems -

1) if you KNOW you want to practice in the US/Canada - make things easy for yourself and STUDY there!!! It is an immense mountain to climb in order to get foreign qualifications acknowledged no matter what direction you are going and what qualifications they are!! These programs train you, specifically, to work in the health cares system of that country (the same is true for the UK) - so dont make life hard for yourself by training under a different system and then trying to switch!!

2) If you do study in the UK AND still plan to take the USMLE's - best time to take them is at the end of the 2nd year - and I would strongly recommend a non-PBL based course (some PBL is good - but you will need a balance) and a 5 year course. That way you have some time free in the summers to study the USMLE material. Get hold of a US syllabus - I think Yale has a good one online - and compare what you have covered in the first year to theirs, and study over the summer to fill any gaps, same goes for second year - then take USMLE's the end of second year. If you try taking step 1 any later than that you will forget all of your basic sciences. Dont worry about the clinical stuff, that is covered in Step 2 - and you can take that at the end of your course.

3) Also - if you study in the UK - use your 5th year elective (again the benefit of a 5 year program) to go to the US. A number of US schools specifically say that as a foreign graduate - having done this will improve your chances of getting a residency there - as the faculty/staff will know you AND you can get a reference from them. Remember that getting a residnency as a foreign graduate, even if you are a US citizen and even if you have good/excellent USMLE scores is very, very competitive. You should also try and get as much research experience as you can as a med student - as this is very important to US programs.

Think that is about it - best of luck!!!

K