When choosing a foreign medical school, your primary consideration should be the licensing standards in the country where you wish to practice medicine. It is essential that you choose a foreign medical school that can give you an education that will be recognized by the licensing commission in your home country. Ask the school whether its students are regularly approved for residencies in the jurisdiction where you wish to practice and about its students pass rates on physician licensing exams. Other considerations to inquire about include costs, financial aid options, and accommodation options afforded to students.
In most jurisdictions, the practice of medicine is strongly regulated by the government. Typically, you will need to be licensed by a medical board before you can work as a physician. The difficulty is that, in some cases, the education you receive from a foreign medical school may not be recognized by the medical commission in the jurisdiction where you now reside or wish to practice. It is a good idea to contact the commission in your jurisdiction to find out its policies on approving education received at a foreign medical school. If you are currently a premedical student at a university or live in a country where you enter medical school soon after completing your secondary education, talk to an academic adviser about foreign medical school options before applying to any institutions.
In some countries, you may be expected to complete additional exams or clinical work before you can be licensed after receiving a degree from a foreign medical school. When planning your education and career, make sure that you allow for the extra time and expense of fulfilling these prerequisites before beginning your medical practice. If you are applying to a foreign medical school because your application was rejected at domestic schools, you may want to think twice about immediately applying to international schools. Some experts advise taking some extra time to address deficits in your medical school applications, such as low entrance exam scores, rather than immediately applying to a foreign medical schools.
Tuition and fees are another issue. Ask each foreign medical school about its financial policies and whether it participates in financial aid programs offered through your home country. If it does, it may be required to maintain statistics on the future careers of its graduates. These statistics may include information about whether graduates can successfully pass their medical board exams and whether they are currently working as physicians. Use this information when making a decision about the credibility of an overseas medical college.
