Israeli Medical Schools

[ywanderluster]

Hey,

I am planning on going to a medical school in Israel, but I can’t find enough information about American based medical schools in Israel or Medical schools for American students in English. I found these three universities that have American based medical school: Technion University, Tel Aviv University, and Ben Gurion University. However, I can’t find enough information about them. Do you have any information about these universities and their programs? Would you recommend going to any of these universities? In general, would you recommend going to medical school in Israel? Would that put me at a disadvantage when applying for residency in the United States?

Thank you in advance for all your help!! I appreciate it.

[WayOutWestMom]

Those 3 are the only ones.

Sackler at Tel Aviv University http://sacklermedicine.us
Ben Gurion http://msih.bgu.ac.il/md-program/admissions/
Technion –http://teams.technion.ac.il/admissions/admissions-requirements/

Discussion forums on ValueMD

Ben Gurion-- https://www.valuemd.com/ben-gurion.php
Sackler–https://www.valuemd.com/sackler.php
Technion–https://www.valuemd.com/technion.php

Admission for all the programs are competitive, with admitted student stats not much lower than what are typical at US DO and lower tier US MD programs. All 3 programs require a MCAT score and completion of all the same science pre-reqs that US med schools do. IIRC, Sackler’s program is quite small, accepting only 35-50 students/year.

Currently both Sackler and Ben Gurion send US students to do some clinical rotations in NYC as part of the 3rd & 4th year clinical curriculum, but that may change in the next 4 years. (NY state hospital regulations are “under review”…)

Would that put me at a disadvantage when applying for residency in the United States?

Yes. You will be at a significant disadvantage when it comes to applying for residency.

In the 2014, Charting the Outcomes of the Match for IMGs, 90 out of 129 (70%) US citizen grads of Israeli med schools matched.
http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NRMP-and-ECFMG-Publish-Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-for-International-Medical-Graduates-Revised.PDF-File.pdf

However, the residency landscape is changing.

The 2020 merger of the MD and DO Match, the increasing number of domestic med school grads (approx 3-4 new US med schools are opening each year), plus growing uncertainties about the continued existence of US clinical sites for international med students (several states have already prohibited the payment of fees to reserve clinical slots for international students and the AMA recently has begun to lobby Congress and the remaining state legislatures to outlaw the practice in all states)— all of these make attending med school outside of the US a more risky proposition than it once was.

Three more issues to consider–

1. not all states recognize/accredit Israeli med schools. This means if you do graduate from an Israeli med school, you will not be able to enter a residency in any of those state or receive a medical license there. You will never be able to practice medicine in those states even after residency.

2. IMGs faced stiffer licensing requirements than do grads of US medical schools. States require IMGs to have 2-3 years of accredited residency training (some states require a completed residency) to qualify for a medical license, while domestic grads are only required to complete 1 year of post-grad training.

3. graduating from an international med school limits your ability to match into your specialty of choice. Many residency program directors simply will not interview IMGs for positions. At programs that do interview IMGs, the IMG needs to have significantly better stats/recommendations than domestic grads to receive the same consideration. Most IMGs end up matching into primary care (FM and IM).

In general, would you recommend going to medical school in Israel?

The general recommendation is that if you wish to practice medicine in the US, you should attend a US medical school.

[i_wanna_be_Brown]

US is always better but if you can’t get into any US school and really want to go abroad, I will say that it does seem like the Israeli schools have the most success of all the foreign schools.

[techmom99]

My PCP attended medical school in Israel - he is an Iranian Jew who fled when the Revolution occurred. He is an excellent doctor and has told me that his training in Israel was top notch. Of course, med school in the US is the best choice, but if it’s not an option for you, Israel is a great place to learn. However, I don’t know if you need to know Hebrew or if the classes are conducted in English. I would think you would need to know Hebrew to speak with patients and staff.

[3girls3cats]

At least right now, aren’t the Sackler graduates who split their time between Israel and the US considered graduates of a NY state med school?

[WayOutWestMom]

Sackler grads are not considered grads of a US medical school. They’re IMGs and must apply for residency thru the ECFMG.

But historically Sackler grads have been given special consideration by some NYC residency programs, particularly at Jewish hospitals. (Sackler was originally founded because of the discrimination Jews faced in US med school admissions.)

Beside the Israeli med schools, another well regarded foreign program is Ochsner SOM at University of Queensland (Australia). Like Sackler, Ochsner students do their first 2 years overseas, then come to the US for their clinical training. They train at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans

[3girls3cats]

Hmm. Now I am confused. This may be out of date but Sackler’s website says:

“Because the New York State/American Program is chartered by New York State, Sackler students are considered graduates from an New York State medical school — and it is the only international program to offer such a benefit.”

[WayOutWestMom]

According to JHU’s website–

Sackler School of Medicine

The Sackler Institute at the NYU School of Medicine is a division of the Graduate School of the Arts and Science of New York University, offering programs in the basic medical sciences leading to the Ph.D. degree and, in coordination with The Medical Scientist Training Program, combined M.D./Ph.D. degrees. Students can do their thesis research in the laboratories of more than 180 faculty members at the NYU Langone Medical Center who have appointments in basic science or clinical departments, as well as associated faculty located at the main campus.

So, it appears that Sackler grads can earn a BS, MS or PhD from a New York university, but Sackler’s own webpage says their MD students have to be certified through the ECFMG.

http://sacklermedicine.us/information/regulations-for-promotion-graduation/

http://sacklermedicine.us

The [Sackler MD] program, which is a four-year course of study, is chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York State and accredited by the State of Israel.

The LCME accredits all US MD programs. Unless a student graduates from an LCME accredited program (or AOA accredited for DO grads), they are required to apply for residency thru the ECFMG.

LCME’s list of accredited programs; http://lcme.org/directory/accredited-u-s-programs/

Additionally, Sackler students can only spend a maximum of 16 weeks doing clerkships in NY. (NY state regulation) That’s only 4 months out of 18+ months of clerkships that MS3-MS4 students typically do. Sackler student do the rest of their clerkship at non-US rotation sites.

[WayOutWestMom]

Sackler is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools where it’s noted the graduates of the New York State/American Program

Students and graduates of this medical school are eligible to apply to ECFMG for ECFMG Certification and for examination, provided that:
For medical school students officially enrolled in this school, the graduation years are listed below as “current”.
For graduates of this medical school, their graduation year is included in the graduation years listed below.
Graduation Years:
1967 - Current
All other eligibility requirements are met. Refer to the ECFMG Information Booklet for detailed information.

https://search.wdoms.org/home/SchoolDetail/F0001731

[3girls3cats]

http://sacklermedicine.us/information/new-york-state-letter/

[WayOutWestMom]

@3girls3cats

Yes, NYS Office of the Professions treats Sackler grads the same as graduates of a US Medical school for medical licensing purposes.

This means Sackler grads only need a 1 year/12 months of residency training to qualify for an unrestricted NY state medical license whereas graduates of other international medical schools need to complete 32 months (minimum) of a residency program to qualify for an unrestricted medical license.

States other than NY still require Sackler grads to meet state-specific IMG medical licensing requirements. (i.e. 2-3 years of post grad training. Exact length of time varies by state. )

Sackler is not a an LCME accredited US medical school. Because it is not, its grads are considered international medical graduates and must first go through the ECFMG certification process before they can apply for a US medical residency.

So Sackler grads are NOT consider US domestic medical school graduates, but the state of NY (and only NY) treats them the same as domestic med graduates for the purpose of issuing medical licenses.

There is no reciprocity for medical licenses. Each state has its own requirements. A Sackler grad who holds an untrestricted NY medical license, but has only completed one year of post grad residency training will not be eligible for medical license in another state because they have not met the minimum length of training required for IMGs.