<p>So, when I arrived in the US 4 years ago I was an international in high school. Opportunities came up and I became a permanent resident. Currently I'm living with my family and going to a local community college. I have always wanted to be a doctor, and before I came here, I was accepted in my countries' top medical school. I gave up everything to come here and try a new life with my family.
The problem is, I cannot stand living here anymore. I'm not too fond of my current school, and although I have dream schools I want to go to, I don't know if I can stand living here for much longer.
I was thinking about returning to my country, going to Med School there and coming back for my residency in here; and I might by then decide to give the US a second try (since I'll be in a very different stage in my life).
I have gotten accepted as a transfer to some schools (Simmons, Northeastern, Agnes Scott, BU...), but I couldn't go because of financial reasons.
I will be getting my US citizenship in August, which is awesome.</p>
<p>However, what is the reality for those students who went to medical school in other countries? How long (and how much) does it take to get certified here? Will I have any chances of getting into a residency program? Will I have trouble finding jobs?</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help, I feel rather lost. People are telling me different things.
PS: I'm from Brazil.</p>
<p>Medical graduates from countries outside of the US must take and pass the USMLE before they can be considered for US residency programs. Historically FMG have not scored as high on the USMLE as US MDs and have a lower pass rate. In 2008, only about 55% of FMG seeking US residencies received one. Most of those placements were in residencies in internal medicine or family practice.</p>
<p>You might try reading this</p>
<p>[United</a> States Medical Licensing Examination - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Medical_Licensing_Examination]United”>United States Medical Licensing Examination - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>to find answers to some of your questions.</p>
<p>More about the certification process can be found here:</p>
<p>[ECFMG®</a> | Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates](<a href=“http://www.ecfmg.org/]ECFMG®”>http://www.ecfmg.org/)</p>
<p>Do you believe the lower grades have to do with the level of preparation? For instance, I assume medical schools here know the format of the exam, and so train their students to do successful, whereas schools outside of the country train their students to their exams. Or do you think it might be the language barrier?
Or is it really that you believe that foreign medical schools are not up to par with US school? I wonder if the lower scores also extend to doctors that come from med schools in Europe and other well-developed countries.
In anyway, I have always been in between psychiatry, OBGYN, endocrinology and neurology. Are those hard to get in?</p>