Possible Options ?

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am a legal Alien in the US with a Legal authorization to work also about to be become a legal permanent resident .I am considering preparing for a medical school …having a Bachelors Degree in Microbiology and a little deviation from that a Masters Degree in Oil and Gas Management from a reputable University in the UK …i have been passionate about medicine and truly see myself doing well in that field …i am only thinking about how to go about it ? are there chances for me to be admitted into a good medical school here in the US with my background as a Microbiologist and also as an Oil and gas Management Graduate ? i am my wife are considering and looking at the options and the possible route to this venture…please does any one know the steps and comprehensive requirements for such diversification … any clue will be appreciated …

@cityofkings

US medical schools will not accept degrees earned outside of accredited US or Canada colleges or universities. That will be your first obstacle.

In order to be consider eligible for US med schools, you’ll need to earn 90-120 credits (depends on the policies of a specific school) at an accredited 4 year US or Canadian college or university, including completion all the prerequisite classes for medical school, before you would be eligible to apply to a US medical school.

Pre-reqs include all of the following: 1 year bio w/labs, 1 year gen chem w/labs, 1 year ochem w/labs, 1 year physics w/labs, 1 year English composition (expository writing) , 1 semester calc 1, 1 semester statistics or biostatistics, 1 semester biochem, 1 semester sociology, 1 semester psychology. Some specific medical schools require additional coursework (public speaking, medical ethics, calc 2 and 3, upper level humanities or social science classes, etc.). You’ll need to check with each school to see what that particular school requires.

There are, I think, 5 or 6 osteopathic medical school that will consider accepting foreign degrees on case by case basis. You will need to have all your transcripts verified/translated by WES (World Education Services), but there are no guarantees your transcripts will be accepted. And you will still need to take all the pre-req classes in the US/Canada.

Additionally, medical school admission officers expect applicants to have demonstrated their commitment to medicine by participating in activities that show they are familiar with the career and have the necessary personal qualities to make a good physician. These activities include at a minimum shadowing US physicians in variety of medical specialties, hundreds of hours of community service with the under-privileged/less fortunate, hundreds of hours of clinical volunteering or clinical employment in positions with direct patient contact, demonstrations of your leadership ability and demonstrations of your ability to work well in a team environment. Biomedical research experience is encouraged, but not required.

After you’ve finished your US coursework, you’ll take the MCAT (Medical School Admission Test).

Once you have a US GPA and a MCAT score, you can apply to medical school.

Criteria for med school admission are partly objective (GPA and MCAT scores) and partly subjective (assessment of personal qualities based on activities, personal statements, essays and interviews).

There are many more applicants to medical school than there are seats available in med schools. Every year 60% (or more) applicants are denied admission at every school they apply to.


Re: "good medical schools"

Medical education in the US is pretty standardized. All US med schools teach the same basic curriculum and all US medical students take the same national examinations at the end of years 2 and 3. These national examinations qualify you for entry into the required 3-11 years of mandatory post-graduate supervised training (called residency and fellowship). Only after you've completed residency (and an optional fellowship if desired) will be able to practice medicine independently.

As what WOWm said. However, before you become a permanent resident, there is nothing you can do to apply for med school here in the USA.