UK student obtaining residency in the US.

[funsize17]

I am not sure how many people on this forum understand the UK education system so some of this might be a little confusing however i will try to be as clear as possible .

I am in Sixth-Form college at the moment studying for my A-levels. This takes two years and when they are completed i am going to go to a University medical school in the UK. The thing is, my dream is to become a surgeon (cardiothoracic) and i have researched into this and aparantly the US have a far better teaching system with regards to this profession. America is more advanced in terms of medical technology and as i understand they are responsible for a massive amount of medical breakthroughs. Anyway, after i have completed my medicine course at University in the UK i want to move to America to do a surgical residency programme. Is this possible?

I have been searching the internet for more information on which UK medical schools are approved by the US and how much of a chance i have of getting in but to my disappointed i have not had much luck.

Please help me.

PLEASE PLEASE HELP
Thankyou.

[sheldoncooper]

All UK medical schools are eligible to sit for USMLE steps. In order for you to gain a residency in general surgery , you will have to take the steps independently since UK schools do not have special prep for it and then apply for a NRMP residency match as a NON-US INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRAD. However , you might experience significant trouble because you do not have clinical rotations done in the US hospitals where you can get a pre-match or direct evaluation from US attendings hence this puts you in a great disadvantage. Also , statistically , UK does not send many grads to do a residency in the recent year. (Largest countries historically includes India , Philippines , Pakistan , Caribbean schools etc.)

That said , if you or your medical school have ties with any teaching hospitals in US , they might be able to hook you up for a pre-match or maybe get you in contact with a UK alumni who has done residency in US.

Think of it as US grads having a hard time getting a job as House officer in the UK hospitals because of the EU barriers and vice-versa ( although not stated) lol.

You could also consider doing a FELLOWSHIP in cardiothoraic instead of a RESIDENCY. This can be done by completing your training in the UK , get certified with the royal college of surgeon or be a registrar and then apply to fellowship positions in the US to train. They are much easier to obtain especially if you have research credentials with you. However , you will not be able to practice in US after completing the fellowship because you will have to be board-certified and in order to be board-certified you MUST have completed a residency in the US. Hence , if you are still keen on training in cardiothoraic in the US , it is possible to apply to a fellowship and then return to the UK to practice as a cardiothoraic surgeon.