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Medicine in USA
  • March 27, 2023
  • Team Edusky
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Medicine In USA: From Fees To Salary, Everything You Need To Know

Are you interested in pursuing the world-class medical education provided by the United States of America (USA) but are unsure of where to begin your search? Do not worry, we have got you covered.

You must know that MBBS in the States is only offered as a postgraduate program and is called MD (Doctor of Medicine – a specialised postgraduate degree that can be pursued only after completing MBBS in India and some other countries). Some of the best universities for MBBS in the USA are:

Times Higher Education Rankings 2021

  1. Harvard University
  2. Stanford University
  3. Yale University
  4. Johns Hopkins University
  5. University of California – Los Angeles
  6. Columbia University
  7. University of Pennsylvania
  8. Duke University
  9. University of Washington
  10. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

QS Rankings 2021

  1. Harvard University
  2. Stanford University
  3. Johns Hopkins University
  4. University of California – Los Angeles
  5. Yale University
  6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  7. University of California – San Francisco
  8. Columbia University
  9. University of Pennsylvania
  10. Duke University

While there is no higher age restriction for applying to MBBS programs in the USA, a student must be 17 years old on December 31st of the year they are applying for admission. Every medical school has its own admission criteria which the students must verify before deciding on a course and college. Let us now understand the pre-requisites for your dream of studying medicine in the States.

Pre-Medical Degree

All international students are required to complete a four-year pre-medical undergraduate course (BS) to gain the scientific foundations in areas of Biology, general Chemistry and organic Chemistry, or Neuroscience. Some US institutions may additionally require international applicants to have pursued other courses in Humanities, English, Mathematics and Science. Domestic students in the States pursue the BS degree for four years, straight after 10th grade. But, Indian students will have to study a BS degree in the USA before applying for MD for only four trimesters/16 months because the higher secondary education (10+2) accounts for the previous foundational years. Applicants from India must also keep in mind that it is compulsory for them to have obtained a minimum score of 50 percent or more in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, and have studied English as a core subject from a recognised board throughout their 10+2 year period.

Duration & Residency

The length of an MD program is usually four years in the United States and the overall time it takes to complete an MBBS is 7-9 years, including the residency program, which is typically of three years for internal medicine, five for operations/surgeries and seven to eight years for neurosurgery. It must also be noted that only those students who have qualified for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE – three-step examination program for obtaining a medical license in the United States) are eligible for the medical licensing program in the country.

The MD curriculum is divided into two phases, each lasting two years.
The first is the Theoretical Phase, which focuses on the provision of advanced medical theoretical knowledge to students. Some of the topics to be studied in the United States include Anatomy, Physiology, Medical Ethics, Histology, Biochemistry, Pathology, Microbiology, Neuroanatomy and Clinical Science.

For the next phase, which is the Practical Phase, commonly known as the Clinical Rotation or Externship, students have to take the USMLE 1 test. During this phase, doctors and academics educate students about the basics of hospital operations and the treatment of patients. You must apply for USMLE 2 at the conclusion of this step.

USMLE 3 is the final exam students must take before practising as a doctor in the United States or in any other nation that accepts the US education system.

Applications

MBBS applications at US institutions are accepted for Fall and Spring semesters. In this section, we will be covering information on MCAT exam, AMCAS, documents required and English Proficiency.

MCAT and AMCAS

Medical College Admissions Test, or MCAT, is a standardised test for prospective medical applicants in the USA and is intended to evaluate problem-solving, critical thinking and writing skills, and the understanding of scientific ideas and concepts in the field of medicine. A high MCAT score is an essential prerequisite for medicine studies in the USA. While leading institutions here do not set a minimum MCAT mark, applicants with scores of 510 or above have better prospects of admission. It is advised to take the exam the year before you start pursuing your intended medicine course. Make sure that your MCAT scores are not above four years old at the time of application.

Note: Indian students need to also qualify the National Eligibility Entry Test (NEET), besides the MCAT exam.

Some USA institutions accept applications directly on their website (for example, Texas University has its own Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service, or TMDSAS, portal), but international students usually apply to US schools through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) to submit their complete application along with MCAT scores. The fee for AMCAS is $170 (approx. Rs. 12, 650) and that for MCAT is $315 (approx. Rs. 23, 441). A Fee Assistance Program is offered to assist students with these costs in financial need.

Documents Required

Documents required for MBBS Admission in the United States include, but are not limited to, transcripts of prior academic education, foreign transcript evaluation by an authorized organization, English Proficiency test scores, Letters of Recommendations, Statement of Purpose, Resume, and so on. The actual documents needed by different schools in the US must be verified at respective college sites.

English Proficiency

The MBBS curriculum at US institutions is offered entirely in the English language and that makes it mandatory for foreign candidates to submit results from either:

  • The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic exam (minimum 6.5 to 7.0 overall band required)
  • The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) iBT (minimum score of 90 to 100 required).

For Indian aspirants, the registration fee for the IELTS test is Rs. 14,700 and that for the TOEFL is Rs. 13,780. For additional services such as late registration, rescheduling of the examination or score review, there is an extra fee. International students who have already received education in the English language or who are from a country where English is the first language may be exempted from submitting English Proficiency test results by some universities.

Tuition Fee and Expenses

In the United States, a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree costs between $20,000 (approx. Rs. 1,488,350) and $50,000 (approx. Rs. 3,720,875) per year, while the cost of an MD programme is between 18,442 (approx. Rs. 1,372,407) and 64,984 (approx. Rs. 4,835,946) per year, depending on the curriculum.

Regarding the cost of living, the annual expenses of an international student in the United States amounts to about $15,000 (approx. Rs. 1,117,612), or roughly $1000 to $1500 (approx. Rs. 74,507 to Rs. 111,761) a month, including food, transport, housing and entertainment. Eating at low-cost eateries or traveling in pool vehicles is any day a better idea for saving on money.

These all build up on the pre-arrival cost, which is approximately $1,010-$1,105 (approx. Rs. 75,252-82,330)

Scholarships

Scholarships are offered for students enrolled in medical schools at different institutions. Some non-governmental organisations catering to the healthcare sector also offer scholarships for medical students. Below are some of the leading US universities that offer scholarship to medical students:

  1. Harvard University (Harvard Medical School Scholarship)
  2. Stanford University (Stanford Institutional Aid)
  3. American Medical Technologists (AMTIE Student Scholarship)
  4. John Hopkins University (Financial Aid for Non-US Medical Students)
  5. AHIMA Foundation (AHIMA Foundation Merit Scholarship)
  6. Columbia University (Vagelos Scholarship)
  7. Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions and CastleBranch (ASAHP Scholarship of Excellence)

Job Prospects and Salary

Doctors, who offer a crucial service to the society, ought to be properly compensated for almost a decade of devotion spent in medical school and training. In the United States, employment growth for physicians and surgeons is expected to increase significantly, creating about creating more than two million employment opportunities in this sector through 2028-29. Specifically speaking, psychiatrists are projected to create the most employment in the United States through 2028, followed by family and general practitioners. The profession that earn the highest average yearly income in the States is that of Anesthesiologists, at $267,020 (approx. Rs. 19,877,903), followed by family and general physicians who earn an average of $211,780 (approx. Rs. 15,765,644) per year.

Pros

Given the easy access to world-class student assistance, huge research possibilities, exposure to a varied community of students, excellent career prospects and a global perspective, studying Medicine in the United States is unquestionably worthwhile. For Indian students, one of the advantages of getting an MBBS degree from an institution in the United States is that they are exempted from taking the MCI (Medical Council of India) FMGE (Foreign Medical Graduate Examination – a licensure examination conducted by the National Board of Examinations in India). The MCI recognizes an MD degree acquired in the States from a recognised school or university. As a result, Indian students who finish their MBBA in the United States are not obliged to take the MCI FMGE in order to practice in India.

Cons

In terms of time and money, studying Medicine in the United States is definitely tough and testing. The entrance requirements are very stringent and most public medical schools in the country do not offer seats for foreign medical applicants. However, determined students may always contact university officials or alumni to help them with the applications.

In the midst of unwelcome outbreaks, doctors have shown their significance in our lives. They are held in high regards across the globe. Yes, it necessitates burning the candle at both ends but if you are here, you are already a step closer to your passion and we extend our best wishes to all you doctors in the making. Remember, if it were as simple as a cakewalk, we all would be gliding through the cream.

 

This article is written by the Edusky Research Team.