FAQ#10: Housemanship, salary, payment

"I'm a third year medical student ( going to be in this coming August). I am interested in doing USMLE. But I have several questions which I hope to get some idea from you. 

1. I have yet complete USMLE 1. Is it too late to take during my clinical years and continue with USMLE Step 2?

2. I know that it is compulsory to finish the 2 years housmanship and 2 years compulsory service after we finish our medical course. By the way, I am from UNIMAS and not taking any scholarship. Is it possible for us not to complete the housemanship and directly continue the postgraduate training if we are accepted by the USA hospital?

3. Are we get paid if we are accepted by the hospital to do the postgraduate training in USA?"

1. Again, it is never too late or too early to take the USMLE exams.  I have a residency classmate who is an orthopedic surgeon from India, who decided to take the USMLE exams and come to the U.S. for training in Internal Medicine.

2.  I went straight into residency without doing any housemanship or compulsory service.  After I finish residency, I can head back home and work as a specialist in UMMC or UKM etc, without doing any housemanship or compulsory service.  I can even head to Singapore to work as a specialist if I want to.

3.  I get paid about USD$3,000+ per month here while I undergo my residency training.  When I complete Internal Medicine training (in 2 years time) and choose to stay to work in the U.S., the pay for an Internal Medicine specialist here is about USD$200,000 per year.

I would suggest you ask a Masters trainee whether UM or UKM pays for him or her to undergo training in their institution.  You can also ask them if they need to obtain scholarship/sponsorship from government or universities, and ask them if there are any bonds when they complete their training.

I get paid here in the U.S., and there are no bonds attached after my training.  After I complete my training, if I want to leave the U.S. and head back to Malaysia/Singapore, I can do so.

FAQ#9: Australia vs Europe vs U.S.A.

"I am intrested in working across europe and i wanna ask u if USMLE can qualify for applying as medical residency in europe? And what about NZ ? Is USMLE internationally accepted as entrace exam for medical residency worldwide? and which do u think better , USMLE vs PLAB vs AMC ?"

1) The USMLE is a medical student level exam.  PLAB and AMC are meant for graduates.  The level of difficulty is entirely different.

2)  Unlike the U.S., entering Europe or Australia to work as a doctor does not mean you are entering a training position.  In the U.S., you enter directly into a residency (aka specialization position). 3 years after working in U.S., you will be awarded a specialist title.  Eg: American Board of Pediatrics.  With this title, you can either practice in the U.S. as a pediatrician (for example), or work in Malaysia as a pediatrician (yes it is recognized), or if you can also work in Singapore as a pediatrician (yes it is also recognised).

FAQ#8: Questions regarding: Housemanship, registration

Received an email asking about various topics, ranging from timeframe to healthcare system

Question 1: Housemanship

"I would like to know if it is possible for one not to do housemanship in malaysia, and instead prepare for USMLE straight after graduating. Instead of 2 years housemanship can one take USMLE and apply for residency?"

Yes. You can opt to go straight to U.S. without going through housemanship.  When you enter the U.S., you will enter into a residency training spot immediately.  A surgical intern will focus on surgery, and never deliver babies, an O&G intern will focus on O&G, and never manage myocardial infarction.  It is immediate specialization.

Question 2: Registration

"Another thing is how and where should i register in malaysia in order for me to take my Step 1 and the remaining steps."

Try to google usmle ecfmg. They will direct you step by step to apply for the exam.  The process is very simple actually.

Question from another student:

"I am just an average student who managed to squeeze into medical school passing with an average marks. I am currently in my fourth year and I am quite frustrated with the fact that when I graduate the overflow of HO will be quite bad. So, I am opting for USMLE but I am not sure if I can do it as many previous candidates has mentioned that it is extremely difficult. What is your opinion on this matter?

I am also from a below-average family so i'm really concern of the amount of money that is involved. Can i know roughly, how much did you spend for the books, online question banks, applications and etc.?"

The USMLE exams is not impossible.  There are many more exams with greater failure rates, such as the PLAB  or AMC.  The hardest part with the USMLE is to obtain great scores.  And this is definitely doable with hard work.  What one lacks in memory power, one shall have to compensate with time.  In the end, it boils down to motivation.  So the question is, how motivated are you, and how badly do you want to obtain a residency in the U.S.? 

As for how much it will cost, it's definitely far lesser than a semester of medical school fees, and it buys you a world of opportunities.  It will roughly cost RM 1k+ for books/question banks, RM 3k for applications etc.  Again, you will never study hard for it until you actually pay for the exam. Money can be a deterring factor for one, but can be a motivational factor for another.  Not that I agree with getting well paid as a doctor, but an average internal medicine specialist in the U.S. makes around USD$ 200,000 per year, and this is just after 3 years of residency training.