Why do UK students take USMLE?

I'm a resident physician in the US and I've noticed UK students talk about taking the USMLE on social media. Has there been an increase in UK grads wanting to practice in the US or something?

Reply 1

Democracy

20

Original post by TallCynicalLlama

I'm a resident physician in the US and I've noticed UK students talk about taking the USMLE on social media. Has there been an increase in UK grads wanting to practice in the US or something?

My impression is that the majority of social media chatter seems to be amongst medical school applicants and pre-clinical medical students (= MS1 and MS2). It isn't something I've come across amongst fellow UK graduates, although I have met the occasional IMG who is sitting or has already passed the USMLEs and is trying to decide whether to stay in the UK or eventually head to the US.

The exam and the immigration process represents a serious investment of time, energy, and money for most people. It's easy to discuss this stuff online but I'm willing to bet a lot of people will get cold feet after they've done their initial research and decide it's just not worth it.

Might be mistaken of course, this is all just my personal opinion.

Reply 2

TallCynicalLlama

OP

3

Can people practice after FY2 or do they still have to do the 5 years of training to become a GP?

Getting a fellowship after residency in the US usually requires residency at a university program. I don't remember seeing a lot of of IMGs even from the UK at university residencies.

Reply 3

TallCynicalLlama

OP

3

The 2 that I can think of are Ali Abdaal and Kharma Medic.

Ali posted a video explaining that he wanted to increase his exposure and experience by living in a different country. He also stated he wants to take the Step 1 for fun. I can probably count on 1 hand the amount of people who said they took the USMLE for fun. After taking that test you feel like you just had a colonoscopy that went all the way up to your brain.

Original post by Democracy

My impression is that the majority of social media chatter seems to be amongst medical school applicants and pre-clinical medical students (= MS1 and MS2). It isn't something I've come across amongst fellow UK graduates, although I have met the occasional IMG who is sitting or has already passed the USMLEs and is trying to decide whether to stay in the UK or eventually head to the US.

The exam and the immigration process represents a serious investment of time, energy, and money for most people. It's easy to discuss this stuff online but I'm willing to bet a lot of people will get cold feet after they've done their initial research and decide it's just not worth it.

Might be mistaken of course, this is all just my personal opinion.

You're absolutely right.

Reply 4

Democracy

20

Original post by TallCynicalLlama

The 2 that I can think of are Ali Abdaal and Kharma Medic.

Ali posted a video explaining that he wanted to increase his exposure and experience by living in a different country. He also stated he wants to take the Step 1 for fun. I can probably count on 1 hand the amount of people who said they took the USMLE for fun. After taking that test you feel like you just had a colonoscopy that went all the way up to your brain.

You're absolutely right.

I am...not averse to doing exams for fun or as a personal challenge. There is a long list of medical diplomas I'd like to have a crack at because I'm sad like that.

However, I'm not sure what the point of partially completing a qualifcation is, especially when that qualification is a tool for gaining a licence rather than demonstrating advanced knowledge e.g. as with Royal College exams or the US boards.

Reply 5

ajj2000

20

Original post by TallCynicalLlama

The 2 that I can think of are Ali Abdaal and Kharma Medic.

Ali posted a video explaining that he wanted to increase his exposure and experience by living in a different country. He also stated he wants to take the Step 1 for fun.

I think he also made a video explaining his income - he earns way more online than he would (or does) working as a doctor and a large proportion of his following is US based or interested in US medicine. I don't recall all the details but think he hinted that going through the US process would be a good source of revenue.

Reply 6

TallCynicalLlama

OP

3

Original post by ajj2000

I think he also made a video explaining his income - he earns way more online than he would (or does) working as a doctor and a large proportion of his following is US based or interested in US medicine. I don't recall all the details but think he hinted that going through the US process would be a good source of revenue.

That's interesting. It would be quite an investment in time and patience.

He had said he wanted to pursue EM residency which would be 4 years of 50-60 hours a week (~70-80 hours/week on some rotations) for $60-70K. I wonder if he would be able to produce content at the same rate as he does now.

It doesn't make sense to me but from my understanding he's at one of the best educational institute in the world. Probably has a trick up his sleeve he will cover in a video one day.

Reply 7

nexttime

22

I've not noticed a particular increase in chatter on here. People have always been asking about it.

I suspect the number that actually follow through on this is tiny, its such a massive ordeal. Probably mainly people who have US relatives/citizenship anyway, at a guess.

Reply 8

asif007

19

Original post by TallCynicalLlama

The 2 that I can think of are Ali Abdaal and Kharma Medic.

Ali posted a video explaining that he wanted to increase his exposure and experience by living in a different country. He also stated he wants to take the Step 1 for fun. I can probably count on 1 hand the amount of people who said they took the USMLE for fun. After taking that test you feel like you just had a colonoscopy that went all the way up to your brain.

You're absolutely right.

I like some of Ali Abdaal and Kharma Medic's videos but I would be careful about taking their views as representative of medical students/doctors. Their videos are more like business ventures for entertainment and educational purposes, intended to glamourise Medicine and the lifestyle of medics. They actually do very little to address the reality of what medics are facing right now. Notice that neither of them have mentioned anything about the pandemic in any of their videos, nor even hinted at the immense pressure that hospitals are under right now. It seems strange to me that they are both so enthusiastic and love Medicine so much yet there's a lot that they don't want you to hear. :s-smilie:

I also think Ali Abdaal's recent video in which he spends nearly an hour talking about how much he earned this year and how it was his best year ever is in really poor taste considering how many people have lost their jobs and homes during this pandemic. Perhaps that includes some of his viewers. So I have deliberately not watched that video. I think Kharma Medic is a little bit more down to earth but I appreciate that his "day in the life" videos are probably aimed at applicants to medical school, not other medical students. Everyone's experiences at their own universities are unique - some have excellent experiences just like he does whereas some don't.

As far as I'm aware, Kharma Medic is an international student from Toronto and he's probably studying for the USMLE so he can apply for a residency in Canada. He makes no secret of the fact that it's a really tough exam and Step 1 took him many months of constant work to prepare for. Anybody else who's done it will tell you the same. So I would take it with a pinch of salt when Ali Abdaal says that he's doing it for fun - it's a bit insulting to everyone who's worked really hard for it and probably not done as well as they hoped. In that respect I sometimes get a little bit of Cambridge arrogance vibe from Ali, even though some of his videos are quite interesting. Let's just say that with both of them I'm a bit selective about which of their videos I watch and which ones I ignore.

Why do UK students take USMLE?

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