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Discussion

NP or MD?

I'm working my way through RN school as an EMT. Yesterday, I posted outside a farmer's market in Los Angeles and ran into a booth where a woman was advertising Polish medical schools. I looked and thought it might be good for a laugh to check it out. They have a six-year MD program, and the tuition is $12,000 a year.

I asked what the entrance requirements are, and she told me a high school diploma. What? I asked again, and she said it's a six-year program, they take you all the way through the prerequisites and you end up with an MD. The Polish program that's taught in English is about ten years old, and there are doctors that have graduated from this school practicing in the US and Australia, as well as Norway, Canada, and the UK.

So I was standing there with the flyer in my hand thinking about my own path from RN through the Masters program and finally NP school. It's another five years of school for me to go that route, or six years for an MD.

My final goal was to work as the small town doctor and open a little practice as an NP. I could do it as an MD, though. I'm still thinking about it this morning and straightening out for myself which way to go. I'm 35, so this means another ten years of not making a whole lot of money. Residents don't make a whole lot, and ten years through nursing school and work experience and I can do very well as a nurse or an NP.

For those of you who have gone the NP route, what would be going through your mind if you were in my shoes right now? What kind of questions would you ask the various Polish schools? If you had it to do over again, would you strongly consider going the MD route?

Thanks for any replies.

Featured Replies

  • Experts
Hello,

I suggest your read through this thread for some good insight about NP to MD:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f34/anyone-heard-any-np-md-programs-20278.html

And, I'd be very very wary of this program that you've described. I'm sure it's a scam at the very least. And, if not a scam, I rather doubt you'd ever be granted practice in the U.S.

With deference, what the OP is talking about is not the same. Six year programs are the standard in much of Europe. They are accredited by the WHO and is some states are accepted in some they are not. The English only programs in particular are an issue. States that maintain their own list of acceptable schools such as California may accept the school if the information is taught in the native language but not if taught in English. In other programs both the English and native language versions are acceptable.

Here are a couple of links that talk about this:

http://www.studentdoc.com/foreign-medical-schools.html

http://www.sunysb.edu/healthed/foreign.html

Also you might want to look at SDN in particular the international student section:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=91

To the OP there are a number of issues to consider including:

While it may be a six year MD program, you will still have to do a residency to practice in the US. This will make it more like nine years. This leads to:

a. Can you get into a residency as an IMG

b. are you willing to accept that a lot of residencies will not take IMGs.

On the other hand there is a three year DO program that is tailored to FP which would make the total six years past a bachelors degree.

http://www.lecom.edu/pros_pathways.php

David Carpenter, PA-C

  • Admin

Thanks, David.

I stand corrected.

  • Experts

No problem.

The Universtiy of Montreal has a similar program. In Quebec you graduate from high school in grade 11. You then have to do 2 years at CEGEP (community college) then the 5 year MD program at U of M. So basically the amount of years to graduate with MD. It is however, given in french.

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