Station 1: I had to examine a lady with some gynecological problem. I forgot to use the lubricant KY jelly. Examiner was not happy. As palpation of the fornices was difficult, I was thinking she was having a retroverted uterus.

Station 2: next station was a lady delivered a healthy baby 4 weeks back. She was having postpartum depression and some suicidal tendency. I recommend hospitalization for both of the mother and the baby.

Station 3: I had to take history from a nurse and make out some differential diagnosis. As I never practiced this part well, I was a little confused. The patient was having pain abdomen. In my opinion, this was due to the side effect of long standing use of analgesics as he was suffering from fracture neck femur.

Station 4: I faced an anxious mother of a febrile baby with history of convulsion. I explained her that febrile convulsion is common this part of life and there is not much to be worried.

Station 5: I was discussing about pain management with the daughter of a lady suffering from carcinoma breast.

Station 6: I was given some prolene suture and needle holder and was expected to make a knot. I did not do well here as the needle holder was not working properly. Later I managed to make the knot with mu hand.

Station 7: I had to discuss the beneficial aspect of MMR vaccine to a father of a 1 year old child. He was talking continuously and all I had to do was to fill up the gaps between our conversations.

Station 8: my next station was difficult. It was a lady patient with ectopic pregnancy. She was thinking to go out from the hospital and somehow I managed to convince her to stay back at the hospital.

Station 9: next patient was suffering from pain in the shoulder and my diagnosis was painful arc syndrome. He was having great difficulty in moving his shoulder.

Station 10: next patient was suffering from COPD. I forgot to examine his neck due to lack of time and absentmindedness. Somehow, I managed to take 2 PEFR readings before the bell.

Station 11: next patient was a female at her twenties. She was giving a history of pain shifting from loin to groin. My diagnosis was urinary tract infection. This was the easiest of the lot.

Station 12: I had to demonstrate adult CPR to the examiner. Here also I did well.

PLAB consists of two parts – Part 1 and Part 2 or OSCE.

In PLAB Part 1, you have to answer EMQs and some single best answers. EMQs can be chosen from any of the subjects usually trained during the schooling days. The subjects include – Anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology, internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, psychiatry, ophthalmology and ENT. The question is set by GMC and from a question bank maintained and updated by the organization. Detailed guideline can be found on the website of GMC.

In PLAB part 2, your clinical skill and knowledge about common diseases occurring in the UK are being tested. It is also known as OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination). Part 2 is formulated to check the ability of a foreign medical graduate to practice medicine securely in any hospital in the UK. The standard is fixed and the aptitude from a candidate is expected at the end of first Foundation year (F1).

USMLE, an acronym for United States Medical Licensing Examination, is the only gateway for a doctor who have obtained the medical degree outside the US or Canada. The examination is funded and conducted by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) together with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Even for the US medical graduates, if they want to practice medicine independently, they have to take the exam.

USMLE is divided into three parts – Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3. In the Step 1, one has to answer 336 EMQs (Extended Matching Questions). Subjects covered in Step 1 are – human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry including genetics, pathology and microbiology, pharmacology, nutrition including geriatrics and behavioral sciences. This is an eight hour online computer based examination. Maximum score is 300 and the pass mark is 185.

Step 2 is further divided into two parts – Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS. Step 2 CK (Clinical Knowledge) is again an EMQ based exam and it covers internal medicine, surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry. There are some centers outside US opened recently where overseas doctors can take Step 2 CK. But for Step 2 CS (Clinical Skill), one has to come to the US. The candidate has to take history and state the differential diagnosis with initial investigations for 12 standardized patients.

The USMLE Step 3 is taken to assess the compatibility for a foreign medical graduate to work independently in the US atmosphere. Emphasis is also given to ambulatory patient care setup.

In the United States, this exam is called USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination). In the UK, it is named as PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board). In Australia, an overseas medical graduate has to pass the exam set by the AMC (Australian Medical Council).

This medical licensing exam is a tough one and it requires a lot of grueling hours to prepare for it. Questions are usually MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) or EMQ (Extended Matching Questions). Questions are picked from every subject like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, internal medicine, surgery, psychiatry, obstetrics & gynecology, preventive medicine and genetics. The division of subjects may vary depending upon the exams.

USMLE is divided into three parts – Step I, Step II and Step III. There are some overseas countries where a medical graduate can take the exam. In Step I, there is an exam of EMQ. Step II is again divided into 2 part – Step II CK (Clinical Knowledge) and Step II CS (Clinical Skills). One has to pass these two steps to gain a medical license to practice medicine in the US. Step II has to be taken in the US only. Step III is for the students who want to engage in a job which is independently awarded.

The PLAB has two parts – Part 1 and Part 2 or OSCE. Part 1 can be taken in outside UK but one has to come to the country to take the Part 2.

Not only the curriculum, but the evaluation methods adopted by different medical schools are also different. The subjects focused by different countries, diseases and treatments are also different. All these make the whole format of medical schooling a very complex procedure. Therefore, accreditation of medical degrees is ascertained in most of the countries.

In the US, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is the sole authority of accreditation of medical degrees. There are 130 accredited medical degree granting medical schools present in the US. They have also accredited 17 Canadian medical schools for their degrees. AAMC does not accredit medical degrees obtained outside from these 147 medical schools. Overseas medical graduates have to pass the stipulated licensing program before he or she is eligible to practice medicine in the US. The examination is called USMLE.

Similarly, in the UK, the accredited medical schools are governed by the General Medical Council (GMC). GMC supervise the curriculum, lay down and monitor the standards in basic medical education. Any medical degree obtained from these medical schools is recognized by GMC and the doctor gets the license to practice medicine in the UK.

Not all medical degrees from outside the US, UK and many other countries are accredited by the governing council of these countries. One has to pass the licensing examination before he or she can pursue higher education there.

As medical schools throughout the world vary in their standards and curriculum, the intention of ECFMG is to assess the condition of the overseas doctor to go into a post graduate clinical specialty course. It is also assessed whether he or she can fairly compatible to work as resident doctor for the field he or she has chosen. Post doctoral training program aspirants are also required to enter such certification courses.

An international medical graduate has to clear USMLE in order to join as a resident doctor in the US. Similarly, a doctor, who has not obtained medical degree in the UK, European Union or not trained in Switzerland, has to pass PLAB before joining as a Senior House Officer (SHO) in the UK.

The use of English language as a day to day practice are being assessed before giving the final clearance if the international medical graduate are trying to pursue his further studies in an English Speaking nation.

It is always better to get a scholarship for the medical course, but not mandatory at all. Moreover, scholarships do not cover all the expenses incurred during the course. For an overseas medical graduate, medical school loans are generally needed in addition to the scholarships.

In the US, the medical student can apply for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFS. School loan consolidation programs are also available. In this country, medical school loans are offered by some government sponsorship program like National Health Service Corps (NHSC). NHSC is a good choice for overseas as well as original US students as it covers all expenses incurred during the entire medical degree program. This mission is funded by the US department of Health and Public Health Services.

There are certain criteria in order to get these federal aided medical school loans. But even if you do not stand right for those criteria, you can still get private educational loans.

The cumulative amount of the medical school loan depends according to the lender. In most of the cases, these loans cover the full amount of tuition fees, medical books, hostel fees and other personal expenses. The rate of interest is also higher for the private funding system than the federal loans. The student has to repay the amount after he or she finishes the training program for which the loan is being sanctioned. The duration of repayment also varies from lender to lender.

Medical schools offer a curriculum based upon different subjects of medicine. These subjects include human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology and parasitology, social and preventive medicine, surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, dermatology and medical jurisprudence. The subjects may differ from country to country, but the basic course remains the same throughout the world. After a certain period (again it is variable in countries), the medical schools organize a final examination to confer the medical degree.

Students for the medical degree programs are chosen after a strict competitive examination, based upon their knowledge of physical and life sciences. Students have to undergo a rotationary clinical training program in every discipline of medicine. But in USA and Canada, an aspirant for medical degree program has to undergo several years of training in his undergraduate or graduate level. In these two countries, the degree conferred is MD (Doctor of Medicine). But in the Commonwealth states, the final degree is MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and bachelor of Surgery). In some super-specialty institutions, a combined medical degree is offered. The candidate has the option of doing super-specialization after completing the basic medical degree program.

Students can take post graduate medical degree programs after graduation. This is a specialization degree in different fields (medicine, surgery, G&O, ENT, Ophthalmology etc.) If anybody wants to continue further studies, he can take super-specialization degree programs like DM (in medical stream) or Mch (in different fields of surgery).

Medical school is a special educational program run either by concerned government. There are some private medical schools which are chaired by private companies. But the curriculum and the schooling program is governed by the educational ministry of the concerned government. Not only a medical school gives training about medicines, but some of the institutions also offer higher edification. Master’s degree, post doctoral or super-specialization degrees are also conferred by some of the renowned medical schools.

The subjects covered by a typical undergraduate medical school is human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology, social and preventive medicine, forensic science, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, ENT, psychiatry, dermatology, veneral diseases, geriatric medicine and emergency medicine. There may be exceptions in curriculum of different countries, but the general concept of medical syllabus remains the same throughout the world.

The candidates selected for a graduate medical degree program have to undertake an entrance examination. Often this examination is a tough one and focuses primarily on picking only the meritorious students. After completion of certain period of time, often it is more than 4 years, the students has to pass the final degree examination. The degrees conferred by medical schools are MBBS, BMBS, MD, BMed etc. The name of the degrees may change according to the country where the schooling is being offered.

In some countries, graduation degree is not required to sit for the entrance exam. But in the US and Canada, the aspiring candidate must possess years of experience in the undergraduate level.

Getting a degree in medical profession is not an easy one. It involves a daunting task and a lot of patience as it takes a longer time to get this degree, unlike the other educational degrees. Medical students spend exhausting hours both in the theory and practical class in understanding the different aspects of medicine. Patients are at complete disposal of a doctor. If the doctor failed to understand the basic rules which are involved in treating a patient, the misery of the patient will not wane off. Therefore, a student has to possess the passion to understand this subject well.

Degrees in medical field vary according to the country. To gain an entrance into the medical school, one has to pass an entrance test which is highly competitive in nature. The aim of the exam is elimination and only the true meritorious student can set their foot into the medical college. After that, the student has to pass a final exam to get the medical degree to legally eligible in practicing medicine.

Degrees in medical field vary according to the country. In USA and Canada, the graduate medical degree is MD (Doctor of Medicine). But in the Commonwealth countries, the basic degree is MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery). If a student completes the post graduate degree, he is awarded a MD (in medicine) or MS (in Surgery) degree in Commonwealth countries.