Med Studentz Medical School Forum - View Single Post - Career path possiblities for MBBS doctor from Pakistan

MastahRiz · 04-08-2007, 08:09 AM

Hi us97013,

Good questions. I'm not sure about some of them but I can answer your question as to whether or not this is the path to take for someone who wants to be a specialist doctor. To specialize, you don't necessarily need a PhD. It may help you, but it will be one of many things that will help you in getting into a specialized field.

The usual path for an MBBS IMG (without a PhD), at least in the states, is as you mentioned: Take USMLE, apply for residency in either internal medicine or a specialty of your choice, and go from there. After doing a residency in internal medicine you can then specialize by doing a fellowship.

Also, apart from the options you've mentioned, I'm not sure there are many other career paths for an MBBS, except maybe teaching, but most places outside of Pakistan will require that you get some sort of teaching credentials first.

So, although you certainly can pursue a PhD, it's not required in any sense for getting a residency, FCPS, or FRCP/FRCS. As for how much an MBBS degree qualifies you for enrollment in a PhD program, I'm not quite sure about that, but like you mentioned, it's possible in Germany and therefore it's probably possible elsewhere is my guess.

04-08-2007, 08:09 AM	#2 (permalink)
MastahRiz Moderator Posts: 1,132 Join Date: Jan 2006 Status: Medical Student Location: Los Angeles, California	Hi us97013, Good questions. I'm not sure about some of them but I can answer your question as to whether or not this is the path to take for someone who wants to be a specialist doctor. To specialize, you don't necessarily need a PhD. It may help you, but it will be one of many things that will help you in getting into a specialized field. The usual path for an MBBS IMG (without a PhD), at least in the states, is as you mentioned: Take USMLE, apply for residency in either internal medicine or a specialty of your choice, and go from there. After doing a residency in internal medicine you can then specialize by doing a fellowship. Also, apart from the options you've mentioned, I'm not sure there are many other career paths for an MBBS, except maybe teaching, but most places outside of Pakistan will require that you get some sort of teaching credentials first. So, although you certainly can pursue a PhD, it's not required in any sense for getting a residency, FCPS, or FRCP/FRCS. As for how much an MBBS degree qualifies you for enrollment in a PhD program, I'm not quite sure about that, but like you mentioned, it's possible in Germany and therefore it's probably possible elsewhere is my guess. __________________ Rizwan A. Alvi, Medical Student Shifa College of Medicine http://rizwanalvi.com Applying to pak med schools? READ THIS FIRST Read our General Forum Rules Here. Write stuff like "plz guide me," and I'll delete your post. Seriously.