I'm going to take a year off after I get my undergraduate degree and I really want to move to Italy and learn Italian. What process should I follow in order to get a job there? Is teaching English my best bet? I really just want something to pay the rent, food and shoe bills, not a career or anything, as I'm planning on going to medical school when I return to the states. Also, I need a visa, correct? Or is it something else that I'd need?

Whether or not you need a visa depends on your nationality. If you don't have EU citizenship, then you will need a visa. VERY FEW companies are interested in sponsoring US / Canadian / Australian workers in entry-level jobs because they can fill those positions locally without the extra paperwork. The type of companies who will employ you illegally are the type of companies who probably won't pay you your full salary (and there's nobody you can complain to because you're working illegally).

Your best bets are teaching English or working in a bar (especially Irish pubs, where they like having English-speaking staff). To teach English you will definitely need an undergraduate degree and a four-week, full-time TEFL certificate that included supervised teaching practice. In Europe, the CELTA is the most well-respected (see link). You can do the course in Italy or at home, but I suggest doing it overseas so you can look for work during the course. It is really difficult to find an apartment if you don't speak any Italian, so I suggest you take some conversation classes before you go, and invest in a self-study book.

You can enter Italy on a tourist visa, and use your "tourist" time to complete the TEFL course and find employment. I HIGHLY suggest you find legal work because if your employer does anything unsavoury it is SO important to have legal ground. Once you've found a job, your employer can complete their paperwork for your work visa, and you can do your paperwork for the permesso di soggiorno / residenzia / codice fiscale, etc. Obviously, never tell your employer that you're going to leave after a year or nobody will invest in a visa for you. Bureaucracy is amazing in Italy, and it will probably take (in total… spread out between each item) about four full days just to submit all your paperwork that will allow you to work legally. You really need the support of your employer get it all done, so get a guarantee from them before you commit to working.

Based on your knowledge, how many doctors are graduated from US medical schools? how many from foreign medical schools?

I don’t want exact data, just guess a rate, I know MLE examinee is about 50%: 50%

I’d say it’s more like 70% US – 30% foreign. At my hospital, the number is probably more like 85% US grads and 15% foreign medical graduates.

I would like to apply for fall 2008 and I am having a hard time finding the schools on the internet. I already graduated high school aborad as I am foreign therefore I can't benefit from my school assistance to find such a program on the EAst Coast…
Thank you in advance for your help.

You will probably have to find a school that offers Radiolgic Technology. Most Community Colleges offer that type of program.

With that degree in Radiologic Tenchology, you can specialize in whatever field you want to.

I’ve asked similar questions, but never got the right answers, so I assume I’m not asking the right questions. So I’m trying again. I’ve read that the AMA limits the number of new doctors coming into the system each year, but previous questions I’ve asked seem to not support that claim, and according to the answers I’ve recieved, the AMA doesn’t limit the number of doctors. But the fact remains that medical care is astronomical, and logic would support the theory that if we had more doctors, cost would go down. So the questions I am now looking at are as follows:

If we had more doctors in the country, would cost go down? I think that the logical answer would be yes. More competition means better quality at lower prices.

Who or what is limiting the number of doctors in America? I’ve read a few times it’s the AMA, but that seems to not be the case. I’ve been told that medical schools and residency programs do limit the number of trainees, and that specific medical specialty boards may be involved in those decisions. This is a foreign language to me. What’s a residency program, how does it affect the number of doctors in America, who is behind this decision, and what would have to happen to ceize this practice?

Please be thorough in your answers! I’ve spent hours trying to research this. Who is limiting the number of doctors in America, thereby increasing the cost of healthcare? If it’s residency programs, explain what that is, who runs it, how many there are, how they limit the number of doctors in America, and why they do so!

Having worked in a hospital, though a while ago, I would say it’s the hospital’s that determine the # of trainees because it depends on how much money each department or specialty gets. It is not my understanding that the AMA controls the # of people going into medicine.

A residency program follows Medical school & the 1st year of being an intern(1st year doctor). Then comes a 3 year residency program with rotations & then a specialty. After the residency, some doctors do another year in their specialty called a fellowship.

Regardless of the # of doctors that finish their training, many want to stay in urban areas or where there are large specialty medical centers.
This leaves rural areas with relatively poor access to health care & relatively poor health care where people can’t afford treatment.

There have been some government grants that will forgive part of a medical student’s loans if they agree to work in a poor rural area after they finish their training.

Due to HMO’s there is also a decreasing number of people going into medicine & more doctors leaving the field because all they do is get to see a patient for 12 minutes & do paper work & fight with the HMO’s to get treatment for their patients. This has lowered the number of doctors in the country.

I don’t know how many residency programs there are in the US, but I would guess a few hundred.

It’s not a simple matter of supply & demand…like say with cars.
HMO’s also have a say in who can get onto their panels to treat patients & often since health insurance has turned into a for profit enterprise from a non-profit arena; the insurance companies just want to collect premiums & not want to provide treatment…they oftentimes deny requests by doctors for tests or treatments for patients. This accounts for poorer access to health care…it’s called “GREED”.

Try to watch Michael Moore’s documentary “SICKO” about the state of health are in the United States.

To tell you the truth, I don’t think anyone is limiting the # of doctors in the US anymore…there are very competitive programs that may only have a few places…but I remember when students couldn’t get into medical school in the US & would go to Mexico; Spain; etc. There just aren’t enough doctors & our population has grown in addition to people living longer & infantile mortality decreasing.

I hope I have touched on all your questions.

Where are you from if English isn’t your native language?…Do you live in the States? If no, where?

Hello, im a korean national, i have a student visa and am currently studying in angeles university foundation in pampanga, Philippines. it has been almost a semester and as i have come to be adjusted with the studies here in the philippines, i came to a realization that the best course for me is BS statistics major in actuarial science and not the present course i m currently taking now which is BS medical technology.

As with my consultation with or university registrar, my present school does not offer the course i am looking for which is why i opt to transfer to another university providing the course in BS statistics, however, my student visa is stamped with "no transfer within one year".

How can i transfer to my university of choice? Would it be possible that i cancel my present visa and apply for a new one? WHat other ways procedures must i go through?

you can transfer after the semester.

I just finished high school in U.S. and im going to china to study medicine for 6 years, when i come back to U.S., i will do my residency and take the USMLES, what should i expect in terms of work at a hospital and/or private practice?

According to the current situation, international graduate have trouble getting into residency, you will have a much lesser chance of getting into residency than the equal american graduate. and it is getting harder and harder each year however there is always a place.
The best forum for internation medical graduates is
http://www.prep4usmle.com/forum/