What are the medical degrees in Thailand for international students?

[Schane 1]

Good day everyone.So I am currently studying a pre-medical course which is Biology here in the Philippines. I am currently enrolled in one of the top universities here in my country but I am interested in studying at a medical school in Thailand after graduating college.As far as transferring countries,I have lived independently eversince considering I graduated secondary school in Brunei so I dont think learning a new language would be a hurdle.I have also been an honor student since I was in kindergarten all the way now in college because yes I love to study.  My parents are also very supportive of this decision since my mom is a doctor and my brother like me is also studying a pre-medical course right now.So I've looked through Mahidol University,Chulalongkorn University &Chiang Mai University but so far all the courses they offer under their faculty of medicine only has either an M.S.C  or a P.H.D on it to which as far as I know being a doctor you must earn an M.D (if Im not mistaken).Can anyone here kindly enlighten me as to how you  can get a medical degree in Thailand and not a masters or a doctor of philosophy of some sorts? Thank you so much and waiting for a kind reply.

[Trembly 718]

There is no graduate entry for medicine in Thailand. If you want to study medicine here you will have to start at undergraduate level, for which you may be able to transfer some of your credits from biology. 

[pauleddy 287]

Thailand awards MD to graduating Med Students. This is an anomaly. In the west, a new graduate would have MB BS (2 bachelors) or similar. The western MD degree is a much higher degree, for doctors who are quite senior. Any PhD in any field is a Doctor of Philosophy. I am also called Doctor if I have a PhD. A PhD is a post-graduate research degree which requires submission of a thesis, and takes 5-8 years. I can do a PhD in mosquitoes research or cardboard box design. Some medical doctors do a PhD in their specific research area, although most senior doctors need to pass a membership or fellowship exam (such as MRCP or FRCS--Thailand has an FRCS (Thailand) for Thai surgeons, although I don't know how it compares with a western fellowship).

[tryasimight 1,780]

Do any degree in the Philippines and Thailand.....and it will only be recognised there.....most western countries will not recognise any degree from either country.

 

Sorry to be harsh but that is the way it is. I've spent time in Myanmar and generally (not all) 'degrees' are grade 12 qualifications in the west.

[pauleddy 287]

Try is correct in general terms. A PhD from Chula is not acceptable in some places. I know a guy who is doing final year of BA English at Ram, and another at Thonburi College (!), and they cannot recite simple poems clearly. They still cannot remember the days of the week. At one Rajabhat they use Iphones all day and ignore the teacher completely. When I taught at Chula, the Med, Dental and Vet students were generally keen. Some other groups were lazy but still wanted As. They got Cs, Ds and worse from me...which didn't matter because the non-farang exam board had quotas to meet anyway (20% A, 30% B and etc), so we were often ignored. When I taught BA Business, it was like an A-level class.

[Suradit69 14,490]

1 hour ago, tryasimight said:

Do any degree in the Philippines and Thailand.....and it will only be recognised there.....most western countries will not recognise any degree from either country.

 

Sorry to be harsh but that is the way it is. I've spent time in Myanmar and generally (not all) 'degrees' are grade 12 qualifications in the west.

I have been treated by several doctors whose initial training was in Thailand and went on to study and/or work in the US.

One dermatologist At Bangkok Hospital Pattaya I know has an MD from Chulalongkorn and who went on to Standford Medical Center in California and several doctors I dealt with at Queen Sirikit completed their training  & interned in the US and were now practicing in Thailand, complete with American accent.

 

If you look at the qualifications of randomly selected Thai doctors, it's easy to see they gained access to programs in the US based on their qualifications in Thailand. Obviously their degrees were considered more than grade 12 level.

 

Quote

- 1985 : Doctor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University
- 1990 - 1991 : Fellow in Sports Medicine&Arthroscopy Department of Orthopaedic Sugery Case Western Reserve University Cleveland OHIO ,USA

 

Quote

- 1986 Doctor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiangmai Universiry.
- 1996 Orthopedic Surgery(Pramongkutklao Hospital), The Royal College of Orthopedic Surgeons of Thailand.
- 1999-2010 : Spine Fellow, Bangkok Spine Center(Professor Charoen Chotigavanich).
- 2001 Spine fellowship : University of Virginia(Professor Donald Chan), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

 

Quote

 MD.(HONS), Chulalongkorn University, Institute of Dermatology, Bangkok, Department of Dermatology, Stanford Medical Center, Stanford, CA
- Diplomate, American Board of Dermatology
- Fellow of American Academy of Dermatology

 

 

And there is a Thai Physicians Assoc of America.

 

[KBsinter 132]

If you look at the qualifications of randomly selected Thai doctors, it's easy to see they gained access to programs in the US based on their qualifications in Thailand. Obviously their degrees were considered more than grade 12 level.

Even Thailand has "some"clever people, your quotes are a little dated.............lol  

[NickJ 3,783]

Have you seen the printed Thai language?  Sure, some, not all medical school texts are in English. For some this language is picked up easily however the printed Thai is another story.

I went to medical school.  In the US.  When it starts it's part roller coaster and clothes dryer. 

Why not look into international Med Schools like the one in Grenada, the curriculum is English. As long as you pass all your boards you can get residency in the US,  I have had friends do this and they had or are still having careers in the US.

It would be interesting to even find out if anybody has ever even been able to do what you are contemplating. 

[lungnorm 529]

Thai medical degrees are not worth the paper they are printed on. The smart thing to do would be to do the 3 year course on functional medicine as that is the new medical direction. Don't believe me ? just check it out. Become a real doctor and heal people and not just a disease manager.

[sandyf 3,881]

It is is very difficult to get on a medical degree course in Thailand, even for a Thai as the demand is so high. It is what my niece wanted to do when she left school and although she had good results, not good enough. Here in Thailand students must sit entrance exams at each of the universities, she took 7 entrance exams and was offered various degrees from veterinary to chemical engineering, but not medicine.

She is now coming to the end of her 4th year on a Clinical Medicine international program at Sun Yat Sen university in China and has received a scholarship each year. Although the course is conducted in English, students must also study Chinese along the way. She will return to Thailand to complete the 6th year studies.

Good luck in finding something suitable.

[vaicrazy 0]

Pardon me as I am looking for some information regarding medical doctors.

 

Hope someone can advise what is the average for someone in Thailand to become a medical doctor?  Female doctor.

 

Thanks

 

[pauleddy 287]

I have taught medical students at a famous university in BKK.

 

As far as I could tell, all the students were Thais. There is no graduate entry here:you have to do the full 6 years UG (year 6 is something like prereg Houseman or Intern, I think) In other words, you cannot do 4 years of a Chemistry degree and then swap to a medical degree in year 5.

 

Competition is very stiff. Many clever kids want to be a doctor but there are only about 12 medical Schools, of which Chula and Mahidol are the "leaders". Some of the less famous rural schools are rarely mentioned, although the Army does train medics. As in other countries, nepotism "helps" a great deal. If Daddy was a Doc at Chula, then little Somchai will have more chance of entry than a rice farmer's son or daughter.

 

There is also the money thing. When I did a hands-up poll with my junior medical Ss, over 40% wanted the job because of the money and status---NOT to help people or heal the sick. Medical school is for the well-heeled. All of the kids wore Gucci or Tods, and carried the latest IPhone. As in all Med Schs, there is a party culture, so you have to "keep up" with the gang...meaning that you may feel left out if you are dirt poor.

 

A malay friend could not get accepted in malaysia, so went to Russia for 6 years. Daddy was very rich, so he could pick anywhere---altho most of the course was in Russian.

 

In short, I think that it is very hard and probably impossible to study medicine if you are not Thai or half Thai. If you have seen western students here, it may be because they chose an elective to treat Hill-tribe or border folk.

 

When you say "average", do you mean grades? I think that each hospital has an entry exam, as mentioned by someone above.

 

Eddy

 

 

[vaicrazy 0]

Thanks Eddy,

 

I noticed I left out something behind the word Average.   I do wish to find out what is the average age where a female Thai national can become a medical doctor.  

 

Based on full 6 years UG you mentioned, its seems like by the age of 24 years old, a female Thai national, could become a medical doctor.

 

Thanks

Kang  

[pauleddy 287]

In theory this is true for students who leave M6 at 18. If your birthday is shortly after leaving M6 or Demonstration School, you could be a medical graduate by by 24 or 25, but this is only the start. It's nice to say "I'm a doctor" to your friends, but at the hospital you are very junior. If you are smart, you will listen to the advice of older Nurses or Pharmacists or just about anybody. Six years does not prepare you to take care of dying children or multiple car crashes in ER.

 

There is no gender discrimination--as in the UK, where I come from, there are slightly more girls in med school than boys. At Chula I had more girls than boys in my classes.

 

Remember of course that at 24 you are the most junior intern. You will follow older doctors and do their routine work such as venepuncture, clerking (taking history) and learning to dress wounds. To advance enough to have your own rooms or sessions in hospital (private) and make a lot of money takes about 8-10 years or more. First, after you are an intern, you become a resident and eventually Staff Grade (Consultant). In more theoretically complicated specialities such as Neurosurgery, the progression takes more than 8 years, because the Staff Grade is the head of all the junior doctors and takes charge of the operations.

 

The history of your career will vary on what you decide to do, whether there are vacancies, and whether the Staff grades "like" you and feel that you are suitable. To become a Staff, you yourself may need to do a course in USA or UK first, which may be 9-12 months. A specialty like Dermatology (skin) usually means that, unlike a surgical resident, you don't have to wake up at 04.00 to do an operation. Some people like pathology, where you study disease and cut open dead bodies. There are many specialties. Becoming a doctor at 24 is when you START learning. Being a doctor or a nurse can be fascinating but is never easy. Expect to be tired for about 15 years or even 20. And what about your own life? If you want to be a mother yourself, when will you find the time? Some specialities have more normal hours, but not all. I have young friends age 30 or 35 who still need to do operations at 01.00am, but it use to be worse when people sometimes got no sleep for 3-4 days if on-call in a large hospital.

 

Eddy

[Trembly 718]

On 3/20/2018 at 4:13 PM, pauleddy said:

In theory this is true for students who leave M6 at 18. If your birthday is shortly after leaving M6 or Demonstration School, you could be a medical graduate by by 24 or 25, but this is only the start. It's nice to say "I'm a doctor" to your friends, but at the hospital you are very junior. If you are smart, you will listen to the advice of older Nurses or Pharmacists or just about anybody. Six years does not prepare you to take care of dying children or multiple car crashes in ER.

 

There is no gender discrimination--as in the UK, where I come from, there are slightly more girls in med school than boys. At Chula I had more girls than boys in my classes.

 

Remember of course that at 24 you are the most junior intern. You will follow older doctors and do their routine work such as venepuncture, clerking (taking history) and learning to dress wounds. To advance enough to have your own rooms or sessions in hospital (private) and make a lot of money takes about 8-10 years or more. First, after you are an intern, you become a resident and eventually Staff Grade (Consultant). In more theoretically complicated specialities such as Neurosurgery, the progression takes more than 8 years, because the Staff Grade is the head of all the junior doctors and takes charge of the operations.

 

The history of your career will vary on what you decide to do, whether there are vacancies, and whether the Staff grades "like" you and feel that you are suitable. To become a Staff, you yourself may need to do a course in USA or UK first, which may be 9-12 months. A specialty like Dermatology (skin) usually means that, unlike a surgical resident, you don't have to wake up at 04.00 to do an operation. Some people like pathology, where you study disease and cut open dead bodies. There are many specialties. Becoming a doctor at 24 is when you START learning. Being a doctor or a nurse can be fascinating but is never easy. Expect to be tired for about 15 years or even 20. And what about your own life? If you want to be a mother yourself, when will you find the time? Some specialities have more normal hours, but not all. I have young friends age 30 or 35 who still need to do operations at 01.00am, but it use to be worse when people sometimes got no sleep for 3-4 days if on-call in a large hospital.

 

Eddy

Very informative Eddy, thanks for sharing.