{"id":696,"date":"2011-04-18T10:57:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T15:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindonmed.com\/2011\/04\/medical-school-in-spain.html"},"modified":"2016-01-25T16:38:12","modified_gmt":"2016-01-25T21:38:12","slug":"medical-school-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/2011\/04\/medical-school-in-spain.html","title":{"rendered":"Medical School in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"
Today\u2019s Medical Education Monday will be highlighting Spain’s medical education system and our guest blogger is <\/span>Ines<\/a><\/span>, a 19-year-old medical student from Madrid! I\u2019d tell you how awesome her <\/span>personal blog<\/a><\/span> is, but I can\u2019t read a single word that she’s written. Unlike the <\/span>incredibly talented<\/i><\/span> multilingual med students & doctors helping me with this series, I am completely lost if we aren\u2019t all speaking <\/span>Texan English<\/i><\/span>, y’all. However, judging by her fabulously-written explanation of the medical education system in Spain I would be willing to bet that Ines\u2019 blog is a winner – so if you can read Spanish head on over there and tell her <\/span> Getting In:<\/b><\/span> I<\/span>s it a competitive occupation?<\/b><\/span> Today\u2019s Medical Education Monday will be highlighting Spain’s medical education system and our guest blogger is Ines, a 19-year-old medical student from Madrid! I\u2019d tell you how awesome her personal blog is, but I can\u2019t read a single word that she’s written. Unlike the incredibly talented multilingual med students & doctors helping me with this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":697,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[63,37,62],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3755,"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696\/revisions\/3755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.mindonmed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}hello<\/s><\/span> hola (well, look at that – I <\/span>can<\/i><\/span> speak Spanish). Ines is currently loving cardiology, while leaving her options open to other things in the future. Keep reading for a superb explanation of Spain\u2019s system of training physicians.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
How old is one when they begin medical school? <\/b><\/span>
Normally, people begin when they\u2019re about 18 years old, once they have finished college (equivalent to high school in the US). <\/span>
What exams does one have to take to get in? Is there any required pre-requisite coursework?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n
It\u2019s the most competitive one, to be honest. People study so hard to get in, so hard once they\u2019re in and even harder once they\u2019re out! (Don\u2019t ask your mates for help, they won\u2019t help you!)<\/span>
What are you called at this stage of training? <\/b><\/span>
Pre-universitario (pre-University student).<\/span>
<\/span>
Being In:<\/b><\/span>
How long is it? <\/b><\/span>
Six years<\/span>
How are the years broken down?<\/b><\/span>
3 years of basic sciences + pharmacology, 3 years of clinical training<\/span>
Describe your typical day.<\/b><\/span>
I can describe it with just one word: STUDYING<\/i>! I wake up every day at 7am, because I start my lectures at 8am (5\/6 hours per day). It is followed by 5-6 hours of studying in the library, before going home (sometimes, to keep studying at night).<\/span>
If you choose a specialty, when do you have to decide by?<\/b><\/span>
Medical students have 6 years to think about this. It\u2019s normal to change your mind with everything you study! (One day you\u2019d like to be a Neurosurgeon, another one you\u2019d like to be a Pediatrician!!)<\/span>
What are you called at this stage of training? <\/b><\/span>
Medical Student <\/span>
<\/span>
Getting Out:<\/b><\/span>
What exams do you have to take? <\/b><\/span>
MIR test. This test is taken once the Medical Degree is finished and must be completed before doctors can do the residency. Depending on the mark, you can enroll in a specialty in one hospital or another. <\/span>If you didn\u2019t get the mark you wanted or if you failed, you would be able to repeat it the following year (many years you want to).<\/span>
Do most people graduate?<\/b><\/span>
I don\u2019t really know the average, but I think lots of people leave the degree before it\u2019s finished (some classmates of mine left it last summer and it was just the first year!)<\/span>
When are you finally considered a \u201cdoctor?\u201d<\/b><\/span>
Once the Medical degree is completed you are called \u201cdoctor,” but you cannot work as a doctor until your residency has been completed.<\/span>
Do you have additional training or do you start working immediately? <\/b><\/span>
You have to do the residency in order to work as a doctor (depending on the specialty, it takes about 2-5 additional years).<\/span>
What\u2019s the average debt for attendance?<\/b><\/span>
<\/b>Public universities make you pay money to enroll each course, it’s relatively inexpensive and comes out to about 700\u20ac ($1,000 USD)<\/span> <\/span>each year. <\/span>Private universities are very different. Mine, for instance, charges 18,000\u20ac ($25,732 USD)<\/span> each year and the rest of private universities are quite similar. S<\/span>ome people can get government money because of their marks or because they can’t manage to pay for the public one, but private universities don’t normally give many loans. (Can anyone else from Spain clarify this? Does that mean if you cannot pay the private school attendance costs on your own you can’t attend?)<\/span><\/span>
What are you called at this stage of training?<\/b><\/span>
Resident doctor or intern<\/span>
B<\/b><\/span>eing Out:<\/b><\/span>
What\u2019s the average salary?<\/b><\/span>
This is a difficult question, it depends on the specialty the doctor did and where he\/she works. Normally, doctors work in public hospitals during the morning and in private clinics during the afternoon. Doctors who work that much can earn about 120,000\u20ac\/year ($171,552 USD)<\/span>.<\/span>
Is the job security good?<\/b><\/span>
It has always been in this country. Spain needs so many doctors nowadays, that\u2019s why foreign doctors come here to find a job. <\/span>
Can you go back and choose a different specialty?<\/b><\/span>
Yes, you can do it. You can do the \u201cMIR test\u201d as many times as you want to, even if you passed it and you\u2019re working as a doctor within a specialty.<\/span>
What are you called at this stage of training?<\/b><\/span>
\u201cAssistant doctor\u201d is generally used and in addition you are called by the name of your specialty, for instance: neurologist, cardiologist, etc.<\/span>
Past Medical Education Monday Posts:<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n\n