Studying medicine isn’t easy. Apart from high school biology and premed, students need to be prepared to spend at least a decade overall when it comes to studying in medical school. This is more than what their friends and loved ones would spend when studying degree programs other than medicine.

Medical students must understand that their discipline is a noble field, their job helps improves lives of people they treat, and their job is highly revered and sacred. They are like the healing hands sent by the heavens on earth fighting disease, illness and plague.

Admission requirements for each medical school also differs around the world, whether its University of California – San Diego medical school, Technical University of Munich (TU) medical school, University of Cologne, University College Dublin, University of Rome – La Sapienza, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry in the University of Alberta, or a top notch Caribbean medical school.

Even the pre-med program of some schools is different while some do not have a pre-med program but rather a different pattern of pre-requisite coursework. The degree that is given to students is given after proper studies, specialization, graduation, training and certification.

Let us now have a look at the admission requirements of medical school in different parts of the world.

Admission requirements of medical schools in Germany

Germany medical schools follow the rules of Numerus Clausus (NC), which means that limited number of seats are available. Other than that, the number of available places differs from one year to another. If students need to be admitted to this program, they need to have a certain grade in their high school studies or else they won’t be admitted.

Medicine degree in Germany often takes approximately 6 and a half years to completion. They are not divided into a bachelor’s or a master’s degree. If students are to graduate with this degree, they must take the state examination, especially in the city and state the medical school is present.

The pathway to becoming a doctor in Germany consists of the following stages:

  • Stage 1: Consists of studies of 4 semesters followed by the first three sections of the state examination.
  • Stage 2: Consists of studies of 6 semesters.
  • Completion of a practical year (PJ) at a medical institution (either a clinic or a hospital).
  • The second and final state examination takes place in the last stage. If students pass this with great results, they graduate and hence get the license to practice medicine in Germany.

It is important to understand that students must be fluent in German because most examinations, lectures and material are in German.

Requirements for medical schools in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, students must prove they have studied physics, maths, chemistry and biology in high school in order to be admitted to medical school. Else, they need to take an exam that tests their competency in these subjects.

Learning and being fluent Dutch is a must, because everything there will be in Dutch and they will be speaking Dutch with their patients.

The programs of medicine and healthcare benefits follow decentralized selection programs. They also follow the Numerus Clausus (NC) meaning limited seats, and students can only apply for a few seats.

Here are the steps how medical students in the Netherlands become physicians:

  • Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in medicine: A degree of 3 years where students will attend lectures and make assignments.
  • Graduating with a master’s degrees in medicine: this takes another 3 years where students participate in different internships. They will also write a thesis as well.
  • To start working as a medicine specialist, graduates must register with the Royal Dutch Medical Association.

Requirements for taking admission in medical schools in Italy

Italian Universities and their medical schools also use the Numerus Clausus (NC) system for both places in the medical degree programs as well as the professional training taking place after graduation.

Some medical schools in the country require students to pass the International Medical Admissions Test (IMAT) or a similar admission exam. This tests the applicant’s logical skills, knowledge of biology, English, chemistry, physics and other science related subjects.

The medicine degree in Italy takes around 6 years to complete. This is then followed by a clinical placement of 6 months. Graduates must then pass a national exam to become a registered physician. After passing that examination, they can start their training in their respective specialization, which takes 3 to 6 six years (depending upon the graduate’s area of expertise).