7 Steps to Become a Doctor in Russia
Medical aspirants all around the world are aware of the fact that Russia is home to bachelor’s and postgraduate degree programs which is recognized worldwide with a literacy rate of 99.7% and after the pandemic since the year 2020 Russia has shortlisted and appointed some great surgeons.
Although in the year 2015, there was a cut back on the employment of healthcare workers in Russia in lieu of reforming the healthcare system and due to hike in the salaries, the demand for the practising doctors in the country are gradually growing and increasing.
With comparison to other countries in Europe and the United States, Russia is quite in demand for providing world class medical education at an extremely affordable fees along with an easy access to research facilities and cutting-edge medical equipment.
In order to promote medical tourism, the Russian Federation has subsidized the tuition fees of the medical universities up to 70% because of which international medical aspirants enjoy the advantages of pursuing MBBS in Russia and get various opportunities all around the globe.
Moreover, in order to pursue MBBS and become a doctor, Russia’s advanced level of innovation, intellect and international recognition provides an ideal environment and an in-depth exposure in clinical practise to all the aspiring medical students.
The course of MBBS in Russia is of 6 years duration and the following are the steps mentioned in order to pursue MBBS from Russia.
Steps to Become a Doctor in Russia
- your high school education
- Qualify for a reputable university
- Bachelor’s degree
- Specialist’s degree
- Complete your medical school education
- Complete your internship
- Earn Primary Accreditation by Qualifying the state exam
- Accomplish residency
- Aspirants Interested in research can opt for a PhD
The first step to become a doctor in Russia for the domestic aspirants aiming for medical school is to finish high school and pass the standardized state exams whereas all the international medical aspirants on the other hand will also have to qualify for the admission tests of some universities if they want to secure a medical seat in a particular university where the entrance test is mandatory.
It is important for all the medical aspiring candidates to complete high school from some mandatory science subjects and secure good scores in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English.
This is the basic criteria for your initial application in order to secure a medical seat in some top Russian medical universities and when you are planning to get into a Russian medical university, you can also develop some Russian language skills by learning the basics of the language that may help you build a strong social network.
MBBS in Russia has been in trend since the time, the country was a part of the Soviet Union and Russia is famously known to have some best medical universities which provides world class medical education to all its aspiring medical students.
International medical aspirants can have a whale of time in the university and the campus as Russian medical universities provides the course of MBBS in English as a medium of instruction. Some of the Russian medial universities encourage international aspirants and offer them a variety of medical programs to choose from in order to help them fulfil their dreams.
In Russia, school medical education is divided into two types of degrees:
Bachelor’s degrees:
Generally, the duration of this degree is of 4 years. All the aspiring nursing students can choose to take the bachelor’s degree program for nursing care.
Specialist’s degrees:
The Specialist degree is a 5-year or a 6-year programs. The duration of Programs such as Pharmacy and Dentistry is that of 5 years. Apart from this, any aspirant who wants to become a paediatrician or a general practitioner, then they must complete 6 years of pursuing medical course before they decide to work in the specialization of their choice.
In Russia, every school or university providing medical education has different strengths so aspirants are advised to go through the various options available. In an instance, the Far Eastern Federal University provides the general medicine program and impart training to all its international medical aspirants in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in humans. First Moscow State University encourages aspirants to become top researchers for medical biophysics.
This is one of the most important steps in order to pursue MBBS in Russia and the duration of general medicine program is of 6 years. The residency of the aspirants can take 2 or more years to complete depending on the medical specialty they want to pursue. The Russian medical universities provide MD degrees to medical school graduates.
For all the international medical aspirants pursuing MBBS in Russia is one of the greatest opportunities as the MD degree they received after the completion of the course is recognized worldwide by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the World Directory of Medical Schools.
International medical aspirants can also practise medicine in their own country after pursuing and MD from Russia but the only criteria are that it is mandatory for them to clear the medical exam which is conducted by the ministry of medical education. Moreover, the process to join as a medical practitioner is very simple and easy.
Under the mentorship of a department head, an internship is accomplished which also exposes medical aspirants to first hand work experience with patients in a hospital. Usually, an internship takes one year to complete.
Moving ahead, international aspirants can complete their internship depending on the agreement mutually decided by the Russian health organizations and their home country or based on endorsements.
Moreover, qualifying for an internship differs according to the different medical programs you are pursuing education in and also the university you are pursuing education from and while you have applied for an internship, in some instance you might have to go through certain interviews or undertake a particular test.
In order to proceed ahead with your medical education, it is important for you to clear the state exam as the state exam is the last requirement to be cleared so that you can earn the degree of MD.
In order to become a doctor in Russia, the state exam is the most crucial step as it also provides you with a medical license in order to practise as a doctor in Russia. Before starting on a new journey as a fully-fledged doctor, Russia requires all healthcare workers to earn a Primary Accreditation as these accreditations are awarded to those doctors who have acquired in-depth knowledge and the required skills to provide appropriate and safe treatment to the patients.
Although there are various accrediting agencies who oversee medical accreditation such as the National Accreditation Agency, the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR) and the National Centre for Public Accreditation.
All the international medical graduates who were aspiring to practise medicine in Russia had to go through some rigorous procedures in order to work as a full-time doctor or a general physician. But however, these international doctors, now are warmly welcome to work as a doctor even without applying for a medical license in Russia.
The medical specialty you are interested in pursuing will decide your length of the residency. While neurology can take as much as 4 years, specialization for general practitioners can take up to 2 years to get completed.
In Russia, the residency programs provide training to fresh graduates in order to treat patients and work in the hospitals and they can also get endorsed for targeted residency. Those who have acquired residency can get a life time opportunity in order to practice and pursue the specialty they are keen in learning.
Within the jurisdiction of the medical institution, this is when a medical institution and the university have made a mutual agreement to have the graduates earn their medical training post-graduation.
In order to pursue private practice, residency is required for a doctor. All the years spent in training as a medical resident are recognized as official work experience and are all well paid.
Although the journey of becoming a doctor is a lifelong path of practice and learning and aspirants can pursue postgraduate studies and earn a PhD in medicine, if they are interested in acquiring in-depth knowledge and get more into scientific research about medicine, its treatment and diagnosis.
For all the interested medical aspirants, a PhD in medicine is an extra step in case if they want to become doctors in Russia which usually takes around 3 to 4 years to get completed. Although Russia provides various degree programs related to medicine that collaborates with science and technology courses, such as biomedicine and pharmacology.
Aspirants can pursue their MD in Russia and at the same time can proceed with their profession back in their home countries and even foreign medical graduates are welcome to work in Russia. The medical graduates can acquire the practice of the Russian medical education system and transferable medical knowledge which gives way and open a world of career opportunities for them.
In a way, the technological advancement of Russia also kickstarts the medical aspirant’s familiarity in working with the advanced equipment and different tools in order to treat patients more efficiently.
Our motive is to present all the interested medical aspirants with the information on the various steps that are involved in order to pursue MBBS in Russia and become a doctor