UCD School of Medicine is accredited by the Irish Medical Council and the degree is recognized across the EU, UK, and beyond, what are the practical steps for UCD graduates who want to work in the NHS or complete US residency?

University College Dublin (UCD)
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UCD is a public Irish university with strong international recognition. This thread covers the specific steps for UK Foundation Programme applications, NHS registration, and what UCD graduates need to do to sit USMLE and apply for US residency as EU medical graduates.

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okay so i’ve been going back and forth between UCD and a few other schools and the international recognition thing keeps coming up. i know it says recognized across EU and UK and beyond but what does that actually mean when you’re standing in front of a GMC application form or trying to figure out ECFMG certification. Has anyone here actually gone through either of those processes after graduating from UCD? would love to hear from people who have done it rather than just what the website says

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i graduated from UCD three years ago and went straight into the UK foundation programme. the process is more straightforward than people make it sound but there are specific steps you have to follow carefully. first you apply through the UK foundation programme office which has a separate application track for EEA graduates, UCD qualifies under this. you need your primary medical qualification verified, a good standing certificate from the Irish Medical Council, and your transcript. the GMC then does a credentials check before you can actually register. the whole thing took me about four months from submitting documents to getting my provisional registration sorted

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this is exactly what i wanted to know too. i’m in final year right now and the NHS route is my plan A. one thing i’ll add from talking to people a year ahead of me is that you should register with the Irish Medical Council as soon as you graduate, like don’t wait, because the IMC certificate of good standing is something the GMC asks for and the IMC can take a few weeks to process it. a few of my friends who delayed that step ended up pushing back their foundation programme start date unnecessarily

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what about the US side of things? i chose UCD partly because i want to keep the US option open and i know ECFMG certification is the gateway but i honestly don’t fully understand how UCD fits into that process. like is the school listed in the WDOMS directory and does that automatically make you eligible to sit USMLE or is there more to it?