From USA to BA...

[PrincessFiona]

Argentina with a German flair?

Welcome aboard.

Kris

[HouseofWool]

Some of the PharmD schools here in the US did not require a BS to enroll. My BIL completed is 3rd year of his BS then enrolled directly in PharmD school, which was 2 years of classroom and a year of clerkships (I believe). 6 years of higher education and now 10 years out he makes more than some new family medicine docs. Not too bad.

[pfefferminze]

Is medical school in Argentina equivalent to a combination of our undergrad and medical school?

Yes, exactly.

What are the differences?

Also, welcome welcome! Your path sounds like a double adventure!

It has been just that...I used to think, 'If we can only survive the distance, we can survive ANYTHING!' Then I moved here and it was, 'If we can survive this move/getting settled without my going insane, we can survive ANYTHING!' Now it's, 'If we can survive the medical career, we can survive ANYTHING!'
I think we're going to be on that one for awhile.

Some of the differences? Well, as I mentioned in an earlier comment, I don't think I know that much about med school in the US. Some of the differences I see are the result of my own undergrad experience and just knowing how Argentina rolls in general. I could really be wrong with some of these things, so give a shout if I am.

A few things:
Like mentioned before, you don't need a bachelor's degree to get going. I think this isn't unique to Argentina, however.
Your first year is your premed sciences. The second through fourth years are Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, etc. You start going to the hospitals in fourth year. Fifth year is Semiology, Pathology II (and other things that I'm forgetting, ha!) Sixth year is entirely specialized, clinical subjects...a lot of these subjects are short, intensive classes. Seventh year is full of surgical subjects. Two of these 'years' can be condensed to half a year.
Then there is the internship, which is technically a year, but usually is less than that and it depends on where you go. My fiance is planning on going to rural hospitals in Misiones and to another place called Pampa Hell. I think in the US the internships are paid? Or only sometimes they are? I'm not sure, but here they are not.

Med school here is free, so we're not racking up huge student loans. That is nice. The not-so-nice thing is that the class sizes the first two years are huge. Most people don't make it past the first year, so by the time you're a few years in, the class sizes are tolerable. There is the option of going to a private institute, and we know a few folks who did that the first year.

Rules and laws here are a bit...lax. I believe that the med students here have the opportunity to be more hands on earlier in the game simply because there aren't enough doctors to staff the hospitals. It's also completely normal for students to teach some of the classes. You could be taking a test for one class with your teacher from another class taking the test right along with you.

Argentina in general is a bit chaotic and med school isn't immune to the chaos. We have some terms that start without really knowing when the first day is. If you have an exam, you may get your results the same day or a week later. That sort of thing. Between this stuff and the large class sizes, I'd be done! Such unnecessary stress, and I'll add that I am a bit bummed that I am the only member here who is in Argentina. I'd be nifty to team up and go threaten the director/riot in the street about this sort of stuff. I get pretty peeved, but my fiance is used to it.

Classes here are taught in catedras: For example, Catedra 1 will have tests by mutiple choice with an oral exam. Catedra 2 maybe tests all in essay. If I'm not mistaken, the material itself is taught differently. It is the student's choice how they'd like to be taught and tested.

Argentina with a German flair?

Hah, yes, I love to go to Germany. Munich is my favorite city in the world to visit. Uhh...next to Buenos Aires, that is! <-- in case anyone from here is looking.

[diggitydot]

US internships are paid. It's incorporated into the residency training in many programs.

[ladymoreta]

Welcome!!! What a fantastic adventure!

[pfefferminze]

Fantastic, thanks for the clarification!
Well, this group seems pretty nice and friendly. I'm going to have to start posting on more threads than this one here, though! (I keep sneaking on while I'm working and getting a few laughs in some of the links others have posted.)
Again, many thanks for the warm welcome!