I'm an Australian orthopedic resident. I was wondering if there are any avenues for an orthopaedic surgeon from a first world english speaking country (Australia, UK etc) to get licensed to practise orthopedics in the US without having to re do a residency, and if so what would the requirements be.
The reverse situation if an American surgeon wanted to practise in Australia he/she would need to resit the Australian orthopaedic examinations to demonstrate that his knowledge was equivalent to an Australian chief resident (there is no reciprocal recognition of exams) and would need to undertake a year of supervised practise. However, he would not have to re-enroll in a residency program.
I was wondering if there was any similar situation in the US. I realise that surgeons from less recognised countries may need to redo their training but I cant imagine, for example, that a Professor of Orthopaedics from Oxford or Exeter in the UK would be told to re do a residency program if he wished to relocate to the US.
We've had these discussions before. Medical licensure in the United State is done at the state level, so every state has different requirements.
For example, the State of Iowa requires that FMGs (meaning those not trained in the US or Canada) have to do a minimum of two years post-graduate medical training in the US. You can look through the details at
Of course, the ultimate goal is to become board certified by the ABOS which is a national organization. The only way you qualify for that is by completing a US or Canadian ortho residency program or by the Distinguished Scholar Pathway which means that you are in an academic practice. You can look through those details at
