A doctor has spoken out about the stark differences between the UK and US for those working in the medical field.
Nicole James, a doctor who relocated from London to Chicago in June, declared doing a residency in the US is ‘crazy’ before outlining the differences between the job and the medical systems.
A resident is a physician who has graduated from medical school and is undergoing further training in a specific medical specialty.
In a recent clip posted to TiKTok, Dr. James, who is a cosmetic doctor and skincare expert and is currently working in internal medicine, listed some examples that surprised her.
‘It’s like a different world to the NHS (National Health Service) back in England,’ she began the video. ‘I’m still getting used to it but here are the things that have completely thrown me off so far.’
Dr. James began by saying doctors in the US give everyone a CT scan – which was an adjustment for her.
‘Abdominal pain? Guess what you’re getting a CT because you just never know,’ she shared. ‘It’s crazy how much they scan people here, baffles me and scares me – these people are getting irradiated, it’s insane.’
Many of the differences Dr. James cited are because the UK’s NHS spends government money whereas the US system is largely private. This means that spending per patient is lower in the UK, around $5,000 per year, whereas the private American system incentivizes treatment – per patient spend is around $11,000.
Another aspect of being a doctor in the US is not enjoying a two-day weekend or more than one day off in a row.
‘Turns out they don’t believe in weekends off in the US as a medical professional,’ she joked. ‘We work six days a week every single week with one day off a week – and they act like this is normal.’
‘If they tried to do this in the UK, there would be a riot – forget strikes, there would be rioting and there would be no doctors left,’ she joked.
The doctor quipped: ‘Only two weeks in and it’s actually felt like two full years, I’m exhausted guys.’
The third thing Dr. James noticed is that doctors in the US don’t carry pagers.
‘There are no bleeps, they don’t have physical pages,’ she marveled. ‘We just message everyone… You just send everyone a little text and they just reply. The nurses, the consultants – it’s crazy.’
While not having a pager is an adjustment, Dr. James admitted she ‘lowkey loves it.’
‘I don’t have to hear a stupid bleep every five seconds, you can even get the pages to your phone, it’s wild and I love it, I don’t have bleep PTSD,’ she shared.
A major difference between the U.S. and U.K. are their healthcare systems. In the U.S., majority of healthcare is privatized, with the risk of large expenses for those without health insurance.
The U.K uses a universal healthcare system, the NHS, which is publicly funded by taxpayers, providing affordable healthcare for legal residents.
According to the National Library of Medicine, in the US, prospective doctors will complete an undergraduate degree before applying to medical school, which is another four years of study.
They will then graduate with the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree at 25 or more years old.
During the fourth year of medical school they apply to their desired residency training programs before being matched to their specialist, which is known as ‘Match Day.’
In the UK, students can begin a medical degree straight from high school, with the standard program around five years long, leading to a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree.
After graduation, doctors undertake a two-year Foundation Programs before entering specialty training.
