valuemd (Admin)
AUC School of Medicine offers students two distinct pathways for their clinical rotations: the traditional U.S.-based track, where students complete core and elective rotations at affiliated teaching hospitals across the United States, and the U.K. pathway in partnership with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), which allows students to complete rotations within the NHS system and potentially pursue licensure or employment in the United Kingdom. Both paths have different implications for USMLE vs. PLAB exam requirements, residency match competitiveness, visa considerations, and long-term career geography. We are opening this thread to hear from AUC graduates and current students who have firsthand experience with one or both tracks. We want to know what drove your decision, how the experience played out in practice, and whether the outcomes matched your expectations. Prospective students with questions are also welcome to post. Please keep responses experience-based where possible.
kofiwilliams (Student)
I did the U.S. track and matched into internal medicine at a community program in the midwest last year. Going to be honest, the U.S. path felt like the default for most people in my cohort and nobody really questioned it that much. You do your USMLEs, you rotate at affiliated hospitals in the states, you apply through ERAS like any other IMG. The process is brutal and competitive but at least it is a well worn road. I knew what the finish line looked like even if getting there was hard. The UCLan route was not something most of my classmates seriously explored, partly because the U.S. match was the goal for almost everyone from day one.
chrisjordan6611 (Alumni)
This is kind of the problem I ran into when I was deciding. Everyone around me was defaulting to the U.S. track but I had always planned to come back to the UK after med school since my family is here. I ended up doing the UCLan pathway and it genuinely made sense for my situation. You get exposure to NHS hospitals, the PLAB exams replace the USMLE sequence for UK licensure, and if you want to do foundation training in England it slots in a lot more naturally. The outcome for me was getting into foundation year posts in the NHS which was exactly what I wanted. But I think for someone who wants to practice in America it would have been a weird detour.
avam221 (Student)
That actually makes a lot of sense and I think it highlights how much the right answer depends on where you want to end up geographically. If your goal is always the UK then the UCLan path is probably the smarter move. I just did not know anyone personally who had done it and there was not much information floating around about how it actually played out for people post-graduation. Did you have to do PLAB 1 and 2 or did the UCLan degree structure change the requirements at all?
chrisjordan6611 (Alumni)
You still need to sit PLAB 1 and 2 to get GMC registration unless you qualify through another exemption route. The UCLan partnership does not get you out of that. What it does do is give you an NHS-facing clinical experience during rotations which helps a lot when you are sitting the PLAB 2 OSCE because you are already familiar with how UK clinical settings work, the communication style, the documentation norms. My PLAB 2 prep felt way more natural compared to friends who had done all their rotations in American hospitals and then had to adjust. That contextual familiarity is the real advantage in my opinion, not a shortcut around the exams themselves.
