I have a friend who graduated a Mexican medical school and was awarded a Diploma medico y cirujano which mean Physician and Surgeon. The Diploma awarded does not say Doctor of Medicine but he needs an official translation into English to apply to Excelsior College nursing program. Does anyone know if this is considered a degree equivalent to a Doctor of Medicine and the translated document would indicate this? Thanks! Also, which companies are reputable and cost effective in translating foreign credentials and transcripts?
Yeah, he's gone through ecfmg but can't get a residency apparently very competitive. Ecfmg doesn't mean anything to Excelsior College. They want a full credit translation after which they still may not accept him into the nursing program. It's such a shame and huge risk going to a foreign medical school! No money to fund residencies and 6 digits in student loans!
Medical degrees in many countries are not academic (BS, MS, PhD) but professional degrees that give the right to practice a profession. In the US or Canada, an MD would still need to get a license to practice a profession so the license becomes the qualification to practice and not the degree by itself. In Mexico and other countries, it is the degree (validated by the department of education) that gives the right to practice. Excelsior accepts WES evaluations, the best would be to ask your friend to get his degree evaluated by WES. WES has a pre evaluation tool that doesn't cost that will tell you right away the US equivalency. The equivalency would be enough to get him into a MS in Nursing but I am not too sure about licensing for nurses in NY so you would need to make sure that the degree gives the right to apply for a license.
