Pathway to become a medical doctor in Lebanon- an overview

You just graduated from high school and want to become a doctor. What are your options, and how do you reach this goal? Although it is challenging, with numerous people giving you advice and the options seeming overwhelmingly limitless. This article will be your step-by-step guide to tackling your options for medical school in Lebanon (given you hold a Lebanese high school baccalaureate or its equivalence) so you can make the decision that fits you best.

An overview of the process:

After finishing your high school and passing the Lebanese baccalaureate, you can finally try to become “hakeem l3ayle”.

The general process is the following: Seven years of university (divided into pre-clinical and clinical years) which provide you with a medical degree (M.D.). Then, you apply for a residency (specialty training) in Lebanon or abroad.

Sounds easy, right? Maybe, but the devil is in the details. The variations between the existing medical schools are substantial, and will affect your options for residency (which is the most decisive step in a medical doctor’s career).

The various types of medical schools in Lebanon:

In Lebanon there are a total of seven universities that give you this opportunity to become a medical doctor, however each one of them has its own curriculum and pros and cons. Your choice of medical school could affect your options regarding residency programs (a big decision you’ll have to make).

The seven universities are: (1) Lebanese University (LU), (2) University of Saint Joseph (USJ), (3) Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), (4) Beirut Arab University (BAU), (5) American University of Beirut (AUB), (6) University of Balamand (UOB) and (7) Lebanese American University (LAU). Some institutions are in the process of opening medical schools, notably Saint George University in Beirut (SGU) and Notre Dame University (NDU).

To simplify things, we will be grouping these universities into French system-based curriculum (FBC) and American (USA) system-based curriculum (ABC). Some might argue that this division is not totally precise, however it is the best way to create a road map that you’ll be relying on in your decision making.

ABC vs FBC:

There are 4 French system-based curriculum (FBC) universities: The Lebanese university (LU), University of Saint Joseph (USJ), Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) and Beirut Arab University (BAU).

There are 3 American system-based curriculum (ABC): The American University of Beirut (AUB), University of Balamand (UOB) and The Lebanese American university (LAU).

The main difference between the two systems is that the ABC is a 7 year process divided into pre-medical years (average of 3-4 years) and medical school years (4 years). The requirements for entry into these medical schools are being a holder of at least a Bachelor's degree (BS) (or Licence) and to pass the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) exam (try to do well on this exam).

On the other hand, The FBC universities are 6- or 7-year programs with unique variations that we will be tackling shortly. MCAT is not required (each FBC medical school uses its own entrance exam instead), and your education is not strictly divided into pre-medical and medical school. Next, we will go into details regarding ABC universities and their requirements. We discuss FBC universities here.

Figure 1 presents a summary of the residency programs in Lebanon.

Figure 1: A summary of the residency programs in Lebanon.

American based curriculum (ABC)

As we mentioned earlier, this system is a 7 year process divided into pre-medical education (average of 3 to 4 years) and medical school (4 years) and requires that the applicants hold at least a BS degree and take the MCAT exam. Note that you need to take the SAT to be able to apply to ABC universities in general.

So, what is this Pre-Med thing?

Basically pre-med, it is literally any major that you choose to study at university that provides at least a BS degree (or License) in addition to extra courses that are called pre-med required courses.

We said at least BS because one can go for a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree which generally requires 4 to 5 years, or a Master’s degree, heck even a PhD. We said “any major” because literally one can go for any specialty that eventually provides at least a BS degree, this means a student studying photography can apply to medical school as long as they have completed a few pre-med courses.

However, school graduates generally choose Biology as their pre-med specialty because it includes most of the pre-med required courses, or they go for what we call biology or health sciences related specialties such as medical lab that still covers most the pre-med required courses. If you decide to go for a major that is not considered a health science, keep in mind that you’ll have to take a bunch of extra courses which might make things a little more challenging.

What is the MCAT?

During your pre-med years (any year but generally 2nd or 3rd) you’ll need to sit for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). This is an international exam required for all universities following the ABC pathway. Generally speaking, the extra courses that universities offer are tailored for you to be familiar with the content and requirements of the MCAT exam. Your MCAT score is an international score (like the SAT). You can be a student in any of the 7 universities and take the exam. It is not a requirement for the FBC universities but you can take the MCAT if you want to change university and apply to an ABC medical school in Lebanon or abroad.

In Lebanon the testing center is at AMIDEAST in downtown Beirut. Note that you can take the test outside Lebanon (if you can get a visa). Theoretically, you can repeat the test as many times as you wish but all your attempts are registered, with some programs only accepting the first or up to the second attempt scores. Note that you can use the MCAT to apply for ABC medical schools inside and outside Lebanon.

Applying for an ABC medicals school

You’ve done your MCAT and you are expecting to graduate university this year. You can apply for medical school. Regardless of which university you are doing your BS in if you have all the requirements you can apply to any ABC medical school. For example, even if you are doing your pre-med in AUB, you can apply for medical school in UOB or LAU, and even if you’re studying biology in one of the FBC universities you can sit for the MCAT and apply to any ABC university.

Generally, in order to get accepted into medical school the accepting committee look at 4 things:

• MCAT scores,

• your GPA,

• interview scores

• the university from which you’ll be graduating (generally, there is an advantage if you did your pre-med years at the same university you are applying to).

The FBC (French-based curriculum) pathway

What distinguishes the FBC pathway from the ABC pathway is that the MCAT is not required and it is not divided into pre-medical and medical school years (although some do provide students with a BS degree around 3rd year). Each FBC university has its own unique curriculum and structure and these include the University of Saint Joseph (USJ), the Lebanese University (LU), Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) and Beirut Arab University (BAU).

For details on the various FBC school check this link.