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Go to Poland to study medicine

You must read this to the end! Please! This article is very important—take the time to read it. Since some doctors can obtain their qualifications through opportunistic means, everyone must take responsibility for their own health. After all, even real doctors have limited understanding of the human body, let alone these "fake doctors" with no medical foundation.

Good news, good news!! Do you want to become a doctor? A dentist?
As long as you have money, anyone can fulfill their dream!!
(This article concerns the health of every Taiwanese! Please take the time to read it carefully!)

Let me explain this logically—this is absolutely no joke, and it’s all true!

First, let me briefly explain Taiwan’s current medical education system. First, you must pass the most difficult hurdle—the national college entrance exam (including both the Advanced Subjects Test and the General Scholastic Ability Test). After that, you enter medical school. The first four years are mainly coursework, the fifth and sixth years are clinical clerkships, and the seventh year is an internship. Of course, this process isn’t easy—if you’re not careful, you might fail, get held back, or even repeat a year. It’s extremely tough—no doubt about that. After seven years, you take the national medical licensing exam. Those who pass obtain a medical license. Is this exam difficult?

The answer: No! The pass rate exceeds 90% every year. Why is it easy?
Because it’s entirely multiple-choice, and if you’ve managed to complete seven years of medical school in Taiwan and graduate, your level is already very high—those seven years are grueling. If you still struggle, there are cram schools to help you.

Currently, Taiwan has two major cram schools—Sanyuan and Xinchuan. With their organized materials, past exam questions, and excellent teaching teams, how could you fail? After passing, you become a resident physician at a hospital. After several years of training (minimum three years, with specialties ranging from three to five years or more), you can take the specialist physician exam—such as obstetrics/gynecology, surgery, or otolaryngology.

The above is a brief introduction to Taiwan’s medical education system—every word is true because I’m currently part of this system.

Now, let’s discuss whether graduates of foreign medical schools can practice in Taiwan. This article isn’t about mainland China, so we’ll set that aside. If you graduated from a medical school in a less developed region—like the Philippines or Myanmar—before taking the national exam, you must first pass an "academic credential recognition exam." This exam is extremely difficult, with a pass rate of only 2–3%. That’s why fewer students are going to places like the Philippines to study medicine—if you can’t pass the credential recognition, you can’t even take the national exam, let alone become a doctor.

For graduates from more advanced countries, they can skip the credential recognition and directly take the national medical licensing exam. Taiwan has designated nine regions (according to Articles 2–4 of the Physician Act of the Republic of China, foreign graduates must meet the following qualifications): the U.S., Japan, Europe, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Now, here’s the key point—"Europe." Europe is the focus of this article. In the regulations, "Europe" refers to the EU, so it’s not just advanced countries like Germany, the UK, or France—it also includes poorer Eastern European countries that recently joined the EU, such as Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.What does this mean? It means that if you graduate from a medical school in any of these EU countries, you can return to Taiwan without needing your academic credentials verified! You can directly take the national exam! And then become a doctor!

Now, let me share some current realities in Taiwan. Remember! Don’t think this has nothing to do with you! And don’t assume it’s unimportant! Because it’s already happening!

Currently, there are many agencies in Taiwan where you can pay a hefty service fee and then happily go study medicine in Poland! See? There’s even something called the "Asian Class"!!! So when you study in Poland, your classmates will all be your fellow countrymen!!

Now, let’s look at the admission requirements: University graduates can enroll in a four-year medical program; those without a university degree—whether from high school, vocational school, five-year junior college, three-year junior college, or two-year junior college—can all enroll in a six-year medical program. For dentistry, it’s a five-year program.

As for entrance exams, only one school requires TOEFL as a reference, and the others don’t even require TOEFL! And all you need is an interview—no written or practical exams! As for the interview location, haha, convenient! It’s right at the Howard Plaza Hotel in Taiwan!

Let’s take a look at who’s been admitted. From *Liberty Times*:
[http:/ / www. libertytimes. com. ……new/ may/ 23/ today- north16. htm](http:/ / www. libertytimes. com. ……new/ may/ 23/ today- north16. htm)
Reporter Shen Jichang

Li Changlun, a student from the sports program at Zhiping High School in Yangmei Township, originally disliked studying. But recently, he was admitted to the medical program at Poland’s National Silesian University and will head to Poland in October to begin his studies. School principal Wang Chun’an said Li Changlun is the first sports program student from Zhiping to be admitted to a medical school.

When Li Changlun graduated from junior high, his Basic Competency Test score was less than 200 points, barely qualifying him for the sports program. He joined the cheerleading team, and in his first year of high school, he disliked studying and spent all his time on the basketball court or track field. Later, he formed a seven-member band at school, winning the school talent competition and even helping Zhiping secure fourth place in a national high school cheerleading competition.

Li Changlun’s father, mother, and older brother all work in medicine and pharmacy. His family urged him to plan for his future and suggested he strive for a career in medicine.

In his second year of high school, Li Changlun buckled down, focusing on subjects like English and biology, and his grades improved dramatically. In his third year, his uncle suggested he try applying to foreign medical schools. In early May, he applied to the medical programs at Poland’s National Silesian University and Poznan University. Two weeks later, Silesian University invited him for an interview. During the interview, the examiner asked him in English about topics in biology and why he wanted to study medicine. He answered fluently and confidently. Last week, Silesian University notified him of his acceptance.

Li Changlun’s college entrance exam score was 41 points, placing him between private and national universities. Now, he’s decided to study in Poland. After graduation, he plans to work in Cambodia, joining his father, who is involved in medical management there.

Sports department head Zhang Jiahao and cheerleading coach Yang Hongde both said no sports program student had ever been admitted to medical school before. Li Changlun’s hard work sets an example for his juniors. Moreover, Poland’s Silesian University is Poland’s third-ranked national university, and its degrees are recognized by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education. The entire school is proud of him.Wow! You couldn't even score 200 points on the junior high school basic competency test! And then in college, it was even more impressive—41 out of 75 possible grade levels!! Anyone who’s taken the college entrance exam can strongly relate to just how low a 41 really is...

In Taiwan, even a 73 out of 75 on the college entrance exam is risky for getting into medical school!

Now, there are tons of people who’ve studied medicine in Poland, come back, and passed the national medical licensing exam (as I’ve said before, the exam isn’t hard—the real filters are the entrance exams and the academic journey!). Some graduated from Wenzao (a humanities-focused school—wait, liberal arts students can study medicine? Yup! As long as you have money, anyone can become a doctor!). There are also plenty who came from nursing schools, vocational high schools, or even agricultural/technical programs. The "better" ones might have degrees like psychology from Chung Yuan University, etc. You’re probably wondering—how do these "doctors" from Poland perform in hospitals?

Personal experience #1: Here’s a different one—I know someone who went to a medical college in Hsinchu, then studied in the Caribbean. For every patient, whether they had a cold, fever, or diarrhea, his diagnosis was always: "You have depression. You’re too stressed." When patients asked how he knew, he’d say, "Because I have depression, so you must too." Sigh. Speechless. So no matter if it was trauma or CAD, the meds he prescribed always included Serenal (ugh). Didn’t know a thing. Couldn’t read a CXR, couldn’t use a sonar, didn’t even know what ketoconazole was. Sigh, sigh, sigh. If the Caribbean’s like this, what about Poland? Everyone, take care of yourselves.Personal Experience 2: I knew a Polish resident whose incompetence was beyond belief. To be a doctor, one should at least have studied pharmacology, yet he didn’t even know the most basic function of acetaminophen. What’s more, he was unaware that hypertension has many different types. I saw his notes:
A. Pain -> Drug A
B. High blood pressure -> Drug B
C. Dizziness -> Drug C
One symptom, one drug, with zero consideration for the patient’s condition—pure reflex. I won’t go into other details, but the key point is: he had a medical license. As his colleague, I felt my seven years of university youth were wasted. Do you think this is rare?

Take a look at this year’s list of residents admitted to Chung Shan Medical University Hospital: http://www. csh. org. tw/ req. html

**Surgery Department**
Huang Qixiu - University of Silesia, Poland
Zhang Zhipeng - Fatima University, Philippines
Cai Minyu - Medical University of Lodz, Poland
Chen Meijun - University of Silesia, Poland
Lin Ruihong - National Cheng Kung University
He Yehong - Chung Shan Medical University

**Orthopedics**
Luo Hongkai - Chung Shan Medical University

**Anesthesiology**
Jian Guanxiong - Chung Shan Medical University

**Internal Medicine**
Lan Minwei - Chung Shan Medical University
Chen Houwen - Kaohsiung Medical University
Jiang Lide - Chung Shan Medical University
Wang Qizhi - Chung Shan Medical University
Zhang Kaiwei - Chung Shan Medical University
Chen Kuimin - Chung Shan Medical University
Hong Rixi - Chung Shan Medical University

**Neurology**
Chen Zhaoliang - China Medical University

**Emergency Medicine**
Guo Shuxian - University of Lodz, Poland
Lin Zhenxiang - University of Lodz, Poland

**Obstetrics & Gynecology**
Zhong Deru - University of Silesia, Poland
Yang Jizheng - University of Silesia, Poland
Zheng Wenda - Fatima University, Philippines

**Pediatrics**
Wu Yijie - Chung Shan Medical University
Pan Huixian - Chung Shan Medical University

**ENT**
Lin Huangbin - Chung Shan Medical University

**Ophthalmology**
Ruan Guohua - China Medical University

**Dermatology**
Liu Qinying - Chung Shan Medical University

**Family Medicine**
Lin Zhengyi - Chung Shan Medical University
Li Guoren - National Cheng Kung University

**Medical Imaging**
Chen Zhiwei - Chung Shan Medical University

**Psychiatry**
Wang Yingshu - Chung Shan Medical University

**Rehabilitation**
Hong Yilun - Chung Shan Medical University
Lin Yihui - Taipei Medical University
Chen Weiwei - Kaohsiung Medical University

So, you thought all the doctors you meet in big hospitals graduated from Taiwanese medical schools? You’re dead wrong! This is just the beginning. The number of people going to Poland for medical school is growing exponentially every year. Why?

1. Taiwanese medical schools are too hard to get into. Unless you’re extremely hardworking or a genius, your chances are slim.
2. Graduating from a Taiwanese medical school isn’t easy either. They fail students frequently, delay their progress, or even force them to repeat years. The key is, your competitors (classmates) are all hardworking and outstanding, so you’d better buckle down if you want to graduate on time.3. Polish medical schools save time—just 4 or 6 years!!! Super fast!!!
4. Polish medical schools are easy to get into—if you have money, you’re in! Plus, you get three retake chances per semester. Even if you fail, just pay and you’re good! (Someone got in with a 41 on the college entrance exam—what are you afraid of?)
5. Polish medical degrees let you take Taiwan’s national medical exam directly!!
No more worrying about degree recognition—since Poland is in the EU, you can take the exam and become a doctor right away! But with Poland’s low standards, will hospitals even hire you?
Answer: Yes!
From a business perspective, Taiwan’s healthcare system is so messed up that hospitals are fighting over the same shrinking pie. To survive, they’ve turned corporate. Now, with a sudden influx of cheap labor (previously restricted by Taiwan’s medical education quotas, which kept med school admissions ultra-competitive), hospitals can slash payroll costs. (Check the resident hiring lists at Chung Shan Medical University Hospital for proof.) Over half of Polish med students come from "connected" families—70%+ are even second-generation doctors. With their connections and money, landing a hospital job is easy.
But wait—if Taiwanese grads are so much better, why worry about competition?
Answer: We’re not afraid of losing on merit—we’re way more qualified! But when they undercut us on price, we starve.

Example: A hospital posts a job—5 months salary: NT$50,000. Take it or leave it? Polish grads will jump at it. They’ve never worked hard or sacrificed anything, and they know nothing—NT$50K is a windfall! But us? We killed ourselves in middle school, high school, med school, then seven more years of hell. Internship was literal burnout. Older doctors made NT$100K+ for the same grind—now we get NT$50K. How’s that fair? But hey, NT$50K beats unemployment.

Long-term, medicine demands insane effort and sacrifice (sleep, hobbies, family time), yet pay sinks to office-worker levels. Fewer top students will choose med school (sure, we want to save lives, but who’ll sign up for grueling, low-paid work?). As scores drop, the "med students are elite" myth dies. Taiwan’s hospitals will flood with foreign docs of dubious skill—would you let them treat you? A business mistake loses money; a medical mistake loses lives.

A med student’s parable:

Remember the hit show "Star Avenue" (now fading)? To attract talent, producers dangled huge prizes early on. Later, as ratings dipped, prizes shrank—but contestants still poured in, desperate for any shot. Medicine’s becoming the same: the glory’s gone, but the grind remains. Who’ll fight for scraps?Generous rewards—a prize pool of 5 million. Just making it into the final top 10 would allow contestants to share the money. The best among the top 10 could even land a record deal. For a time, this attracted two to three thousand applicants. To squeeze into that coveted top 10, everyone practiced day and night, after all, becoming part of the top 0.5% was no easy feat.

At first, everything went smoothly according to the rules—preliminaries, quarterfinals, top 64, top 32—no major issues. But then, some overseas contestants started complaining. Some had studied under Pavarotti, others were graduates of Juilliard, and they argued their skills were guaranteed. Couldn’t they just skip straight to the top 10? The producers thought it made sense and agreed. After all, there were only a few of them, and their skills were solid.

But then, the demands got weirder and weirder. Even Pavarotti’s third uncle’s sister-in-law’s neighbor’s kid and the owner of a snack stand near Juilliard started demanding direct entry into the finals. To keep the peace—and because these contestants were the show’s financial backers—the organizers turned a blind eye.

This, of course, angered many contestants. Many talented competitors decided to leave, and the show’s quality plummeted. Then, a new group emerged—contestants who had placed in the top 10 of local karaoke competitions. They claimed they were just as skilled, being homegrown talents (some even had parents who were judges!), and demanded direct entry into the top 10.

The producers had no choice. The prize pool, originally for the top 10, expanded to 20, then 30, until eventually, anyone who made enough noise got a share. But with the budget still capped at 5 million, the individual payouts shrank, and the show’s quality nosedived. It became unwatchable.

Will the medical field look like this decades from now?

The day before yesterday, a medical student called an agency to ask some questions. Here’s how it went:

1. **How many spots are available?**
Answer: Just three medical schools in Poland alone offer 150 spots. (And if you add Austria, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary... not to mention other agencies, don’t think breaking 1,000 is impossible.)

2. **Weren’t the nine major regions supposed to be blocked in 2008? Why weren’t they?**
Answer: The agencies said they gave legislators a lot of money as political donations to stall the draft. Here’s the link: [http://0rz. tw/ ca54q](http://0rz. tw/ ca54q)

3. **When will the draft finally pass?**
Answer: After being blocked, it was originally delayed until 2010. Former Health Minister Lin Fang-yue strongly supported amending the law to block Eastern European degrees, so it seemed inevitable...
But (gleefully), luckily the tainted milk scandal happened, forcing Lin Fang-yue to resign. Now, with Yeh Chin-chuan in office, he doesn’t seem too concerned about the issue. Plus, with society in chaos, there’s a "chance" lobbying could block the draft again. (Speechless...)

4. **How do you know so much about the Health Ministry’s draft movements?**
Answer: Because 80% of the kids applying are doctors’ children. A few doctors secretly tip them off. If the Health Ministry holds a meeting about foreign degrees in the morning, they’ll get a fax by the afternoon. Know your enemy, win every battle.(Hereditary system... not far off...)

Note: I just raised these questions, and after asking, I only had one realization... truly a "profit" committee... The draft has already been sent to the Legislative Yuan, yet they can pretend not to see it... From their tone, it seems the Physicians' Association is eager to amend the law. I hope the Physicians' Association can be more assertive, and I hope Yeh Chin-chuan takes note of this. If the draft gets blocked again, it’s only a matter of time before the number of wealthy, influential, and well-connected graduates from foreign medical schools surpasses that of local graduates in Taiwan...

Later, another person called to ask, and this time there was even a recording! Link here: http://www. sendspace. com/ file/ yx5f5b
After clicking, wait a few seconds, and at the bottom, there will be a Download Link:
wav—click there to download.Thank you for taking the time to read this very long article. I truly hope there is still hope for Taiwan's medical environment in the future, and that those who work hard and stay grounded will eventually receive the rewards they deserve!

PS. Here’s a little tip when visiting the hospital: Doctors' credentials and experience are usually listed. If you see a doctor who graduated from "Kaohsiung Medical University College of Medicine" or "China Medical University College of Medicine," they are locally trained. If it only says "Specialist in XX Department," they might be foreign-trained! Because they know they took shortcuts, they feel guilty and won’t disclose their background! So, if you see a doctor who omits their education and experience, be extra cautious!

To clarify the main point of this article: Regardless of which country a medical student graduated from, they should be required to pass academic credential verification before taking Taiwan’s National Medical Licensing Exam. The government’s original intention was to trust that medical graduates from advanced countries like the UK or Germany had undergone a high-standard medical education. However, countries like Poland and Hungary, as EU members, exploit this legal loophole—students pay to study there and then return to Taiwan to directly take the licensing exam without verification.

Taiwanese medical students demand that all graduates, whether from the US, Japan, or Europe, must pass academic credential verification before taking the exam. Filipino medical graduates, for example, already face this requirement. In recent years, because Poland bypasses this screening, many who originally went to the Philippines for medical studies have switched to Poland instead...

Taiwan already has more than enough doctors—over 1,000 medical students graduate each year, leading to oversupply. The Department of Health even hopes hospitals will gradually reduce residency positions. While strictly controlling the number of local medical students, Taiwan allows a flood of Polish medical graduates to exploit this loophole. If Taiwan truly lacks doctors, why not establish more medical schools?

The reality is, only the wealthy can afford to study medicine in Poland. Many students struggle in cram schools, retaking exams multiple times just to get into medical school. Some of my classmates are in their 30s, and one senior was 37 when he enrolled. They worked tirelessly, retaking exams repeatedly before finally realizing their dream. Most who retake exams still fail to get into medical school—they lack the background or wealth to study abroad. Should we tell them, "You’re poor, so tough luck"? Where is the fairness in that?

If this isn’t regulated, the number of Polish-trained doctors returning annually could soon match or even exceed locally trained graduates. This will inevitably lead to major problems in Taiwan’s healthcare system...

If this bill passes, no one would go to Poland for medical studies—because most who do are opportunists!

And for those who truly have the skills—shouldn’t academic credential verification be no problem for you?

Finally, addressing some netizens’ doubts:

1. "Who says poor grades mean someone can’t be a good doctor?"
Answer: True, grades aren’t everything!
But we firmly believe that aspiring doctors should at least possess certain qualities: responsibility, diligence, and commitment. Someone who neglects their studies in high school, prioritizing fun over academics—does that sound like doctor material? If you were hospitalized one day, would you trust such a person with your life?Do you dare to give him primary care?

2. Grades don’t matter; what’s important is clinical skills!
Answer: Borrowing an analogy from a senior medical student—a butcher is extremely skilled at dissecting pigs, cutting out hearts and lungs! If you ever needed surgery, would you dare let him operate on your heart? And if you really think professional knowledge is unimportant, then what about our seven years in university, spending so much time studying until we’re exhausted—was it all for something "unimportant"? Are the strict professors just doing it "to mess with students for fun"? I believe the teachers uphold the belief that "we must safeguard the health of our people—these students will become doctors—professional knowledge cannot be taken lightly." That’s why they demand so much from us. Because we have a responsibility to society, those who educate us also have a duty to train and challenge us properly!

3. To be a good doctor, medical ethics are most important!
Answer: Fine—if someone who graduated from a sports program and scored 41 on the college entrance exam is full of compassion, go ahead and let them treat you—I have no objections! But where exactly is their professional competence? Please think carefully, because health and life are not things to joke about!!! And those who go to Poland for medical school, skipping Taiwan’s difficult entrance exams, and don’t even need academic certification—just pay the money and you’re in—do you dare to let someone with such opportunistic behavior and mentality treat you?

This article welcomes reposting!!!!!