>>>Just out of curiosity, what's the difference, if any, in medical training? I've always understood that the reason doctors charge a lot is because they spend 11 or more years (4 years of college, 4 years of med school, minimum of 3 years residency) post-high school getting trained.
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>>5 year college, 1 year residency for your general practice doctor, plus 2-4 years to specialize, depending on what (i.e. neurosurgery takes considerably longer than, say, orthopedia).
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>So roughly half as long as American doctors. I guess the follow-up is also how that's paid for. Here, college and medical school are at the student's expense, with costs varying depending on whether it's a public or private school. Residency pays, but my understanding is that the pay is poor, so it isn't until a doctor gets into practice that he or she can really begin paying the debt accumulated during training. (I found one source that said in 2004, average debt for new doctors was between $100,000 and $150,000.)
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>Tamar

If both college and medical school are entirely on student's expense then total cost could be more than $250,000 for good institutions.