Old grad, US-IMG, multiple red flags- Matched! - the28shogun

[ArchivalUser]

@limebee-

I didn't pick IM, I tried everything until I got an acceptance from a program that was willing to let me do a full year of research. I contacted several programs from many different fields, and when someone was willing to accept me, that is where I went. I matched at the program where I am doing research now. Most people will not ask you about attempts but that is something you can worry about when it comes time to prepare for your interviews.

Given your situation, I highly recommend that you focus on your steps and not worry as much about the year. It is better to pass the exams and do well on them as opposed to just taking them and then doing poorly or even doing average on them and being done sooner. It sounds like you didn't prepare properly for CS and not having someone to practice on is a really poor excuse because it's practically the first rule of the exam preparation. This forum here has a CS section where people are constantly asking for people to practice with, so if you didn't utilize this option before, I would strongly encourage you to use it now. You should be getting as much information as you possibly can from the CS and CK sections of this forum before you worry about the matching and residency portion.

You can be ready for CS in under 1 month. You should give yourself more time for CK than CS. Go to the CS forum, ask for help, learn how to prepare for it, and get that taken and out of the way first. Then worry about CK. Get this stuff done properly first before worrying about matching and what your chances are for residency. Good luck!

[ArchivalUser]

Ok, I'll just focus on my exams first. Thank you for your guidance, I really appreciate it. If you document your residency journey I would love to follow. I think I'm likely to get FM than IM so I will just take whatever I get and be thankful for the opportunity.

[ArchivalUser]

Thanks for this amazing post! The one thing that I wanted clarity on was whether you did anything differently to get interviews this time around and if you got more than the one you rotated in? Thank you again and great work you deserve it so much

[ArchivalUser]

@neurogirl91 -

I did not get any other interviews, but I only applied to 4 programs total this year. The year before and in past years I had applied broadly like everyone says and I did not get any interviews in those years either, unless it was somewhere I had done a rotation or research. Applying broadly and blindly was not worth it in my case, I have applied to over 500 programs in one match cycle with 0 interviews.

[ArchivalUser]

Thank you for sharing your journey Dr. I would like to ask about getting research opportunities. Do I need to take some certification class/es on research to have a better chance of acceptance. I have been applying to a lot of research assistant position but to no avail. Thank you for your time.

[ArchivalUser]

thanks for sharing your story , its really inspiring, i graduated 2010, with step1, ck, cs , 233, 215, pass ( all first attempts), i started IM training back home for 3 years, in america ; i have observership, two externship, one year research , one published article and currently doing two research and one article, i am a permenant resident, i have not got any interviews , i wonder how to increase my chances to match ? i applied two years but no luck ! kindly update if there is anything i can do

[ArchivalUser]

@vividmd-

You don't have to take any classes or get certified, but it depends what you mean when you say you are applying to research assistant positions? Are you applying to posted jobs online somewhere? Or are you contacting doctors individually and asking them if you can participate in research? Posted jobs are usually for people who will not leave the job after a year, and they will usually take PhD researchers, not IMGs. You'll definitely get more responses if you are just emailing doctors who are participating in research. Also you should apply to volunteer positions as well, not only the paid positions.

@bepositive18-

You mentioned that you are currently doing research somewhere, so you should talk to your preceptor or the IM program director about applying there next cycle. Don't waste time at a place where you don't know the faculty or are not able to get to know the faculty.

Your stats are fine to match, but because of your year of graduation, you will have a very hard time getting any interviews. You will have to focus on building your relationships with people who can get you interviews.

Did you contact the people that you did all the previous work with? The externships/ observerships, published articles, etc? Were they research faculty or clinical faculty? They should help you get interviews, and if they can't help you or are too isolated from the clinical faculty, then you shouldn't waste more time on them.
Find a place where the clinical faculty are doing research, or where the research faculty have a close relationship with the clinical faculty and program director and can you get you an interview. Or tell you current preceptor that you will need to start spending some time with the clinical faculty and go approach the program coordinator and ask if you are able to do an observership or rotation or something. But if you don't have any connection with anyone except the research people who are isolated, then nothing will change.

[ArchivalUser]

Congratulations,I’m old Img from Pakistan and us citizen,only graduate not doing any steps yet,my qs is that should I eligible for applying in observership or research work.

[ArchivalUser]

@f2-

If you're serious about matching into a US residency program then you should focus on finishing USMLE step 1, step 2ck first before anything else. Nothing else matters right now if you haven't taken these exams. They will only become harder every year so you should take them as soon as possible. After these are done you can worry about observerships or research work.

[ArchivalUser]

Thank you so much.