Do I need to resign from home job to do observerships and match year?

[tangster1985]

Dear all,
I am an IMG currently working as a resident from Hong Kong. There isn't much info out there on my question that I have:

Do you guys have to resign from your doctor job at home in order to do observerships in the States (probably takes at least 3 months to get 3 letters) and then do you sit in the States starting from September to December in the year of the application so that you can attend interviews as they come up?

It seems impossible to maintain your home job while doing interviews in the States at the same time? And there is no way I can just take 3 months off from my job to do observerships, how do you guys do it?
Also, do you guys tell your boss at home about your plan to move to the States so you can get a letter from him/her (at the same time risking your home career). It also seems super risky to resign from your home job when a US residency position is not guaranteed yet.
Thanks, any experience / info is appreciated, I'm confused!!

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[Medstart108]

Pretty good question, I wonder as well but its probably true that people will quit their job. Usually people will try to make sure they get registered so finish their intern year or something similar but a lot will get a research position in the US while they are applying because that will make them more flexible to apply around as well as giving them an income and something to do.

 

[tangster1985]

Thanks for your reply! I guess that is a good way out, though of course it'd be be the best scenario to somehow be able to do my home job in my home country throughout the whole process.
Any experiences from been there / done that IMGs (or friends that you know of)? How did you / they do it?

 

[Medstart108]

I know someone briefly from the UK who finished his foundation years 1 and 2, then took a year to be a medical demonstrator at my medical school. He was writing his USMLEs or preparing to apply i forgot but he was going to the US because his fiancee was american.

I think the main reason he took the demonstrator job was because he would have the time to apply.

Other examples, you can just see from sites like LinkedIn. If you haven't joined you should as it can be a pretty good way to find out how people get their careers going. A lot of people who are foreign grads will spend a few years as a research fellow at an american university and then get a residency.