My mom needs SDN's help!

[Hednej]

Hi folks,
I'm writing this post on behalf of my mom. I've done my absolute best but I'm just a poor pre-med student and I don't have much advice to give her, so I need SDN's help. Here is her story:

My mom is a FMG, graduated in 1997. She came over about 6 years ago and studied for the USMLEs. She passed step 2 after 3 attempts and got a 85. She passed step 1 on the second try and got a 77. She's also passed the CS.

I helped her put together an application for family medicine this year but she did not get any interviews. We have been doing the match thing the whole day today and I'm pretty frustrated because everywhere we call,
1. she has either had too many shots at the boards
or
2. She has no clinical experience (this one sounds like a catch-22, how can she have any clinical experience if she's a FMG?)
or
3. She graduated too long ago
or
a combination of any of the above.

Please SDN, I feel so bad for my mom. She's such a wonderful person and a great physician, but I'm not able to help her because my knowledge of this whole process is so little. Do you have any advice on what she can do to either get a residency spot for next year or improve her chances for the next cycle?

Thanks so much again,
Hednej

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[Soapbox123]

Try the following website:

www.FindAresident.com

I think there are things called Observerships that your mom can sign up for to get a little US medical exposure.

Good luck,
Soapbox123

 

[awdc]

That is tough. Of the three reasons you listed, she has the ability to change one of them. Has she ever tried getting a house officer position or observership at a program? I have encountered various FMG's who basically function as residents but no credit is given for any residency program. I believe (and I could be wrong) that they must be ECFMG certified but licensure is not necessary since they will only be working under the residency program. They are paid positions which differentiates them from observerships which are unpaid. Either way, she will be gaining U.S. experience and hopefully, excellent letters of recommendation from U.S. faculty. Other than calling individual programs, I don't know how one would find out where these job openings would be. I hope others can give you more information. If she's in the New York City area, send a private message to me because I know of some hospitals that have employed house officers and provided observorships.

 

[Tired]

That is tough. Of the three reasons you listed, she has the ability to change one of them. Has she ever tried getting a house officer position or observership at a program? I have encountered various FMG's who basically function as residents but no credit is given for any residency program. I believe (and I could be wrong) that they must be ECFMG certified but licensure is not necessary since they will only be working under the residency program. They are paid positions which differentiates them from observerships which are unpaid. Either way, she will be gaining U.S. experience and hopefully, excellent letters of recommendation from U.S. faculty. Other than calling individual programs, I don't know how one would find out where these job openings would be. I hope others can give you more information. If she's in the New York City area, send a private message to me because I know of some hospitals that have employed house officers and provided observorships.

I personally know one resident who went the observership route and managed to match into the program they were observing at. It's a brutal route though, since at least in this case, it was a year-long observership, meaning no income during that time.

I cannot be sure, of course, but I would imagine that it makes a big difference the country you come from and the specialty you are talking about.

 

[Dr. ZZ]

in all honestly..ur mom has a poor shot at getting any residency....tell her to do what she does best...go back into the kitchen and cook dinner...the dream of becoming an MD is impossible.

 

[Apollyon]

in all honestly..ur mom has a poor shot at getting any residency....tell her to do what she does best...go back into the kitchen and cook dinner...the dream of becoming an MD is impossible.

With your poor grammar and spelling (beyond the lazy "leet" things, such as 'ur', and your "in all honestly"), your weak and stupid advice is rendered even worse.

By the way, the person mentioned ostensibly IS an MD already - one dream accomplished.

At least you didn't say the dream is "unpossible" (although, by the 'quality' of the balance of the post, not unthinkable).

 

[Hednej]

in all honestly..ur mom has a poor shot at getting any residency....tell her to do what she does best...go back into the kitchen and cook dinner...the dream of becoming an MD is impossible.

Hey, just because that's all your mom did, don't assume the same for everyone's.

Thanks for the response guys. Yes, she is already ECFMG licensed.
So for the observorships you talk about, does she have to call the individual programs? Does that count as clinical experience?

 

[Winged Scapula]

Hey, just because that's all your mom did, don't assume the same for everyone's.

Thanks for the response guys. Yes, she is already ECFMG licensed.
So for the observorships you talk about, does she have to call the individual programs? Does that count as clinical experience?

She would have to call individual programs to see if they offer observerships. Most FMGs with US clinical experience get it through electives during their final year of medical school. However, many are able to get US residencies without it. I suspect the greater problem for your mother is her lack of any clinical experience for the last 6 years since she has been in the US. That's a LONG time away from medicine.

Observerships don't typically count for clinical experience as you are not actually able to have patient contact, just "observing" someone else, but she seems to be in a bind. Unfortunately, it is a common problem that FMGs face - they take a lot of time away from medicine, either because of family issues, studying for USMLE, etc. and don't realize that this becomes a SIGNIFICANT problem in the eyes of the US medical system. Even as little as two years off can be seen as a red flag on someone's file.

Has she tried to get a Preliminary position? While they can be tough too, it might be worth a shot. In addition, as noted above, there are on-line resources (and usually each specialty board also has a site for such postings) for open positions and these can arise any time during the year. She is in a position that she could start a job at any time, as opposed to those already in residency who would have to break a contract.

 

[turkleton]

in all honestly..ur mom has a poor shot at getting any residency....tell her to do what she does best...go back into the kitchen and cook dinner...the dream of becoming an MD is impossible.

Hey look, its the guy who uses asinine statements to make up for a small penis!

The fact that you were able to obtain an MD should give full confidence to every man, woman, child, and even semi-******ed donkeys that it is in fact possible.

 

[Bevo]

I believe there are still a few hospitals that will allow an externship. It will require a lot of phone work and most likely having to relocate.

The one hospital I knew no longer allows externships because of some mishap with a previous extern. So they no longer do it. Plus I believe you would have to pay for working for them.

 

[mig26x]

in all honestly..ur mom has a poor shot at getting any residency....tell her to do what she does best...go back into the kitchen and cook dinner...the dream of becoming an MD is impossible.

and to think that you ranked alot of IM programs that I ranked, I which i dont end up in the same program as you. We dont need interns like you.