Advice on matching for residency for foreign MD

[asyouwish]

Hello all, I hope I'm posting this in the right area, but please move if I've misplaced.

My friend has asked me to help advise her sister, who has her MD from India, but failed to match this year. I've been brought in because I have an MPH and will be starting allopathic med school this fall. Her sister is interested in doing an MPH during this year as she prepares to apply for a residency position next year.

The world of foreign MDs matching is completely new to me, but as I've started researching I've discovered just how difficult it can be. I'd like to be as helpful as I can. Do any of you have advice for what a foreign MD can do to maximize their chances of landing a residency position next year?

Thank you in advance.

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[the argus]

There's really no magic formula, it comes down to all the same things as US applicants. These just must be adjusted because of the different circumstances.

1. competitive step scores - this is most important, what will get your foot in the door. You should have all scores (step1, step 2 CK/CS) in when ERAS opens. And they don't have to be astronomical. Despite what you might read on this forum, IMG step scores are actually lower than US MDs in pretty much every specialty (and definitely the ones that match the most IMGs, IM and FM)

2. US clinical experience leading to meaningful LORs - this can either be clerkships if still in school (better), or observerships if already graduated

3. apply early and broadly - ERAS application should be ready to go on 9/15. And you should be applying to 150+ programs per specialty, especially to the least competitive programs in the least desirable locations. This will get expensive, but you should maximize your chances of matching in each match. This is cheaper in the long run than having to apply for multiple years.

4. misc intangibles when interviewing - As an US-IMG, I interviewed with many foreign-IMGs this year. It was pretty obvious who was going to be the successful almost immediately upon starting the interview day. Being able to "fit in" personally makes a huge difference. This means not being incredibly nervous, having good command of english, appropriate personal hygiene, etc. I know these things can be difficult when coming from a different culture, but to not admit that they matter would be untrue.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Need her Step 1/Step 2CK and CS scores and whether she passed all of these on the first attempt. Also, what year did she graduate from medical school, and how many years did it take her to graduate (vs how long is the normal graduating time) If she has red flags in these areas, she might be SOL even with additional work.

What field does she want to do? She could try doing research in that field (unless it's like FM/IM) for a year and re-applying.

In general though, an MPH would likely benefit her chances at matching, but what percentage would her chance go up is really hard to determine. If her stats are solid throughout she likely just needs to apply more broadly or in less desireable locations. If her stats are really bad and/or she has red flags on her app, then it might be near impossible. If she's in the middle, then maybe some research or an MPH COULD help her situation.

Really need more details about her situation (at least start with what I mentioned in the first line). Also, what did she apply for? How many places did she apply? Focused on community programs as a FMG? How many interviews did she get? Does she need a visa? Does she have US clinical experience and LoRs from those rotations?