Advice Please for "US IMG" residency application

[XavierCharles]

Just hoping someone could kindly shed some light on my situation for me...I'm not really sure what category I fall in, so a bit confused as to what residencies to consider and what my chances are.

I'm a British Citizen and obtained my Green Card whilst I was in my first year of postgraduate training. I've taken Step 1 (229), Step 2CS (passed first attempt), Step 2CK (245) and I have US electives.

I've been trying to use online calculators and algorithms to work out what position I'm in, more for peace of mind because I'll probably end up applying to lots of places - you just never know!

Broadly speaking, I know that one of the "disadvantages" for US IMGs is the assumption that they "couldn't get into a US medical school" - which wasn't the case for me. The disadvantage for Non US IMGs are visa requirements etc - which also isn't the case for me.

I'd really appreciate anyones input on my scores, my situation and any views on my chances of obtaining residency - I'm thinking of internal medicine. Also, how should I go about making it clear on my application that the above disadvantages don't apply to me and would that even help?

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[el_duderino]

You're a British citizen, so I don't think you're considered a USING are you?

Where did you do med school? Caribbean, England, Poland, etc?

 

[XavierCharles]

You're a British citizen, so I don't think you're considered a USING are you?

Where did you do med school? Caribbean, England, Poland, etc?

That's what I was thinking also..... I went to med school in London.

 

[Mad Jack]

You're a British citizen, so I don't think you're considered a USING are you?

Where did you do med school? Caribbean, England, Poland, etc?

With a green card he's effectively a US citizen for employment purposes. It blows residency options wide open compared to those that need visas.

That's what I was thinking also..... I went to med school in London.

You are more competitive than most US-IMGs, as the medical schools of London are fairly well regarded and their graduates frequently take positions in top programs in IM and a few other specialties. Your Step scores are roughly average though, so that's going to limit your options, as you're going to fall below a lot of the cutoffs for programs that would ordinarily regard your school highly. What specialty are you hoping to match?

Oh wait nvm, just saw the IM part. Apply to a mix of middle-tier, lower-tier, and community IM programs. You should match, given your stats and the lack of visa issues.

 

[XavierCharles]

With a green card he's effectively a US citizen for employment purposes. It blows residency options wide open compared to those that need visas.

You are more competitive than most US-IMGs, as the medical schools of London are fairly well regarded and their graduates frequently take positions in top programs in IM and a few other specialties. Your Step scores are roughly average though, so that's going to limit your options, as you're going to fall below a lot of the cutoffs for programs that would ordinarily regard your school highly. What specialty are you hoping to match?

Oh wait nvm, just saw the IM part. Apply to a mix of middle-tier, lower-tier, and community IM programs. You should match, given your stats and the lack of visa issues.

Thanks so much for the reply! It's very helpful and has given me a bit more ease of mind. Do you perhaps know how I could go about finding out which programmes are middle-tier and lower-tier etc? I've thus far been relying on random google searches!

 

[Mad Jack]

Thanks so much for the reply! It's very helpful and has given me a bit more ease of mind. Do you perhaps know how I could go about finding out which programmes are middle-tier and lower-tier etc? I've thus far been relying on random google searches!

Ask in the IM subforum. They'll help you put a list together. Also utilize FREIDA Online, it is a residency database that provides a lot of (somewhat accurate) statistics about programs.

 

[XavierCharles]

Ask in the IM subforum. They'll help you put a list together. Also utilize FREIDA Online, it is a residency database that provides a lot of (somewhat accurate) statistics about programs.

Thanks Mad Jack, you've been really helpful! God Bless You

 

[AdmiralChz]

Yeah I agree - you have reputable training, no visa issues and your step scores aren’t exceedingly limited. You’ll be fine, just apply broadly!

 

[el_duderino]

I think you're really well-positioned. More so than US IMGs. I dunno how PDs think, but I'd think that your average Step scores are a strong positive, given that your curriculum probably isn't as tailored toward Step 1/2 as a US or Caribbean school's would be. In other words, I'd expect someone studying medicine in London to take a bit of a hit when taking Step 1 compared to a US student, all else being equal. Echoing the above, I'd expect you to be a strong candidate on paper given your green card, quality London education, and the fact that you come from an English-speaking country. Pretty much none of the "issues" one would expect with a US IMG.

 

[Animalcules]

You have a shot at many of the top 30 IM programs, although your Step scores may be limiting you.

 

[rokshana]

sorry to tell you this, but you ARE a US IMG (not a "US IMG")...the GC helps in that you don't have the typical visa needs that an FMG does, but you went to a foreign school...if your school is a domiciled UK school, then that's great if programs know your school, but you are in the same category as anyone else that went to a foreign school...most PD don't know the differences ...foreign is foreign , period...people want to think that their school somehow is looked upon differently, but in reality, its not.

your first pass on your steps is helpful in that multiple attempts will hurt you...have great LoRs from the US electives that you did, your scores are on the lower end so you will need to apply widely and in large numbers...goal is to get 15 -20 interview...

is doable, but not easy...apply widely, be proactive and do to every interview you get so you can have a good number of programs to put on a ROL.

 

[rokshana]

I think you're really well-positioned. More so than US IMGs. I dunno how PDs think, but I'd think that your average Step scores are a strong positive, given that your curriculum probably isn't as tailored toward Step 1/2 as a US or Caribbean school's would be. In other words, I'd expect someone studying medicine in London to take a bit of a hit when taking Step 1 compared to a US student, all else being equal. Echoing the above, I'd expect you to be a strong candidate on paper given your green card, quality London education, and the fact that you come from an English-speaking country. Pretty much none of the "issues" one would expect with a US IMG.

uh, US- IMGs come from an English speaking country...the US stands for United States...

 

[evilbooyaa]

sorry to tell you this, but you ARE a US IMG (not a "US IMG")...the GC helps in that you don't have the typical visa needs that an FMG does, but you went to a foreign school...if your school is a domiciled UK school, then that's great if programs know your school, but you are in the same category as anyone else that went to a foreign school...most PD don't know the differences ...foreign is foreign , period...people want to think that their school somehow is looked upon differently, but in reality, its not.

your first pass on your steps is helpful in that multiple attempts will hurt you...have great LoRs from the US electives that you did, your scores are on the lower end so you will need to apply widely and in large numbers...goal is to get 15 -20 interview...

is doable, but not easy...apply widely, be proactive and do to every interview you get so you can have a good number of programs to put on a ROL.

He's not a US-IMG because he's not from the US. He's from England. He's a FMG (Foreign Medical Grad) from England.

Apply broadly. Generally, for IM, lower tier programs are ones that don't start with 'University of....' or don't have the word 'University' in their title at all. That's not true 100% of all times, but that is the general consideration.

If you're considering applying to a place, look at their current list of residents. If there isn't a single medical student who is 1) from a non US-MD school or 2) a DO graduate, it could be a sign of a waste of an application. However, do talk to people you know (from your postgrad training in England or people from your medical school) about people they may know in the US (even if they're not in IM). Might be good places to apply if those folks can put a call/e-mail in for you.

 

[el_duderino]

uh, US- IMGs come from an English speaking country...the US stands for United States...

Yeah, and he's not from the US.

 

[rokshana]

Fair enough but he does have a GC so that helps...FMG with a GC then...advice is same.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Anecdotally, FMGs from english speaking countries seem to do better overall with residency placement than FMGs from non-english countries. Language barriers, cultural barriers, whatever. Still agree that lower to mid tier university and all community programs are worth applying to.

 

[siliso]

The only possibly adverse considerations (ime ymmv etc) are that 1. IMG step scores actually get a bit of a discount because the candidates have often taken many months of dedicated time to prep and 2. Lack of familiarity with the general quality of your school’s grads, if this applies. At reasonably IMG friendly academic IM program.

Overall though I would bet a large sum that you will obtain an IM residency without difficulty or delay.

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

I would echo that you can probably match into IM, somewhere, just fine. What's your previous post-graduate medication training in? Are you practicing or still in training now?

Why do you want to train in the US? Make sure you cover this well in the your personal statement.
Are you geographically limited in your choices? I would write program directors at the places where you actually want to go and explain your situation to make sure you get your application read and not filtered out by where you graduated.