Can a radiologist from Europe get the fellowship position in the US?

[aalsyg]

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Hi all,

I am a radiology resident from Denmark and will be completing the 5 year residency programme in 2016.

I have passed the USMLE step 1 and 2 CK in 2007. I am planning to take my Step 2 CS exam this year ( to get the ECFMG certification before the 7 year time limit is over).

I am planning to do fellowship in neuro-radiology or vascular/interventional radiology after completing the radiology residency here.

My questions are-

1. Do I need to take Step 3 too ( to possibly apply for fellowship in 2016, before the 7 year limit for USMLE score validity period is over? )

2. Do medical schools/hospitals consider foreign graduates with their MD radiology from europe to apply for fellowship programmes in neuro or interventional radiology ?

3. Is it possible to take step 3 during fellowship?

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[colbgw02]

Hi all,

I am a radiology resident from Denmark and will be completing the 5 year residency programme in 2016.

I have passed the USMLE step 1 and 2 CK in 2007. I am planning to take my Step 2 CS exam this year ( to get the ECFMG certification before the 7 year time limit is over).

I am planning to do fellowship in neuro-radiology or vascular/interventional radiology after completing the radiology residency here.

My questions are-

1. Do I need to take Step 3 too ( to possibly apply for fellowship in 2016, before the 7 year limit for USMLE score validity period is over? )

2. Do medical schools/hospitals consider foreign graduates with their MD radiology from europe to apply for fellowship programmes in neuro or interventional radiology ?

3. Is it possible to take step 3 during fellowship?

Thank you very much in advance.

I am by no means an expert, but since you're not getting any responses thus far, I'll try to answer...

The first question is: will these fellowships permit me to practice under a training license?

If the answer is no, then you're pretty much out of luck. No state in the U.S. will grant an unrestricted (full) license without having passed all USMLE (or its equivalent) steps as well as having completed at least 1-year of post-graduate medical education (internship) at an ACGME-accredited program. On top of that, seeing that your medical school is undoubtedly not ACGME-accredited, many states will have more onerous requirements for you to be licensed.

It's at least conceivable that the fellowships you've listed might permit you to work under a training license. Both neuroradiology and IR are CAQ fellowships, which - among other things - means that all of a fellow's work must be staffed out (assuming we're talking about a 1-year neuro program here). That's why a training license is at least a possibility. I honestly don't know what the norm is for these fellowships, and there's a good chance that there's variability between programs. In addition, whether a fellowship permits you to take step 3 is entirely up to them. You could always use vacation time.

The next question is: where do you intend to practice?

If you intend to return to Denmark, then whether or not a program will consider you very much depends on how competitive the subspecialty, the program, and you are. Right now, IR is a very popular, but neuro is not so hot. It would help if you were willing to accept an unpaid or benefits-only position.

If you plan on practicing in the U.S., then you need to know that the ABR will not grant certification unless you have completed four years of training at U.S. programs. You can visit their webiste (theabr.org) for more details. Luckily for you, the ABR permits foreign-trained radiologists to complete this requirement by doing 4 years worth of fellowships. This is good for you because it prevents you from having to re-do a 4-year radiology residency, which would largely be redundant and also difficult to obtain. This route brings all sorts of different issues with it, particularly with regard to licensing and job hunting, but you can cross those proverbial bridges if you ever come to them.

I hope that helps.

 

[Taurus]

I am by no means an expert, but since you're not getting any responses thus far, I'll try to answer...

The first question is: will these fellowships permit me to practice under a training license?

If the answer is no, then you're pretty much out of luck. No state in the U.S. will grant an unrestricted (full) license without having passed all USMLE (or its equivalent) steps as well as having completed at least 1-year of post-graduate medical education (internship) at an ACGME-accredited program. On top of that, seeing that your medical school is undoubtedly not ACGME-accredited, many states will have more onerous requirements for you to be licensed.

It's at least conceivable that the fellowships you've listed might permit you to work under a training license. Both neuroradiology and IR are CAQ fellowships, which - among other things - means that all of a fellow's work must be staffed out (assuming we're talking about a 1-year neuro program here). That's why a training license is at least a possibility. I honestly don't know what the norm is for these fellowships, and there's a good chance that there's variability between programs. In addition, whether a fellowship permits you to take step 3 is entirely up to them. You could always use vacation time.

The next question is: where do you intend to practice?

If you intend to return to Denmark, then whether or not a program will consider you very much depends on how competitive the subspecialty, the program, and you are. Right now, IR is a very popular, but neuro is not so hot. It would help if you were willing to accept an unpaid or benefits-only position.

If you plan on practicing in the U.S., then you need to know that the ABR will not grant certification unless you have completed four years of training at U.S. programs. You can visit their webiste (theabr.org) for more details. Luckily for you, the ABR permits foreign-trained radiologists to complete this requirement by doing 4 years worth of fellowships. This is good for you because it prevents you from having to re-do a 4-year radiology residency, which would largely be redundant and also difficult to obtain. This route brings all sorts of different issues with it, particularly with regard to licensing and job hunting, but you can cross those proverbial bridges if you ever come to them.

I hope that helps.

It is my understanding that FMG's can no longer do 4 years of fellowship training in order to sit for the radiology boards. Now you must complete a radiology residency in the US to sit for the boards. Change was made about 2 years ago.

 

[colbgw02]

It is my understanding that FMG's can no longer do 4 years of fellowship training in order to sit for the radiology boards. Now you must complete a radiology residency in the US to sit for the boards. Change was made about 2 years ago.

That's good to know, and - frankly - a welcome change.