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Hey everyone, I’m a European IMG and I haven’t taken my USMLE Steps yet, so I don’t have any scores to share at the moment.
I’m currently considering anesthesiology, EM, and PM&R, with anesthesiology being my clear #1 choice right now.
I’m trying to figure out how realistic each option is for a non-US IMG. Given how competitive anesthesiology has become, is it still realistic to match into anesthesiology without doing a postdoc/research fellowship after medical school, assuming I can build a strong application with a good Step 2 score, U.S. clinical experience, strong letters, etc.?
I’m also wondering whether EM or PM&R can realistically be used as backup specialties for someone in my position, or whether they are competitive enough that I should consider something like IM/FM as an additional safety net.
As far as specialty fit goes, I really like anesthesiology because of the combination of physiology, procedures, acute care, and the lifestyle. EM also interests me because of the acute-care aspect, procedures, and the use of fast-acting medications, so it seems to have some overlap with what attracts me to anesthesia.
PM&R is interesting to me for different reasons. I really like the lifestyle, the procedural side, and especially the possibility of eventually pursuing something like pain medicine.
For those who have experience with these specialties or have gone through the Match as a non-US IMG, how would you approach this? Which of these would you consider realistic targets, and would you recommend having IM/FM as a true backup?
I’m currently considering anesthesiology, EM, and PM&R, with anesthesiology being my clear #1 choice right now.
I’m trying to figure out how realistic each option is for a non-US IMG. Given how competitive anesthesiology has become, is it still realistic to match into anesthesiology without doing a postdoc/research fellowship after medical school, assuming I can build a strong application with a good Step 2 score, U.S. clinical experience, strong letters, etc.?
I’m also wondering whether EM or PM&R can realistically be used as backup specialties for someone in my position, or whether they are competitive enough that I should consider something like IM/FM as an additional safety net.
As far as specialty fit goes, I really like anesthesiology because of the combination of physiology, procedures, acute care, and the lifestyle. EM also interests me because of the acute-care aspect, procedures, and the use of fast-acting medications, so it seems to have some overlap with what attracts me to anesthesia.
PM&R is interesting to me for different reasons. I really like the lifestyle, the procedural side, and especially the possibility of eventually pursuing something like pain medicine.
For those who have experience with these specialties or have gone through the Match as a non-US IMG, how would you approach this? Which of these would you consider realistic targets, and would you recommend having IM/FM as a true backup?
