Clerkships in US

[santa_claus]

Hey everyone, I am on my first year at UQ. I am planning to do my residency in States. Here are some of the questions I couldn't find an answer for in this forum:
1. Is it too early to start planning my clerkships there? Should I wait until I write Step I? Or should I start contacting people now?
2. A question for those of you who have been there:
i) how hard is it to find a hospital in the States that will let you in for the clerkship?
ii) What hospitals/medical centers in New York state (or anywhere in US, for that matter) are most receptive to overseas students and are most likely to let me do a couple of clerkships with them?
3. A question for UQ students: do you know how many weeks are we allowed to spend rotating overseas? Are we allowed to do any in the 3rd year?

Thanks everyone! You guys rock!

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[Winged Scapula]

Hey everyone, I am on my first year at UQ. I am planning to do my residency in States. Here are some of the questions I couldn't find an answer for in this forum:
1. Is it too early to start planning my clerkships there? Should I wait until I write Step I? Or should I start contacting people now?
2. A question for those of you who have been there:
i) how hard is it to find a hospital in the States that will let you in for the clerkship?
ii) What hospitals/medical centers in New York state (or anywhere in US, for that matter) are most receptive to overseas students and are most likely to let me do a couple of clerkships with them?
3. A question for UQ students: do you know how many weeks are we allowed to spend rotating overseas? Are we allowed to do any in the 3rd year?

Thanks everyone! You guys rock!

You might consider doing a search on this forum for some answers because these questions are legion here.

At any rate, it is not too early to think about clerkships, although in general most of the Aussie schools and most of the US programs will not allow you to come until your final year.

Therefore, I wouldn't start contacting people now, but you should allow yourself a good 6-8 months (maybe longer depending on how reliable and proactive the UQ administrative types are about getting your documentation sent out) before you wish to come to the US for clerkships.

Some programs will require you to have passed Step 1, but many don't care. So the decision about waiting until after Step 1 is really up to you.

I had no trouble finding places in the US which would allow me to come for elective clerkships in surgery. In New York state there is another step which requires you to have a letter approving you to do clerkships there. You will have to check with the state about the current status of the letter and what you need to get it. I didn't rotate at any hospitals in NY but imagine there are some which would be receptive.