confused about residencies

[Nasem]

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Why do some people struggle to get a residency?

I'll give you an example, My brother-in-law finished his MD degree back in Baghdad, Iraq in 1988..... When He came to the states, he had to re-enter into one of those international programs (I think it was a 3-year program) and basically re-earned his MD degree. I am not too sure what kind of scores he got in the boards

but..... He STRUGGLED SO MUCH to get into a residency program, he originally wanted IM but never got in, so he resorted to Pediatrics, and here is how he went about doing this, He volunteered to work as a "free-doctor" at one of the local hospitals here in detroit, eventually 1 year later, they gave him a spot in thier residency program...
what was the reason for this?

I'll be applying for DO schools for 2009 cycle and it seems like getting into IM residency is pretty tough, is this the case or am I missing something here?

 

[angel80]

IM is one of the less competitive residency spots to get into (unless you are applying to some of the top programs in the country.) That being said, it is much harder for foreign medical graduates to get a residency spot. Programs give preferences to U.S. grads. For foreign grads, it's different, there are so many foreign grads competing for the same spots. Generally, they have to have very high test scores to get residency spots. U.S. grads with decent grades and test scores shouldn't have any problem getting a residency spot.

 

[Annette]

Another thing working against your brother was that he was more than 2-3 years out of medical school. It doesn't matter that he could have been the best physican in the country, most programs won't even look at IMGs more than a few years out.

 

[Nasem]

so the fact that he was an IMG, hurt his chances a little more, even though he re-obtained his MD degree in the states in 1999.

However, a USA graduate doctor wouldn't typically run into such trouble (considering thier exam scores are around the average and thier medical grades are decent)

that makes a little more sense, thanks guys