Doing a surgical fellowship in the U.S after UK surgical training? Possible?

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Blitz2006

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Ok,

I know I've asked a similar question few weeks back, about coming to the U.S as an attending after UK surgery training.

Now my question is, how about coming over to do a fellowship, and then become attending?

Is this realistic?

I ask this because I am now in a NYC hospital doing an elective and I have personally met a few IMG surgically trained individuals who are now doing fellowship...so obv it is possible..but my question is, how realistic is it?

For example, lets say I do my gen surg training in UK...and then decide to do something like colorectal fellowship, surg onc fellowship, trauma, etc.

Would this be easier than coming straight over as an attending, or is it still just as difficut?

Sorry for hammering away at this topic, but I am applying for residency this year and have to decide (as dramatic as this sounds) potentially the next 40 years of my life...

thanks,

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Ok,

I know I've asked a similar question few weeks back, about coming to the U.S as an attending after UK surgery training.

Now my question is, how about coming over to do a fellowship, and then become attending?

Is this realistic?

I ask this because I am now in a NYC hospital doing an elective and I have personally met a few IMG surgically trained individuals who are now doing fellowship...so obv it is possible..but my question is, how realistic is it?

For example, lets say I do my gen surg training in UK...and then decide to do something like colorectal fellowship, surg onc fellowship, trauma, etc.

Would this be easier than coming straight over as an attending, or is it still just as difficut?

Sorry for hammering away at this topic, but I am applying for residency this year and have to decide (as dramatic as this sounds) potentially the next 40 years of my life...

thanks,


from what I read and understand, there is NO way around a residency if you want to practice as an attending, even if you have done a fellowship in the US and are an attending in your homecountry...

in rare cases you might get a licence to practice in 1 hospital if that institution really want's you there, but this is rare.
 
My institution is affiliated with some big name Institutes that tend to get foreign fellows. They work them like crazy and don't pay them half the time. This in exchange for working with a big name attending. The fellow gets some good experience and goes back to his country. Other than that I am not really sure you can practice in the US afterwards.
Our education costs us too much to open the system to people that went to school for free or almost in the rest of the world....
 
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My institution is affiliated with some big name Institutes that tend to get foreign fellows. They work them like crazy and don't pay them half the time. This in exchange for working with a big name attending. The fellow gets some good experience and goes back to his country. Other than that I am not really sure you can practice in the US afterwards.
Our education costs us too much to open the system to people that went to school for free or almost in the rest of the world....

about 5000? FMGs who become US residents every year would disagree with your last sentence...
maybe in about 10-15 years the US will graduate enough MDs to fill up all residency spots.
 
I have met people who have managed to work in the US after UK training. They spent some time there as a fellow and were kept on by their institution. If a centre wants you, they'll find a way to keep you. I wouldn't bank my future on this though as it's not that common and occurred more frequently in the past when there were less barriers towards integrating foreign trained doctors into the US system.
 
2 stories: One University hospital on East Coast has an unaccredited transplant surgery fellowship program and routinely takes IMGs from different countries. These fellows train for 2-3 yrs and than go back to thier home country. Their pay is same as that of a resident and they usually work on JI visa.

I personally know an IMG who completed his training at his home country and then went to UK for further training. Then he came to US and did unaccredited trauma fellowship and then applied for GS residency and finally got a categorical spot.....So its is possible....you just have to find a spot for yourself.
 
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