IMG Friendly Hospitals

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Sounds like an ecxellent question I would also like an answer to.
Although I have posted something similar in the past, there does not seem to be any interest from the people frequenting in this message board to give information in regards to IMGs and ophtho programs... I think it has to do with competition that seems to be unwanted... I cannot fully blame them, but consideing that 8 out of ten US seniors and 1 out of 2 US graduates mathc and 1 out of 3 IMGs only make it (considering that the IMGs that apply for ophtho are approximately 30 per year, that means they take 10 to 12 spots.... out of 438)

That is all the info I know.
D
 
I believe 35 IMG matched last year out of 115 who applied. However you must realize that those 115 must be highly qualified with a lot of them being fully trained ophthalmologists in their home country.
 
I doubt that fully trained ophthalmologists in other vcountries would try to match again.
Additionally according to most people I know it is a advantage to NOT have rpior reidency training...
 
This information is incorrect. MOST IMGs applying to ophtho ARE foreign ophthalmologists. I personally know 2 IMGs who matched in previous years, so my info come from them. Both of these guys were amazing: one was a cheif of ophthalmology service at one of the biggest hospitals in Deli, another is an equivallent of MD/PhD from Europe w/about a thousand publications in ophtho.

I don't think that people aren't answeing your q's because they fear competition from you. I'd guess it's more of a lack of information on IMGs and matching in ophtho; there are so few of them, we just don't encounter them as much to have any meaningful info on their stats, etc., etc.

Hope this helps.
 
You ara actually telling me that 2 people you know that have finished optho training and have carreers in some other places in the world, are now applying for ophtho RESIDENCY?????
Are you sure you are not talking about Fellowship???

I cannot imagine someone that has been trained for 4-5 years in ophtho and has MD/PhD or 1000 (that is a bit to big a number... what sort of journals are they? Are the pubmed indexed or not?) publications would want to undego basic residency training again.... It just sounds insane.

As for what the programs want ask around... One of the alleged advantages is NOT having prior residency training in aother country. It has been written on this site before....
 
You are very confused, my friend. If someone has finished ophthalmology training in another country, even if they are the best and brightest, they can not practice ophtho (or any other speciality, for that matter) in the United States. There are a few (VERY few) exceptions when licenses to practice ophtho in the US have been issued to INTERNATIONALLY recognized ophthalmologists, but most of the time they are temporary.

If an IMG (ophtho or not) comes to the United States and wants to practice medicine, he/she must pass USMLE Step I, II, III, TOEFL, CSE, apply to residency with the rest of us, pray to G-d that they match, and, if they are lucky, go through entire ophtho training all over again. This is sad, but true.

I hope I cleared up a few things for you. You seemed far off on your re-certification knowledge in your previous posts.
 
J.R. is absolutely right. The majority of foreign applicants who apply for ophtho residency here have already completed ophtho training in their home countries. Most have a lot of experience in the field & have done years of ophtho research at institutions in the U.S.

Why would an MD already trained in the field want to complete residency here all over again? Everyone has different reasons. Some may feel that training here represents the opportunity to learn about surgical techniques & cutting edge advancements that are not readily available in their home countries. However financial considerations probably play a role as well. If you're an ophthalmologist in a third world country, no matter how successful you are, you may make as much as the Starbucks guy who serves you coffee in the morning.

So why not just do a fellowship then? Because at the end of the fellowship, an IMG would have to go back to their country of origin. To practice ophthalmology in America, completing residency training here is a pre-requisite.
 
First off, I never said that an internationally trained ophhtalmologist could practice in the states without additional training.
Secondly everyone I met that is an IMG, did indeed pass all steps and CSA (now step 2 CS), BUT did not go for ophtho residency, but for fellowship

I never mentioned anything about certification or re-certification.

I also never doubted the fact that it is not easy to get certified in the US.
Nevertheless, I am not entirely certain that you need to do everything all over again. Just with the steps (I, II and III) I believe you get a partial license. Additionally I am not surehow but you can also get an unrestricted license once you fill some specific criteria which I am not up to date with, but from what I understand do not necessarely include full ophtho training in the US.

Finally, where I come from, no one has ever abandoned a good career to do residency all over again. Even the studying of the steps is a huge burden once you have been out of med school for more the 4 years...

Finally, no one will address the matter of people in this message board stating that it is an advantage not having prior residency training in an other country in order to match...

It was in an faq regarding what IMGs should do to match in ophtho.
 
demspawn said:
First off, I never said that an internationally trained ophhtalmologist could practice in the states without additional training.
Secondly everyone I met that is an IMG, did indeed pass all steps and CSA (now step 2 CS), BUT did not go for ophtho residency, but for fellowship

I never mentioned anything about certification or re-certification.

I also never doubted the fact that it is not easy to get certified in the US.
Nevertheless, I am not entirely certain that you need to do everything all over again. Just with the steps (I, II and III) I believe you get a partial license. Additionally I am not surehow but you can also get an unrestricted license once you fill some specific criteria which I am not up to date with, but from what I understand do not necessarely include full ophtho training in the US.

Finally, where I come from, no one has ever abandoned a good career to do residency all over again. Even the studying of the steps is a huge burden once you have been out of med school for more the 4 years...

Finally, no one will address the matter of people in this message board stating that it is an advantage not having prior residency training in an other country in order to match...

It was in an faq regarding what IMGs should do to match in ophtho.
Click to expand...

Most IMGs who don't match for a residency will pursue fellowship training instead. However, to practice as an ophthalmologist in the US will require completion of a residency program. One caveat to this are IMG ophthalmologists who work in an academic institution. If the institution allows them to work, then a US residency is not needed. I'm not sure about the details.

In regards to the FAQ, I wrote this in the FAQ because I've heard that some programs don't like to retrain an ophthalmologist.

Furthermore, the Visa issue is a huge deal because Medicare supports residency training in the US. There are new regulations that determine when Medicare will support certain Visa status but will not fund others. Because each residency position receives about $100K/year from Medicare for training, programs may not be able to afford training an IMG who is not eligible for Medicare funding. Thus, this is why you'll see many programs that do not consider IMG applicants who don't have the proper Visa.
 
First off let me thank everyone for their replies, whether there is agreement or not in information.
Secondly let me remind you that there is also US citizens IMGs which obviously do not need Visas... If I remember correctly from the ERAS data, approximately 40% of IMGs are actually US citizens.
IMGs are usually grouped under non-US citizens and US-citizens.
Therefore I am not sure that it is totally fair to exclude an IMG without checking all his credentials 1st.
 
after going thru the posts and interacting with people it seems that its almost impossible for an IMG with no prior training in ophthalmology to get into a residency . Would you say that someone with a year or two of research and but no prior training would have a chance ?

Are permanent residents also considered US IMG 's ?
 
I do not know what permanent residents are.
Nevertheles if you are an IMG you have to make up for that by doing something in the field you want to specialize.

I know for certain thet they take IMGs without rpior ophtho training...
Simply because I know people that they have done it.
I also can tell you the you have to make up for being an IMG by having a better CV thatn the average US applicant.
That means USMLE scores above average
LORs from US ophthalmologists (or well known international ophthos)
Elecetives and observerships in the US.
And good solid research in the field that interests you.
People calling the programs directors in your behalf and putting a good word will also be a big help.

If you have all that you will get a few interviews... I am certain of it. After that it is up to you to impress them and make them want you...

D.
 
Hey Demspawn, what are "above average" USMLE scores. I see people referring to 250+ scores. How common is that?

Thanks
 
in my opinion 250 is extremely high. not many people get that score.
More accurately about 1.75% of people who take the test score above 250 (based on the mean and SD of the test).

Based on the SFmatch the mean step 1 score for people who mathced to ophtho progs was above 228. (US average is 218 I think and 178 is pass)

Additionally the mean of people that did not match was around 215...

D
 
In the past couple of years, a 250 correlates to about the 92-93 percentile (or the top 7-8% of test-takers) - given a mean around 215 and a s.d. of 21-22.

In regards to the original question, Louisville seems very IMG friendly.
 
that sounds encouraging.

How does one go about trying to get a research position before residency ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Like
Is ophthalmology worth pursuing (US IMG)?
Replies
4
Views
5K
Like
Like
P
Hahnemann University Hospital closure
Replies
2
Views
3K
faysalalghoula
F
L
Ophthalmology residency and transitional/preliminary year application process
Replies
2
Views
5K
LydiaM*
L
B
vitreoretinal fellowship for IMG
Replies
5
Views
3K
backrow
backrow
B
Private Practice vs. Hospital Employee
Replies
4
Views
9K
eyescold
E
Top