IMG having gap between study

[Doctortobe1999]

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I'm an international medical student. During quarantine due to the low quality of education, I failed a comprehensive basic sciences exam between my basic sciences and preclinical year with only 3 points. I retook the exam and passed with a good score. However, this semester the school became strict and didn't let me take the remaining courses and I will have a gap in my studies.
I wanted to know what are my chances of getting into a residency program in the U.S. Will this also affect my chances of getting a research position even if I have publication and an international medal in basic sciences?

 

[El-Rami]

There might be some outcomes data for IMGs with gaps in medical education. I know there is data for IMGs (US IMG and non-US IMG) with multiple attempts at Step 1 that shows their overall percentage chance of matching.

It might not be "fatal" for your medical career. But with any red flags, you have to put in a lot of extra effort to secure any residency in the US. An IMG friend of mine had a low USMLE score (but not one that would have prevented them matching into a less competitive residency if they were a US grad) and failed to match this past cycle. It is brutal, and you start out with a roughly 50% chance of matching from the get-go, and that is the best situation (no red flags).

I would estimate anywhere from 10-50% chance of matching, if you were looking for an estimation. Definitely not 0%.