IMG MS-IV Needing Advice Re: LORs & Research

[GasAddict]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 4th year medical student (part of a 5 year IMG program) and very interested in pursuing a residency in anesthesia in the US. I haven't taken USMLE (Step 1 or 2) yet as the way our curriculum is setup, we don't finish all our Step-1 subjects until the end of 4th year (namely special path). I am a US citizen, so I would not have any visa issues.

However, I have been working for the last two years, off and on (during my summer and winter breaks) in the anesthesia research lab at a top-tier anesthesia university on the west coast and have been told by my PI (who is an Asst Prof) that as long as my USMLE scores are "not prohibitive" I will have his blessings and support when I apply.

Now my question is, should I continue to keep working in that same lab or should I try to do some research electives elsewhere? I know I will need more than one LOR for ERAS and so far I only have one from the place I've been currently doing research. I will have one from my dean also, but other than that, I don't have much else to show, esp relevant to anesthesia.

I was thinking that maybe I should apply to work in some other labs so that I could have more than one LOR but I'm not sure if its better to work in one place and have an LOR state that I was involved for a 3-4 year period or better to have two that show I was involved for 2 years each. I know research takes time so I don't want interview committees to think that I didn't really achieve any depth in what I did, but I also don't want to only have one letter when applying.

Sorry for the essay, any advice you guys could give would be very much appreciated -- thank you.

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[dhb]

I think programs put more value on a LOR that come from someone who has seen you work in a clinical setting so o would get the PI to hook you up with someone he knows for a rotation so that you can get another perspective.

 

[GasAddict]

thanks for the response dhb. How long of a rotation do you think is long enough? Would 4-6 weeks be enough? I'm not sure if I will be able to be allowed to do a rotation due to malpractice insurance issues with me being an international student, but hopefully my PI will be able to hook something up.

Would it be better to go to a different place or better to just stay at the same place or does it not matter and beggars shouldn't be choosers..

 

[dhb]

i don't really know about the optimal length but the main thing is to get into the OR even if your only supposed to be an "observer" for insurance purposes, once your there people forget and will let you do stuff if you have some experience and show confidence.
Check with your university but mine had me covered with their insurance

 

[GasAddict]

Thanks a lot dhb.


Does anyone else have any suggestions? I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you in advance.