(international) fork in the road.

[UAGmed]

Before I get to my question I feel like it's vital to point out that I'm a US citizen with dual citizenship, currently in my third year of med school in a Mexican medical school in the national program. I plan to complete my internship and residency in Mexico, because I feel the hospitals have more to offer here in the practical sense (no fear of lawsuits and hands on experience since first semester) and because of the saturation with residency spots, I know my chance to match is low being that I would technically be a foreign doctor.
In the future I would love to open my own clinic in Tijuana and shortly afterwards I would love to go back home (California) and be able to practice and raise my family there.
My question is, what is the process like for revalidation in the states? I know one of the biggest and most time consuming hurdles is the visa process (which I thankfully can skip). My doubt is, once having completed my specialty here, would I have to go through the residency process again? Would it benefit me more to take the usmle as I go along? I'm at a loss on what exactly I should do, because I've had very differing opinions from various doctors. I would appreciate any advice on the subject and an estimated timeline on the process. Thank you!!

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[ciestar]

Yes, you’d have to redo your residency in the US to be fully licensed to practice.

 

[deleted480308]

Before I get to my question I feel like it's vital to point out that I'm a US citizen with dual citizenship, currently in my third year of med school in a Mexican medical school in the national program. I plan to complete my internship and residency in Mexico, because I feel the hospitals have more to offer here in the practical sense (no fear of lawsuits and hands on experience since first semester) and because of the saturation with residency spots, I know my chance to match is low being that I would technically be a foreign doctor.
In the future I would love to open my own clinic in Tijuana and shortly afterwards I would love to go back home (California) and be able to practice and raise my family there.
My question is, what is the process like for revalidation in the states? I know one of the biggest and most time consuming hurdles is the visa process (which I thankfully can skip). My doubt is, once having completed my specialty here, would I have to go through the residency process again? Would it benefit me more to take the usmle as I go along? I'm at a loss on what exactly I should do, because I've had very differing opinions from various doctors. I would appreciate any advice on the subject and an estimated timeline on the process. Thank you!!

If you ever want to practice in the states you should at least try at graduation for a US residency

 

[deleted480308]

Before I get to my question I feel like it's vital to point out that I'm a US citizen with dual citizenship, currently in my third year of med school in a Mexican medical school in the national program. I plan to complete my internship and residency in Mexico, because I feel the hospitals have more to offer here in the practical sense (no fear of lawsuits and hands on experience since first semester) and because of the saturation with residency spots, I know my chance to match is low being that I would technically be a foreign doctor.
In the future I would love to open my own clinic in Tijuana and shortly afterwards I would love to go back home (California) and be able to practice and raise my family there.
My question is, what is the process like for revalidation in the states? I know one of the biggest and most time consuming hurdles is the visa process (which I thankfully can skip). My doubt is, once having completed my specialty here, would I have to go through the residency process again? Would it benefit me more to take the usmle as I go along? I'm at a loss on what exactly I should do, because I've had very differing opinions from various doctors. I would appreciate any advice on the subject and an estimated timeline on the process. Thank you!!

I also need to add that I think you are wrong about mexican residency being better training

 

[UAGmed]

If you ever want to practice in the states you should at least try at graduation for a US residency

How should I go about the process? Being that I'm a third year and I didn't take step 1 after my second year.

 

[deleted480308]

How should I go about the process? Being that I'm a third year and I didn't take step 1 after my second year.

Take step 1

 

[ACSurgeon]

If you ever want to work as a physician in the US, you need to complete a residency here. That requires step 1, step 2 ck and cs. Step 3 would help too, but not required. Once the first two steps are complete, you get ECFMG certified.

Timeline: try to take step exams during medical school and finish them one year before graduating if you don’t want to waste time. Also, try to match into a residency in America immediately after graduation, not some number of years later. It’s getting harder and harder for international graduates (US citizens) to match in the US. The longer you wait, the harder it’s gonna become.

I imagine you can practice in Mexico with a US residency right? Since the reverse isn’t true, it makes most sense to complete residency in the US and do whatever you want afterwards.

 

[UAGmed]

If you ever want to work as a physician in the US, you need to complete a residency here. That requires step 1, step 2 ck and cs. Step 3 would help too, but not required. Once the first two steps are complete, you get ECFMG certified.

Timeline: try to take step exams during medical school and finish them one year before graduating if you don’t want to waste time. Also, try to match into a residency in America immediately after graduation, not some number of years later. It’s getting harder and harder for international graduates (US citizens) to match in the US. The longer you wait, the harder it’s gonna become.

I imagine you can practice in Mexico with a US residency right? Since the reverse isn’t true, it makes most sense to complete residency in the US and do whatever you want afterwards.

Thank you so much!! This response helped me clear up a lot of doubts I had. I'll get started on the first two steps as soon as possible then.

 

[theKingLT]

If you ever want to work as a physician in the US, you need to complete a residency here. That requires step 1, step 2 ck and cs. Step 3 would help too, but not required. Once the first two steps are complete, you get ECFMG certified.

Timeline: try to take step exams during medical school and finish them one year before graduating if you don’t want to waste time. Also, try to match into a residency in America immediately after graduation, not some number of years later. It’s getting harder and harder for international graduates (US citizens) to match in the US. The longer you wait, the harder it’s gonna become.

I imagine you can practice in Mexico with a US residency right? Since the reverse isn’t true, it makes most sense to complete residency in the US and do whatever you want afterwards.

Not to doubt OP's chances or anything but curious. if he were to not match first attempt, would it be better to start residency in mexico and try again in the future or do something like research in the desired field? Which would be more beneficial to adding competitiveness for future match attempts?

 

[ACSurgeon]

Not to doubt OP's chances or anything but curious. if he were to not match first attempt, would it be better to start residency in mexico and try again in the future or do something like research in the desired field? Which would be more beneficial to adding competitiveness for future match attempts?

I’m no expert by any means. I’m sure different specialties have different preferences.

It’s a double edged sword. It becomes harder to match the further you are from clinical experience (and as a graduate, you can’t do clinic rotations in the US, just observerships). From that standpoint, doing a residency in Mexico and reapplying seems appealing. On the other hand, developing US connections via observerships and research is also valuable. So I’m not sure which is better in general. For the OP, since he’s interested in practicing in Mexico, it makes sense to do a residency there if he fails to match in the US. At least he’s be getting closer to being able to work as a physician (in Mexico).

 

[gyngyn]

To support what others have pointed out: year of graduation (YoG) is among the most common filters used by PD's.
Your best chance at practicing in the US is matching by graduation.

 

[UAGmed]

I’m no expert by any means. I’m sure different specialties have different preferences.

It’s a double edged sword. It becomes harder to match the further you are from clinical experience (and as a graduate, you can’t do clinic rotations in the US, just observerships). From that standpoint, doing a residency in Mexico and reapplying seems appealing. On the other hand, developing US connections via observerships and research is also valuable. So I’m not sure which is better in general. For the OP, since he’s interested in practicing in Mexico, it makes sense to do a residency there if he fails to match in the US. At least he’s be getting closer to being able to work as a physician (in Mexico).

I am a *she haha.

But if that's the case, wouldn't it be beneficial for me to complete my one year social service and one year internship while I take the usmle and apply to residencies in the us?

 

[ACSurgeon]

I am a *she haha.

But if that's the case, wouldn't it be beneficial for me to complete my one year social service and one year internship while I take the usmle and apply to residencies in the us?

Yes I think you should

 

[getdown]

I've met numerous people working in allied health field (nurses, EEG techs, etc) who were physicians in their home country but could not/would not bring themselves to redo the entire residency process to actually practice medicine as a physician here in the US. Even then, the few that want to do it have trouble matching and end up spending years doing research etc in order to build enough goodwill and capital that they are accepted into a program. It's not easy.

 

[getdown]

Not to doubt OP's chances or anything but curious. if he were to not match first attempt, would it be better to start residency in mexico and try again in the future or do something like research in the desired field? Which would be more beneficial to adding competitiveness for future match attempts?

With regards to matching here in a US residency, doing residency in Mexico does not help. What you are as an IMG is an unknown product. You are automatically deemed not competitive regardless of your board scores or home country clinical skills. No matter what you do, that IMG tag puts you at the bottom of the pile anywhere you apply that's not IMG friendly. You're job is to prove what kind of product you are and increase your chances of matching. Most IMGs do this by spending years doing research and making connections with the field they want to enter. The more competitive the field you want to enter the harder it is. I know a neurosurgeon from Egypt who was a neurosurgery resident at my training hospital. It took him many years to get into a US neurosurgery residency just to get his ass kicked again as a resident here. That's some dedication. If you want FM/IM/psych then it's likely not going to require too much research but the difficulties remain. You'd have to apply to HUNDREDS of low-tier programs just to scrap maybe a handful of interviews and even then some go through multiple cycles of this.