My chances to match in residency

[trichomaV]

I am a foreign graduate. I wanted to know if I have a chance of matching. I will be applying to residency next year. I graduated from medical school in 2005. I have been practicing medicine in India for five years. More details are following:
Step 1 84
Step 2 79
Step 3.......have not taken yet.
No research experience. I am planing to get LOR in the US when i get there in next 2-3 months. My wife lives in the US so I will be applying for residency as a permanent resident of US.
I wanted to know what types of specialties I have a chance for.

I was thinking of IM/FP. or my low scores on step exams would make it harder?
Any input would be appreciated.

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[trichomaV]

Please advise 🙁

 

[gutonc]

I am a foreign graduate. I wanted to know if I have a chance of matching. I will be applying to residency next year. I graduated from medical school in 2005. I have been practicing medicine in India for five years. More details are following:
Step 1 84
Step 2 79
Step 3.......have not taken yet.
No research experience. I am planing to get LOR in the US when i get there in next 2-3 months. My wife lives in the US so I will be applying for residency as a permanent resident of US.
I wanted to know what types of specialties I have a chance for.

I was thinking of IM/FP. or my low scores on step exams would make it harder?
Any input would be appreciated.

Your scores are mediocre for a fresh US grad, pretty bad for a foreign grad 5y out from school with no USCE (there are plenty of folks with your experience who have 99/99/99).

If you can really nail Step 3 (like >250) and are willing/able to go anywhere in the US for residency, a low tier IM or FM program may be within your reach. If you are geographically limited, your road will be much more difficult.

 

[Law2Doc]

I am a foreign graduate. I wanted to know if I have a chance of matching. I will be applying to residency next year. I graduated from medical school in 2005. I have been practicing medicine in India for five years. More details are following:
Step 1 84
Step 2 79
Step 3.......have not taken yet.
No research experience. I am planing to get LOR in the US when i get there in next 2-3 months. My wife lives in the US so I will be applying for residency as a permanent resident of US.
I wanted to know what types of specialties I have a chance for.

I was thinking of IM/FP. or my low scores on step exams would make it harder?
Any input would be appreciated.

First, get into the habit of using the 3 digit scores -- that is what is most often used by those of us in the US. Second, I expect most places will want some sort of clinical experience within the US system, from which you will need letters from attendings. Already being a doctor in India speaks well of your knowledge base, but means nothing to fields in terms of how you will interact with US patients. Third, I don't think research is critical for the primary care fields you have listed. Your odds of getting something outside of the least competitive paths is pretty low, so the least geographically competitive spots in fields like FP should be highest on your realistic list. If you hope to do IM in eg Boston, SF, etc don't even bother. Fourth, I agree with the prior poster that your numbers won't make you a shoe in anywhere and so if you are at all geographically limited, you are probably done. Fifth, I would agree doing well on Step 3 is going to be pretty important for you.

 

[ANCAdoc]

I agree with what gutonc and L2D have posted.

Do well on Step 3 and get excellent LORs from US attending physicians. The contacts you are able to make if you can arrange observerships/away rotations (but, you must not simply observe but actively participate in patient care) may well be your best strategy. Agree with L2D to not waste time with research for primary care fields.

 

[trichomaV]

Thank you guys.

 

[dragonfly99]

Agree w/above. You need to see if you can get a higher Step 3 score, and several months of rotating in US hospitals.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I agree with what gutonc and L2D have posted.

Do well on Step 3 and get excellent LORs from US attending physicians. The contacts you are able to make if you can arrange observerships/away rotations (but, you must not simply observe but actively participate in patient care) may well be your best strategy. Agree with L2D to not waste time with research for primary care fields.

As a graduate of medical school, the OP is not eligible for clinical rotations in which he participates in patient care but rather only for observerships. Only students are eligible for clinical rotations.

The OP should also be aware that some programs screen for date of graduation and more than 5 years is a commonly used screen to filter out applicants; thus he should check with programs individually to make sure he isn't wasting his time applying to programs that won't even look at his application. He'll also want to take Step 2 CS as well, as doing well on that will certainly help your application (and is the exam most often failed by FMGs).

 

[karatekid]

I think all above advices/comments are good, BUT does anyone think he stands a chance with his low USMLE scores?
I don't want to discourage you (or anyone else for that matter), but being an FMG myself, I know that your application will first be reviewed for weaknesses. And trust me when I say that previous surgical/medical experience is a weakness rather than a strength in your application, on top of the low USMLE scores. Do your homework, contact programs before hand and present your case, ask what it takes for you to be considered for an interview and prepare yourself for a long journey (and that is even before you even have a residency spot).

 

[Winged Scapula]

I think all above advices/comments are good, BUT does anyone think he stands a chance with his low USMLE scores?
I don't want to discourage you (or anyone else for that matter), but being an FMG myself, I know that your application will first be reviewed for weaknesses. And trust me when I say that previous surgical/medical experience is a weakness rather than a strength in your application, on top of the low USMLE scores. Do your homework, contact programs before hand and present your case, ask what it takes for you to be considered for an interview and prepare yourself for a long journey (and that is even before you even have a residency spot).

This is a good point that is often misunderstood by FMGs. They believe that their experience will strengthen their application when the reality is, in many cases, that it weakens it, as you note. Most PDs and faculty will tell you that retraining someone is difficult and many FMGs have trouble returning to the intern role and accepting the hierarchy, especially in surgical fields where it is especially prevalent.

Do I think the OP has a chance? I don't know - most assuredly he faces an uphill battle with the poor scores, the length of time since graduation and the perception that he may be difficult to retrain. But there are programs out there desparate for a warm body to take call and sometimes all it takes is being in the right place at the right time and some connections.

 

[ANCAdoc]

As a graduate of medical school, the OP is not eligible for clinical rotations in which he participates in patient care but rather only for observerships. Only students are eligible for clinical rotations.

Good point.

If OP attempts this route (getting an observership), it will be important to not be a silent observer, but actively participate during rounds.

I've rounded with "observers" before and the best ones actively discuss management plans, share evidence based medicine, etc. Our system even permits these individuals to write notes, but they do not count for anything, only their practice.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Good point.

If OP attempts this route (getting an observership), it will be important to not be a silent observer, but actively participate during rounds.

I've rounded with "observers" before and the best ones actively discuss management plans, share evidence based medicine, etc. Our system even permits these individuals to write notes, but they do not count for anything, only their practice.

Except in a court of law.

As a graduated physician, even an unlicensed one, they can be held to the standard of a physician. It suprises me that your system would allow an unlicensed physician without malpractice insurance to be writing notes.

Even though they "don't count" you can better be sure that a plaintiff's attorney would see it as a legal part of the medical record and hold that observer to the standard of a physician (after all, they are a physician) and any deviation from SOC or other plans can be used in the discovery process. AAMOF, if I were those observers I would not allow my notes to be placed into a patient's chart for that specific reason.

Perhaps I am paranoid.