Non-Traditional IMG seeking advice on research

[ElekThron]

Good afternoon Students & Doctors,

I am currently in a situation that is not uncommon for IMGs. I recently finished the second year of medical school, and the research opportunities at my medical school were scarce during the first couple of years and ultimately led nowhere. I am now back in the United States for clinicals and have no research experience.

Here’s how I ended up in this situation: I am a non-traditional student who was on active duty in the U.S. Army while attending undergraduate courses at night. Despite approaching my professors and being willing to conduct research during nighttime, it wasn’t an option at my college.

My undergraduate and medical school grades are stellar, and I plan to maintain this track record throughout the next two years and for the STEP 2 exam. However, I am concerned that my future residency application will be lacking if I do not find research opportunities in the coming year. Given that I am attending a foreign medical school, I am already at a significant disadvantage when it comes to competitive residencies.

I posted this on reddit and got some very useful insights such as attending annual conferences, considering taking a year off to do research, and be persistent with emails when asking for opportunities.

I would greatly appreciate any additional insight, advice, comments, or personal experiences & hopefully your suggestions will serve as guide to other people in the same situation.

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[gyngyn]

You are right. IMG's have an uphill struggle for competitive residencies.
I doubt that conference attendance will have any effect. Persistent emails are not usually well-received...
A productive research year might help if the PI is well known and a strong supporter. This should be done before graduating from medical school. YOG (year of graduation) and IMG are screening criteria for many programs.
Which specialty are you considering?

 

[ElekThron]

You are right. IMG's have an uphill struggle for competitive residencies.
I doubt that conference attendance will have any effect. Persistent emails are not usually well-received...
A productive research year might help if the PI is well known and a strong supporter. This should be done before graduating from medical school. YOG (year of graduation) and IMG are screening criteria for many programs.
Which specialty are you considering?

Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately, Neurosurgery. It has been done from my school and I was unsuccessful in contacting the previous graduates.

To clarify, by persistent emailing I was referring more to following-up, not spamming. I should have worded it better.
As for the conferences, my aim is to get knowledge and hopefully network a little bit. I am not well-connected when it comes to medicine, and from what I heard, that may open some door.

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you for your reply.
Unfortunately, Neurosurgery. It has been done from my school and I was unsuccessful in contacting the previous graduates.

To clarify, by persistent emailing I was referring more to following-up, not spamming. I should have worded it better.
As for the conferences, my aim is to get knowledge and hopefully network a little bit. I am not well-connected when it comes to medicine, and from what I heard, that may open some door.

Unfortunate, indeed.
There is no amount of networking at a conference that is likely to improve your odds.
Without a strong personal connection to a particular program, chances are vanishingly small.
If yours is a well-respected school that exists to serve the nation in which it is located, there is a very small chance that a productive pre-graduation US research year could get a bit of traction.

Only one US IMG matched NS in the 2022 Match. The denominator here does not include those who applied and got no interviews. https://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Charting-Outcomes-IMG-2022_Final.pdf

The most recent publication doesn't paint a much rosier outcome (4): Charting Outcomes™: Characteristics of International Medical Graduates Who Matched to Their Preferred Specialty: 2024 Main Residency Match®

 

[ElekThron]

I became a bit more realistic over the courses of the last two years. With that being said, I will still do whatever I can on my end to hopefully improve my odds.

Should the most likely outcome be the case, I'll know I did everything I could. The gap year though is a bit unlikely due to my age.

 

[gyngyn]

I became a bit more realistic over the courses of the last two years. With that being said, I will still do whatever I can on my end to hopefully improve my odds.

Should the most likely outcome be the case, I'll know I did everything I could. The gap year though is a bit unlikely due to my age.

Let us know how it goes!