Please help!!!!!

[Jappy]

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Hello everyone,
I am a medical student in Europe, currently in my last year. My graduation is in June 2006. I am planning to do the USMLE step 2 and then step 1 after my graduation. I have a few questions concerning the residency program in US.

1. Do you need to have some research done before applying for residency? How long do you need to do it? Is it important?

2.How much should I score in Step 1 and 2 to have a chance to get into a residency program? I heard I should score better than the US medical students to have a chance.

3. In order to apply for residency, should I choose a speciality first? I really don't know how this works. I thought you will do general rotations and later decide on specialities. Can someone tell me where I can read about the residency programs?

4. Which speciality is less competitive? I'm asking this because I am foreign medical student. Which specialities are the most competitive? Just to know.

Thank you all so much. I hope someone will reply.

 

[trouta]

1. Do you need to have some research done before applying for residency? How long do you need to do it? Is it important?

No, research is not mandatory when it comes to applying for residency. In fact many if not most US applicants have very little research. That being said, it may help you secure a spot if you have some research.

2.How much should I score in Step 1 and 2 to have a chance to get into a residency program? I heard I should score better than the US medical students to have a chance.

This all depends on the specialty you choose. More competitive specialties typically require a higher score to match into. For this reason it is hard to predict. Given that you are an IMG, scoring high (better than many US students) will certainly help you match.

3. In order to apply for residency, should I choose a speciality first? I really don't know how this works. I thought you will do general rotations and later decide on specialities. Can someone tell me where I can read about the residency programs?

Yes you need to pick a specialty when you apply, though you can apply to multiple specialties if you want to but this requires more work. FREIDA has info about individual programs. If you want just general residency and match info there are lots of books out there.

4. Which speciality is less competitive? I'm asking this because I am foreign medical student. Which specialities are the most competitive? Just to know.

Typically the primary care specialties are less competitive (peds, IM, family med) but every specialty is competitive at the best places. Radiology, Derm, Rad Onc, Ophtho and some others are the most competitive.

Hope this helps.