Question for PDs

[Faizankhan]

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I would like to know that how do the PDs see the MSPE, grades during the clinical postings and LORs(the ones from their own medical school) of FMGs?

Do you ever call the applicants for interview based on having a great MSPE or great LORs from their home country? Or is it just taken as a formality that the FMG applicant has to fulfill to become eligible for the residency programs?

 

[Blade28]

In general, when IMGs/FMGs apply to residency, their Step 1 score and US letters of recommendation are the most important parts of their application - everything else (including MSPE) is secondary.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Agree with Blade.

Letters from your home country will be virtually worthless as the point of the letters is to assess your ability to be a resident IN THE US, which someone from abroad most likely cannot assess. Therefore, unless the letter writer is someone who has trained in the US and is internationally famous, they are not used to determine whether or not to offer you an interview.

Similarly, the MSPE is an unknown entity to most foreign schools. It, and foreign school grades are also not considered when evaluating applications from FMGs as US faculty have no way to assess the meaning of those grades because they are unfamiliar with the rigor and structure of your education.

Your USMLE Step 1 score and US clinical experience (and letters from US faculty from those rotations) are used most in evaluating your application. Some FMGs applying to programs which have traditionally taken residents from their schools or with a PD who knows your faculty/school will have a better chance.

 

[nsap102]

Agree with the above. However, you may get LoR's from your home country in certain situations. If you're interested in research and applying to a program which has some heavy duty research then an LoR from a researcher in your home country may help. This would be especially true if that person is recognized across the world.