Question from a member

[pr.usmle]

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Dear Anasazi23,
I am in a kind of tight spot. I am a physician from india currently at the Johns Hopkins School of public health for an MPH with a conc in mental health.
I intended to apply to psych residencied this yr for july 2007. My scores are
step 1 :90
step 2: 76 (here is where the problem begins)
CS : passed
ECFMG: Certified

I am wondering whether i should hang around at Hopkins , getting observerships and research opportunities for a yr and apply for the 2008 match or since i have my scores in hand apply this yr itself...

I was wondering if i should get oriented to psychiatry to a greater extent as i have done only 1 month rotation in med school...

I also feel( correct me if i am wrong) that i should be very aware of the quality of programs that are available.. as an IMG, i am quite disoriented wrt the bettre colleges and the ones which are not..
I have no US clinical experience. Since my coursework at hopkins is heavy, i am finding it tough to manage studying for step 3.
I don't have areason to hurry.. should i wait or go for it..
Please guide me..


Pramit

 

[Anasazi23]

Pramit,

I moved your post from the FAQ sticky, as it would be better served here, rather than in the other thread, which is primarily reserved for common questions about psychiatry.

You'll probably get differing opinions on this. Your USMLE scores are passing...and that is often good enough. I'm not sure that waiting an additional year would benefit you if you could have gained acceptance to a U.S. residency now. I'm not an expert on FMG training quirks, but I do know that FMGs are better served by having all three USMLE steps passed in a way to show that they are capable of becoming licensed when the time arises.

As far as hanging around psychiatry longer to see how you like it...is entirely up to you. If you have no other interests in medicine, you might as well apply now. I can't tell you which programs are all FMG friendly in the U.S....others on the board would know better than I.

I know the work with which you're involved in is busy, but I'd see if I could at least get a few applications out for the coming season. You'll never know. The MPH itself will help, and will be a plus. You'll be done with the MPH this year? If so, it will be good for the application.

Good luck.