Questions from IMG

[dragonstar101]

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Hi folks!

Ok so I have read almost every thread there is on different med students forum, which is available on net regarding Ophthalmology residencies and problems IMGs face in obtaining them. So I know everything from research projects to USMLE scores and the stats of IMGs matching in ophtha programs in USA

I have become interested in ophthalmology after doing observership in this field in my hometown in Pakistan. I am a student of medical college in Pakistan. And I want nothing else in my medicine career except become ophthalmologist 😀 and pretty cool one too

Problem is my own country doesn't have the cutting edge program that ophthalmology should have 🙁 pretty sad stuff!!😳

Anyways what I want to ask is

1). Does anyone have any idea about ophthalmology training program in UK? I have heard that you can't be a consultant if you are IMG even after years of training 😕

2). And any thing about Australian ophthalmology training programs?


I am asking because I want to keep my options wide open. I still have 2 years to prepare myself for rigorous matching for Ophthalmology residencies and I still haven't found any thread regarding other countries training programs

Any help will be appreciated 🙂


P.S. I am not in for ophthalmology for money 😛

 

[ophthope]

I know zero about UK or Australian programs. However, I can tell you that US programs are becoming more and more impossible for IMGs to match into. The US is predicted to have more medical students graduating next year than it will have residency positions in all fields. So when there's not enough training positions for our own, highly indebted new MDs it really doesn't make a lot of sense to go looking for additional people from other countries. It's not fair to people who went to medical school in the US. I expect that there will be few IMGs matching into US programs very soon unless the government decides to increase the money available for training. Medicare pays for much of a resident's salary and during the fiscal cliff talks some of us have even worried that residents would be paid at all next year.


So, I would seriously look at programs in other countries even if you are planning to apply in the US too because you will almost surely have better luck elsewhere.

 

[dragonstar101]

I know zero about UK or Australian programs. However, I can tell you that US programs are becoming more and more impossible for IMGs to match into. The US is predicted to have more medical students graduating next year than it will have residency positions in all fields. So when there's not enough training positions for our own, highly indebted new MDs it really doesn't make a lot of sense to go looking for additional people from other countries. It's not fair to people who went to medical school in the US. I expect that there will be few IMGs matching into US programs very soon unless the government decides to increase the money available for training. Medicare pays for much of a resident's salary and during the fiscal cliff talks some of us have even worried that residents would be paid at all next year.


So, I would seriously look at programs in other countries even if you are planning to apply in the US too because you will almost surely have better luck elsewhere.

Yes I know about US grads and how difficult it is getting to obtain surgery residency in US :/

I hope anyone can tell me more about UK

 

[Medstart108]

Yes I know about US grads and how difficult it is getting to obtain surgery residency in US :/

I hope anyone can tell me more about UK

I'm currently a medical student in the UK, but all i know is that I hear there is a lot of discrimination among IMGs in the UK which makes it difficult for IMGs to ever become a consultant. I don't know if its true, but that might make it difficult.

 

[weegie]

I'm a junior doc in the UK (fellow scot, hello!). Ophthalmology is just one of those specialties that is competitive wherever you go (because it so awesome, naturally).

To apply for ophthalmology in the UK, you apply through one deanery (it is a central application process for the whole country). There are 78 run-through training posts in total (that includes all of England, Scotland, NI, Wales). Interviews are to take place in February for posts beginning in August 2013.

Applicants who haven't been successful in getting a run-through training post may be offered a LAT post: i.e. a year or 2 long, during which you can apply again for the run-through. Training is long: 7 years.
I unfortunately do not know about the status of non-EU passport holders, but the majority of people I know that have applied are non-EU passport holders, and certainly a lot of registrars are "IMG/ FMG".

Here are some links from the Severn Deanery:
Application Process (with a link to Elibility criteria): http://www.severndeanery.nhs.uk/recruitment/vacancies/show/RCOphth/application-process-lib

From what I understand of the process, if you score 7 points of this following table, you should be offered an interview. http://www.severndeanery.nhs.uk/rec.../RCOphth/structured-shortlisting-criteria-lib

I just sat the FRCOphth today, it is a beast of an exam if you do not mingle with optometrists/ are not training as an ophthalmologist (there is a lot of optics and interpreting investigations)!

Good luck, hope this helps and feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I have actually not applied this year... itchy feet, must travel.

 

[dragonstar101]

Ok thanks alot for the info 🙂