RE: Post Aliyah Post-bac / Volunteering / Residency

[jrock805]

Hi all,

I made Aliyah in 2004, served in the IDF (dover zahal), then returned to the states last summer to do my post-bac (so I am currently finishing up my first year). I plan to apply to all 3 Israeli programs next year...

For those of you who have graduated or are currently in an Israeli program:

Do you think my Aliyah status/IDF service will help or hurt?

Is a neurological residency out of the question coming from an Israeli program?

Also, what kinds of volunteering were you into?

I am currently involved in a CCE (clinical volunteer) program at a local hospital, and I will be joining Americorps in the fall as a mentor and volunteering in a lab at my school (Cal State Fullerton) as well.

But basically I am wondering if there are any Israel-oriented volunteer opportunities out there, I have scoured the web and not found any of interest in southern California.

Thanks in advance.

Jeremy
[email protected]

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[punchberry]

Hi all,
Do you think my Aliyah status/IDF service will help or hurt?

I think it depends on the school, and on your career plans. Sackler is looking for students who are:

• interested in living in Israel / have a connection to Israel.
• planning (when they apply) to practice medicine in the US

You should address both of these items in your personal statement, and be prepared to address them again in your interview.

Is a neurological residency out of the question coming from an Israeli program?

Neurology has not been very competitive for the last few years, so I think it is definitely possible. I don't think anybody from Sackler applied this year, so there are no match stats to share. (I could be wrong about this, so you may want to double check.)

Neurosurgery is an extremely competitive specialty, coming out of any school; there are only a handful of spots in the entire US. One Sackler person did apply this year and did not match.

But basically I am wondering if there are any Israel-oriented volunteer opportunities out there, I have scoured the web and not found any of interest in southern California.

I wouldn't worry about this.

 

[jrock805]

Thanks very much for your thoughts.

 

[ariwax]

I matched to neurology from BGU. American residency PD's see all Israeli schools as essentially interchangable, so if you work hard, you can probably get neurology. Of course, competitiveness of the various specialties is cyclical, and neuro is on the upswing right now, but if you want it, chase it.