Red Flag or not? IMG - Temporary residency in homecountry

[sun-set]

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Hi,

I am a western European IMG who just graduated last year and I am planning to apply for the 2016 match. My case is that I have a guaranteed residency spot in my home country that I would have to resign if I had to travel for the interviews season.

My question is:
Would it raise a red flag to the PDs if I told them during interview that I had just resigned from a residency spot in my home country just to have the chance of being matched to a residency program in the US?
Or would they even look at it positively? As I am committed to the specialty and I am resigning my safe position to have a chance in the US.

The 2 reasons why I want to do some months of residency in my home country, are because I do not know whether or not I am going to be offered any interviews in the US (which is my first priority) and to earn money to prepare for the interviews, as I am pretty badly-off now (these reasons are the genuine truth). I had thought of getting USCE but the thing is, I have no money to travel and I strongly doubt I could learn more doing observerships than doing an actual residency in my home country.

Thank you in advance,

 

[the argus]

Would it raise a red flag to the PDs if I told them during interview that I had just resigned from a residency spot in my home country just to have the chance of being matched to a residency program in the US?
Or would they even look at it positively? As I am committed to the specialty and I am resigning my safe position to have a chance in the US.

I don't think programs in the US would look at this positively. It would not be good for 2 reasons. 1. it will seem like you don't honor your commitments, and 2. if you put on your application that you are in residency in your home country, PDs in the US are going to want to see a letter from said residency, which potentially is going to be tricky.

The 2 reasons why I want to do some months of residency in my home country, are because I do not know whether or not I am going to be offered any interviews in the US (which is my first priority) and to earn money to prepare for the interviews, as I am pretty badly-off now (these reasons are the genuine truth). I had thought of getting USCE but the thing is, I have no money to travel and I strongly doubt I could learn more doing observerships than doing an actual residency in my home country.

Not having any LORs from US-based physicians is going to be a major disadvantage. This would be the point of doing observerships, not necessarily to "learn more." That said, IMGs definitely match every year without US-based LORs, its just harder. Which country you come from, and prestige of your medical school, will make a huge difference in your competitiveness for US residency positions.

Overall, I would say that if you are going to start your residency in your home country, you should be prepared to finish it and then apply to US residency positions. This sucks because it will effectively double your residency time, but in the grand scheme of things this is not a big deal.

On the flip side, the farther out you are from medical school, the harder it will be to gain a residency position in the US. Many programs have limits on how far out of medical school you can be (usually 3 or 5 years).

It's a tough decision, but I would definitely not doing anything that potentially puts you in bad standing in your home country and home residency program.

 

[Crazycatlady84]

I agree with the above posts!

I was in a similar situation, western European IMG myself, and decided to not start residency in my home country. I would have felt terrible to start a job knowing I wouldn't finish it. Are you done with all your Steps already? If not, it would be hard to study for any remaining step exams (and get a good enough score) while in residency.
Also, you really need USCE and the LORs you get from them. The vast majority of IMGs (whether they match or not) have USCE, many also have Step3 done. The duration and type of USCE can vary, but you need something!

It sucks not having much money to spend, and this whole process is very expensive, but you sort of have to put all eggs in one basket. Whether that's truly worth it depends on if you really want this and if you have a decent shot at US residency (not knowing which speciality you'd be applying for and what your stats are).

 

[norwood]

Question: as much as I like America, I have to say Europe is pretty cool too. Why would you rather come here?

And to echo everyone else, quitting residency partway through is a major red flag.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Agree that quitting partway is a major red flag as stated above. You WILL need USCE and US LoRs to match.

 

[sun-set]

Thank you guys for your opinion, but what if I had the support of the program director and he/she considered the opportunity of going to the USA a very valuable thing for my education and would even help me leave. I know leaving a residency program in the US is a big red flag, but it is actually not that big of a thing here as the system is different.
I am at a crossroads right now and I want to choose the right path that will lead me to the US.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thank you guys for your opinion, but what if I had the support of the program director and he/she considered the opportunity of going to the USA a very valuable thing for my education and would even help me leave. I know leaving a residency program in the US is a big red flag, but it is actually not that big of a thing here as the system is different.

What difference does it make if the PDs in Europe don't think its a big deal to leave if the US PDs do? The latter group's impression is what matters.