Residency in the US as a european citizen (Sweden)

[Fojos]

Hi!

I will start my medical studies this year, and eventually I have plans to possibly go for my internship and residency in the US after finishing the base program in my own country.

Now, a few questions:

1. I'm soon 29 years old and will finish the program when I'm close to 35, how much of a negative effect does this have on the matching?
2. I understand many different merits are good, both good recommendations from doctors in the US (clinical experience as well) and research (and more). How important are these if you have USLME scores of 250+?

My areas of interest are psychiatry, neurology, ophthalmology and dermatology.

Thanks,
F

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[gyngyn]

Here are the latest outcomes for international medical grads in the US Match: http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2018-IMGs.pdf

 

[Fojos]

Here are the latest outcomes for international medical grads in the US Match

Thank you. What I still don't find is how much age matters in the US during matching, if it matters at all up to reasonable limits.

 

[sunshinefl]

Thank you. What I still don't find is how much age matters in the US during matching, if it matters at all up to reasonable limits.

I doubt it. We have a lot of nontraditional medical students who enter at older ages. I really think age isn’t an issue for you. Especially compared to the other issues of your citizenship, medical school country, and lack of US clinical experience. Unless of course one of those factors changes.

 

[Fojos]

I doubt it. We have a lot of nontraditional medical students who enter at older ages. I really think age isn’t an issue for you. Especially compared to the other issues of your citizenship, medical school country, and lack of US clinical experience. Unless of course one of those factors changes.

We have agreements with Iowa and Johns Hopkins. Of course it's not a lot (4-8 weeks during summer I believe), but I imagine a good recommendation, or several, would help.

 

[sunshinefl]

We have agreements with Iowa and Johns Hopkins. Of course it's not a lot (4-8 weeks during summer I believe), but I imagine a good recommendation would help.

Any US experience and recommendations you can get will always help. Just know you are fighting in uphill battle, and make sure you are okay with potentially practicing in Sweden before you undertake 6 years of medical school.

 

[Fojos]

Any US experience and recommendations you can get will always help. Just know you are fighting in uphill battle, and make sure you are okay with potentially practicing in Sweden before you undertake 6 years of medical school.

Definitely. I'm mostly looking at possibilities. There are definitely upsides and downsides to both options (a downside in Sweden being that it takes on average 8-9 years after medical school to become a specialist).

 

[Sir Gillies]

Depending on the the specialty you choose you will have greater chance to succeed. In other words, psychiatry will be MUCH more feasible than dermatology based on the competition.

The best advice I would give you since you are starting you med school (and you have 6 years to tailor your CV) is:
1. spend as many vacations as possible doing observerships or research in the US - make sure to work directly with a PD or chair of department who is well known and very influential in the field you want to get into
2. build a personal relationship with these people - hence my advice to stay in touch for 6 years... you LOR will be much stronger and they will be more inclined to vouch for you and make calls for you
3. do sub-Is or externships if you can
4. be prepared to spend at least 1 year doing research if aiming for a competitive specialty
5. do well on your steps
6. do well during med school
7. publish and present a lot and try to win lots of prizes - large programs love research! The weight of research on applications varies on specialty

Hope this helps

 

[Fojos]

Depending on the the specialty you choose you will have greater chance to succeed. In other words, psychiatry will be MUCH more feasible than dermatology based on the competition.

The best advice I would give you since you are starting you med school (and you have 6 years to tailor your CV) is:
1. spend as many vacations as possible doing observerships or research in the US - make sure to work directly with a PD or chair of department who is well known and very influential in the field you want to get into
2. build a personal relationship with these people - hence my advice to stay in touch for 6 years... you LOR will be much stronger and they will be more inclined to vouch for you and make calls for you
3. do sub-Is or externships if you can
4. be prepared to spend at least 1 year doing research if aiming for a competitive specialty
5. do well on your steps
6. do well during med school
7. publish and present a lot and try to win lots of prizes - large programs love research! The weight of research on applications varies on specialty

Hope this helps

Thank you!

 

[Skip Intro]

Fojos,

You also need to consider your immigration status. Unless you are married to a U.S. citizen, it may be an issue getting a visa. You will need a J-1 or H-1(b) visa. These are not that easy to get and require sponsorship from the host institution.

-Skip