Somebody please give me a definite answer,or close to it.

[Jackofalltrades18]

Hello people,i've searched through threads and couldn't quite find answers to my queries.I'm an IMG from India and am of indian origin,though born and brought up in South Africa.I would like to see myself handling emergency treatments and delivering primary medical care in the future.I have only 2 fields in mind:Emergency medicine and family medicine.I donot want to narrow my practice into one specific area,i want to indulge myself in working with a broad spectrum of medical specialities and maybe if i find my interest inclining towards a direction,i'll follow it later after i'm done with either of the ones i wish to pursue. My step 1 score is 292,step 2 i will be taking soon.
Looking at the N.R.M.P. match status i noticed that the least no. Of non-u.s. imgs accepted into residency among non-surgical fields(proportion-wise)are in emergency medicine,which worries me.My question is
-Why the least proportion in EM? Is it because of less no. Of Non-U.S. IMGs applying,or a less no. Accepted?
-If i have to better my chances,what will i need to do to present a more pleasing application other than the 2 clerkships i have signed up for?Is it preferable to have a research work published in some renowned journal(i don't understand what kind of peculiar research one can indulge in relating to EM)
-Say i don't get accepted into EM and do get accepted into Family Medicine,are there jobs in outpatient clinics where i can render primary care and don't need to necessarily follow up on the patient,kind of like primary care in the ER?
-i've read that a good no. Of family physicians work in ERs.To what extent is that true?(the difference in income doesn't matter to me much).
Any guidance and suggestions are largely appreciated.

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[SansaStarkMD]

292 wow

 

[deleted497653]

it's hard for imgs to match EM---or any specialty for that matter. Answer is kinda long and has been discussed before.....
However, don't give up on your dreams....
You can't practice in the US without at least an intern year and step 3. Also has been discussed before...

 

[alpinism]

Why would you want to leave SA if your ultimate goal is emergency medicine?

You have some of the best EM programs in the world in your home country.

The sad truth is that EM doesn't really exist in the US anymore.

It's 90% primary care with very few actual emergencies.

 

[Angry Birds]

292 wow

Haha he's full of sh**.

 

[AlmostAnMD]

IIRC, the theoretical max score of all step exams is 290

 

[Jackofalltrades18]

Why would you want to leave SA if your ultimate goal is emergency medicine?

You have some of the best EM programs in the world in your home country.

The sad truth is that EM doesn't really exist in the US anymore.

It's 90% primary care with very few actual emergencies.

Thank you for your legit response(seems like the only useful response i've got so far).The indian medical graduate degree is not recognised by the medical council of SA.One has to 1st work in a rural setting for a year ,take an exam,spend 1-3 years minimum working under a specialist,get his/her approval and then is allowed to give the boards to pursue further medical education.Besides,i intend to settle only the U.S. I do not mind delivering primary care for the most part of my career,infact it's a relief that unlike india i wouldn't be restricted to only dealing with emergencies.
Is securing family medicine a lot easier than emergency medicine? I concur that the average score of people get into family med is a lot lesser than EM,almost the least amongst all specialities,but then again there are factors like research papers,LORs etc. I'm assuming those are more vital in applying to EM.Will 2 clerkships(with convincing LORs) added to good mle scores suffice for me to secure residency?Please try to elaborate.

 

[Jackofalltrades18]

IIRC, the theoretical max score of all step exams is 290

You are mistaken.

 

[Mad Jack]

EM is highly competitive right now due to interest from US graduates. Urgent care lets you do FP type care without follow-up, and can be done by EM or FM. Applying to two specialties will make your application weaker in regard to focus (PDs like to see dedication to a field) so be careful in that regard.

 

[Jackofalltrades18]

EM is highly competitive right now due to interest from US graduates. Urgent care lets you do FP type care without follow-up, and can be done by EM or FM. Applying to two specialties will make your application weaker in regard to focus (PDs like to see dedication to a field) so be careful in that regard.

So applying into multiple fields makes an application look un-promising and questions one's dedication to a field? I've read that most family med residents intended to originally pursue other fields(specially int med) and "settled" for family med as their backup.That i think depicts lack of heart in family med,but i assume because family and emergency med overlapp in so many ways it gives a more genuine impression?.

 

[Mad Jack]

So applying into multiple fields makes an application look un-promising and questions one's dedication to a field? I've read that most family med residents intended to originally pursue other fields(specially int med) and "settled" for family med as their backup.That i think depicts lack of heart in family med,but i assume because family and emergency med overlapp in so many ways it gives a more genuine impression?.

It'll still feel like "guy applying EM with FM backup."

 

[Jackofalltrades18]

It'll still feel like "guy applying EM with FM backup."

Thank you for your time.

 

[Mad Jack]

Thank you for your time.

No problem. And that's not saying don't do it- I'd ask in each individual subforum account that- I'm just saying how it will come off

 

[evilbooyaa]

It'll still feel like "guy applying EM with FM backup."

A ton of people do that, and if you don't apply to the same programs for both specialties, neither the EM or the FM program will know at all. You just have to get LoR writers to write separate LoRs for each field, and make sure not to confuse them when you're assigning them.

Best of luck, OP.

 

[Jackofalltrades18]

"if you don't apply to the same programs for both specialties, neither the EM or the FM program will know at all".

That is a key tactic you made me aware of.I still have to get well versed with the whole application system. Thank you.