Thoughts on my situation

[Leforte]

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I'd just let this thread die.

Lamnotme came here worried why programs were not sending IV a few days after his/her application was complete. Now, evidently, Lamnotme is getting several interviews at good places.

Good for you. Seriously.

However, I would think about what everyone has said here, because these are some of the same thoughts that the programs will be thinking - regardless if you like it or think that it is fair. It is just the way that it is.

We all like to have control over our situation - but I'd suggest trying a bit less intently on trying to control things and just let things naturally take their course. Indeed - if we had someone calling a few days after their application was submitted - that would be fine, but repeated calls asking the status of their application (especially since, as you said there could be hundreds of apps) would quickly land that person with a red flag as a potential troublemaker. The residency coordinators (who are preparing your application for review by the MDs) have quite a bit of say on who is nice and who is not so nice - there have been several instances where their input directly placed someone in the do not interview pile.

Regardless - best of luck with the specialty switch.

 

[Iamnotme]

Thank you.

 

[Weinberg Angle]

...

 

[DrT2202]

I very much disagree. I still am very much competitive. Only in your mind would someone who is already in a residency, a competitive one at that, would not be competitive. A red flag is a NEGATIVE thing - failures, being a foreign grad, no rotations, etc and even then you can match into something like this. Having a residency is no such thing. And given that this past week late in the week I was given interviews from some top notch programs, you are dead wrong. Perhaps if I had actual "red flags"you would be right.

As I said to others, if you don't have anything constructive or helpful to say don't say anything.

You can emulate aPD, smurfette or even dragonfly who have posted well thought out, intelligent helpful posts.

So being a foreign grad is a red flag?

 

[Iamnotme]

So being a foreign grad is a red flag?

Yes of course.

 

[DrT2202]

Yes of course.

And what's the logic behind that I'm curious..

 

[Leforte]

It is more of a yellow flag. The reason is that the quality of a medical education varies widely.

In the USA, medical school accreditation assures that a certain standard is met.

Many IMGs consider that if they score high on the USMLE, then this makes them equal when considering residencies, but there are many other factors to consider.
1. Are there any Visa issues
2. Cultural norms - many physicians in other countries have a more paternalistic view than the USA. There are also norms to consider with nursing staff, students, etc that can create a big problem.
3. Language difficulties
4. etc, etc, etc

 

[DrT2202]

It is more of a yellow flag. The reason is that the quality of a medical education varies widely.

In the USA, medical school accreditation assures that a certain standard is met.

Many IMGs consider that if they score high on the USMLE, then this makes them equal when considering residencies, but there are many other factors to consider.
1. Are there any Visa issues
2. Cultural norms - many physicians in other countries have a more paternalistic view than the USA. There are also norms to consider with nursing staff, students, etc that can create a big problem.
3. Language difficulties
4. etc, etc, etc

Excellent points. I'm a foreign graduate, American citizen, excellent command of the language and passed all board exams (no scores for dentistry) but the cultural norms seem to be the biggest obstacle for me and the harder to change specially that nobody teaches it to you when you go directly to post-grad (residency). Common sense helps but really it is different when I was practicing abroad. Staff and patients really respect and appreciate your knowledge as a doctor to the point of non questioning and a lot of trust.

It's great that there is a standard of care in the US and the highest level of medicine and dentistry is taught and practiced in this country that's why licensure and board certification is very competitive for foreign grads.

 

[dingyibvs]

Does anyone else find it hilariously ironic that in the process of trying to prove why being a specialty-jumper is not a red flag, the OP ends up proving the exact opposite? While many have genuine reasons for switching specialties, there surely is a higher percentage who have issues that go deeper than that, as the OP is demonstrating time and again on multiple levels in this thread.

 

[AspiringOne]

To OP,

You are smart to switch out of radiology. The radiology job market seems to be crashing, based on my snooping of the radiology forum.

If you go to any of the subforums (except for Dermatology), you will see threads fearing for the future of the specialty. People rarely come to forum to say everything is excellent.

 

[Buzz Me]

If you go to any of the subforums (except for Dermatology), you will see threads fearing for the future of the specialty. People rarely come to forum to say everything is excellent.

People have been telling me that CT Surg is a "dying field" for the last 15 years.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Excellent points. I'm a foreign graduate, American citizen, excellent command of the language and passed all board exams (no scores for dentistry) but the cultural norms seem to be the biggest obstacle for me and the harder to change specially that nobody teaches it to you when you go directly to post-grad (residency). Common sense helps but really it is different when I was practicing abroad. Staff and patients really respect and appreciate your knowledge as a doctor to the point of non questioning and a lot of trust.

It's great that there is a standard of care in the US and the highest level of medicine and dentistry is taught and practiced in this country that's why licensure and board certification is very competitive for foreign grads.

You should consider adding this post to your other thread where this is being discussed. It's the most insightful and concise summary of your situation I've seen you write.

 

[norwood]

1. Are there any Visa issues
2. Cultural norms - many physicians in other countries have a more paternalistic view than the USA. There are also norms to consider with nursing staff, students, etc that can create a big problem.
3. Language difficulties
4. etc, etc, etc

Visa issues are especially important, because they can add thousands in legal bills if the hospital has to hire an immigration attorney. They can also result in the hospital suddenly losing a doc if things fall apart with the visa - I've seen it happen. Guy was great, got along with everyone, patients did well, and one day he just said: I won't be here next month, guys, they didn't renew my visa.

Apart from these, you have:

- Additional training required in everything from drug names (most trade names and some generics are different overseas) to charting to team structure - to say nothing of liability, which is a whole different world here compared to just about anywhere else
- Questions about what is the equivalent of what in training, and whether there will be gaps in the training compared to US grads
- Questions about how a school would fit in with US ranking. Unless you're at an A-list foreign school (think Oxford or Cambridge) or in the Caribbean (which is what it is...), it's at best questionable whether program directors have heard of your school. Your school may be the Harvard of its country. But if they don't know that, it's going to do pretty limited good...