timeline for FMGs

[treasure_island]

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Hello everyone,

my sister graduated from medschool in germany and after she gets her greencard in a few months she wants to come here.

now i'm not sure but this is what i have found out so far: you must apply for residencies in september, and before that you should have taken steps 1, 2cs and ck. if this is correct, how much time should be allotted for studying for these exams? do they have to take them in the given order? she's gonna start studying once she comes to the US (around this summer) so for her, it's best to apply to programs september 2007, right? also, when is the best time to gain clinical experience at US hospital and how hard is it to get a spot for that experience? after, before, or while studying for those exams?

i'm not in the medical field, so i don't really know much about the process, so excuse my lack of knowledge

 

[FlindersGrad]

Your sister would start applying for jobs in Sept., but the actual job would start July 2007. She does not have to have all the exams taken before applying, and she does not have to take them in order.

HOWEVER, she would generally need a step 1 score before applying. If she is not going to start studying until this summer she is going to be in for a miserable summer. The exams require a significant effort, and as an FMG she needs to perform really well if she wants a good job.

As an FMG, she would probably need 2-3 months of hard study before taking step 1. The same goes for step 2 CK. If she has not already signed up for step 2 CS, she may be out of luck completely. You must register very early to sit this exam, as dates fill quickly. Also, all of her results (for all tests)need to be back in time for the match.

 

[f_w]

'applying in september' means having the entire application in the computer system by september 1st. Getting the stuff there is a bit cumbersome, particularly for an FMG.

If you sis hasn't done any of the USMLE steps yet, I think trying for this year might be cutting it quite close. Both of the inital 2 steps require significant preparation. step2cs on the other hand has often long waiting times for registration.

With a green-card, she is in a position so much better than most other FMGs. She is able to accept any kind of employment and is not limited to graduate medical education programs. She might consider to get herself a research job somewhere here in the US which would give her enough time to study for the USMLEs while paying the bills. As a foreign graduate, she has to really excel on these exams if she wants a shot at interesting residency positions. It is a good idea to put A LOT of time into step1 and 2ck of the 4 exam series. Residency program directors are simple minded people. In FMGs, they often don't look past the scores, so in order to make this initial cut it is necessary to be markedlly above average.

This wouldn't mean that she would have to idle 2 years outside of the medical sector. There are allways positions for basic training (internship/prelimnary year) that open up during the year outside of the match. It can be an option to remain in the field while waiting for the match to come around (for one of the more competitive specialties).

 

[treasure_island]

'applying in september' means having the entire application in the computer system by september 1st. Getting the stuff there is a bit cumbersome, particularly for an FMG.

If you sis hasn't done any of the USMLE steps yet, I think trying for this year might be cutting it quite close. Both of the inital 2 steps require significant preparation. step2cs on the other hand has often long waiting times for registration.

With a green-card, she is in a position so much better than most other FMGs. She is able to accept any kind of employment and is not limited to graduate medical education programs. She might consider to get herself a research job somewhere here in the US which would give her enough time to study for the USMLEs while paying the bills. As a foreign graduate, she has to really excel on these exams if she wants a shot at interesting residency positions. It is a good idea to put A LOT of time into step1 and 2ck of the 4 exam series. Residency program directors are simple minded people. In FMGs, they often don't look past the scores, so in order to make this initial cut it is necessary to be markedlly above average.

This wouldn't mean that she would have to idle 2 years outside of the medical sector. There are allways positions for basic training (internship/prelimnary year) that open up during the year outside of the match. It can be an option to remain in the field while waiting for the match to come around (for one of the more competitive specialties).

thanks for the replies!
ya, she's gonna apply in september 07, which gives her a year to get the stuff in. what's the waiting time for step 2 cs?

is it better to get research experience or hospital work experience, or both, while studying for the exams?

i didn't know about the positions for basic training that open up in case u don't get matched. that gives a second chance for everyone (she's gonna do internal medicine, and then cardiology).

and also: is there a site that shows which states are hardest to get matched to for a given specialty?

thank you!

 

[f_w]

> ya, she's gonna apply in september 07, which gives her a year to get
> the stuff in.

She wants to aim for a competitive subspecialty of IM, so she wants to get into a good IM program. Having outstanding scores is key. She will compete with other people around the world who have the same dream and in fact take up to a year to get their scores.

> what's the waiting time for step 2 cs?

Well, there is no real waiting time. It just takes a couple of weeks to get the scheduling permit. And then, there are often scheduling crunches around the more popular times like august when everyone needs to get it done before interview season (or march/april for people to start their residency).

> is it better to get research experience or hospital work experience,
> or both, while studying for the exams?

In my humble opinion research is more valuable.

> i didn't know about the positions for basic training that open up in case
> u don't get matched. that gives a second chance for everyone
> (she's gonna do internal medicine, and then cardiology).

She will match in IM (everyone with a pulse and an ECFMG certificate does) 😉

> and also: is there a site that shows which states are hardest to
> get matched to for a given specialty?

Here is the basic lay of the land:
- west coast: very very hard for FMGs
- florida: plenty of FMGs
- northeast: NY, NJ, PA, MA train 50% of FMGs
- old midwest OH, MI: decent chances
- rest of midwest: more difficult

Bottom line: If her english skills are good, coming from germany, with above average scores AND HAVING A GREEN-CARD she will match in IM in a good university based program.