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UK Med Student Needing US Residency Advice

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You should try to get US clinical experience before your graduate. You would not be able to do much more than observe afterwards due to malpractice insurance issues. Also, the longer you delay applying after graduation, the more it can hurt you.
 
ThoracicGuy said:
You should try to get US clinical experience before your graduate. You would not be able to do much more than observe afterwards due to malpractice insurance issues. Also, the longer you delay applying after graduation, the more it can hurt you.
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Thanks for your reply! I have a 6 week medical elective in 4th year and will likely do it in a top 10 US uni. Would this be enough? I can arrange a summer placement but since this wouldn't be through school I don't think I could do anything apart from watch. Would you happen to know anything about number of publications/impact factors of journals that people accepted to top programs usually have?
 
uk_med_student said:
Thanks for your reply! I have a 6 week medical elective in 4th year and will likely do it in a top 10 US uni. Would this be enough? I can arrange a summer placement but since this wouldn't be through school I don't think I could do anything apart from watch. Would you happen to know anything about number of publications/impact factors of journals that people accepted to top programs usually have?
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One 6 week elective probably wouldn't be enough. I'd look into 3 months total if possible. It doesn't have to be done at a top 10 university, but I would definitely make sure it's an academic hospital. You would want your letters to be from known people if possible. As far as placements during the summer, if you are still a student, you'd likely still be able to qualify under the malpractice coverages. I would talk to the people involved in these rotations at the specific places you would like to go to in order to know for sure. You want to be able to have some hands-on experience.

As for journal publications, nowadays many applicants have some sort of research component to their application. However, the biggest factor in your application is your Step scores. In order to know what type of places you should look to apply, you need to know what your Step scores are, particularly Step 1. I wouldn't count on applying only to "top programs" and look at potentially a wide range of places. This doesn't mean you would be stuck in a place in the middle of nowhere, but you have a few things against you that make a top program harder to achieve.
 
Take your Step 1. Score 250+
Publish a lot of papers.
Rotate at big programs and obtain strong letters from powerful people.
 
No sure if this is helpful, but the other key factor here is who you know. I cannot overstate the importance of name recognition and charm. Attend the national conference in the US of the specialty you are interested in. Even better, present at one. Get to know other folk interested in what you are. As for advice from people you meet there, get yourself a mentor or friend. They can open doors for you to rotations and experiences in the US, that aren't advertised. Any american experience is good. Especially if they let you be more than an observer.
 
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