US Clinical Experience for IMGs: Does It Matter What Department?

[Dr. HWS]

Hello everybody,

Hope you all are doing well.
I have a question regarding the US clinical experience (USCE) for IMGs.

I have been accepted to do two-months hands-on rotation in surgery in one of the good university hospitals in the US. However, in the match I am planning to apply for internal medicine residency programs.
My question is: Does it really matter for the PDs in what department I did my USCE?

Anyway, I am still trying to get a spot in an internal medicine department.

Thank you!!

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[Animalcules]

Hello everybody,

Hope you all are doing well.
I have a question regarding the US clinical experience (USCE) for IMGs.

I have been accepted to do two-months hands-on rotation in surgery in one of the good university hospitals in the US. However, in the match I am planning to apply for internal medicine residency programs.
My question is: Does it really matter for the PDs in what department I did my USCE?

Anyway, I am still trying to get a spot in an internal medicine department.

Thank you!!

Yes.

LOR: "He would be a great surgeon. He sutures well, knows how to retract, and quickly placed a consult for AFib with RVR."

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I would say it depends upon the field. If you get a spot that actually gives you clinical experience in the US at a major medical center, that's a really good thing. if you get surgical experience and then apply to IM, and have your letter writers write in their letters that you're applying to IM (so that we don't think you're applying to IM as a backup), many IM programs would consider a good surgical experience with a good evaluation to show that you'd also be fine in IM. The opposite is not true -- surgical programs are almost always looking for surgical experience. A psych experience won't hold much weight in IM, since they are so different. So the surgery experience is def better than nothing.