Visiting post-grad to US

[cleverpseudonym]

Hi,

I'm a med student in Ireland, and while I don't intend on seeking a residency in America once I graduate, I would like to take visiting post-graduate studies for a year or two. Does anyone know if American universities/hospitals take visiting post grads (resident level year 2/3) ? I haven't had any luck on the web finding info, I suppose i could go to my careers office but I'd like to do things informally first.

Thanks.

(i know it's clover, but let's pretend it's a shamrock)

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[Scottish Chap]

Hi,

I'm a med student in Ireland, and while I don't intend on seeking a residency in America once I graduate, I would like to take visiting post-graduate studies for a year or two. Does anyone know if American universities/hospitals take visiting post grads (resident level year 2/3) ? I haven't had any luck on the web finding info, I suppose i could go to my careers office but I'd like to do things informally first.

Thanks.

(i know it's clover, but let's pretend it's a shamrock)

I could be wrong, but I think it might be impossible to obtain U.S. hospital privileges unless you have taken Step 1 and 2 of the USMLE. An English friend took them while he was doing research here to give him the option of doing exactly what you suggest (he was half-way through cardiothoracic training in the U.K., and he returned to finish that).

I know of one other guy who was the equivalent of a consultant in peds in India. He came here for a neonatal fellowship with the intention of returning to his home country...but he changed his mind. I don't know if he had taken Step 1 and Step 2 before or after his fellowship, but I do know that he needed to do a three-year peds residency AFTER his U.S. fellowship in order to practice here.

I know several people from the U.K. who completed a year or two of their residency in Australia and that counted toward their British training (MRCP) when they returned. The systems are obviously similar.

Sorry I can't provide a more concrete answer.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Tis generally difficult to do unless you are interested in doing research or a fellowship.

As noted above, to do any clinical work in the US, you generally need to be ECFMG certified. This would of course require that you take the USMLEs and apply for certification.

A research or post-doc fellowship wouldn't necessarily require the certification if you weren't working under the auspices of a residency program and were simply doing non-patient contact work.

It is pretty hard to come in the middle of a residency program and do a year or two. Most US residencies have strict limits on how many residents they can employ per year - therefore, if you were proposing to come over for a year or two for a clinical residency, the program you choose would have to have space for you as well as funding. This would generally require that either a resident has quit, been fired, died or the spot otherwise unfilled. In addition, I could anticipate that most programs would be uninterested in offering you an advanced position without having done prior training in the US - therefore, you might only be offered intern positions which would be a big change from the responsibilities you were used to as an advanced trainee in Ireland.

Finally, coming to the US for fellowship training after completion of your specialty training in ireland (ie, coming for a Hand fellowship after finishing Plastic Surgery training or Pediatric Anesthesiology after finishing Anesthesiology) is pretty common; you might consider doing that and it would be a great deal easier to do.