Thread: Q regarding UK rotations and US residency

Hi all

went to the clinical fair in the histo lab today. was a bit disappointed about baltimore not being there.

here is my question. i have read a lot of stuff pertaining to UK rotations by AUC students. can anyone give me the lo-down of how that affects a person when he/she tries to get a residency in the USA? i have heard contradictory things about how the residency directors in the USA give a lot more preference to AUC students (i.e. American citizens who have gone thru AUC) who have done their cores (possibly all their rotations) in the USA. I have been told also about how recommendations from the UK towards residency in the USA, are not given as much weight as recommendations from USA rotations.

Can anyone give insight on what the status is currently?

thank you.

nobody asked if I wanted to come down and represent Baltimore.....

UK clinicals are all considered "Green Book". I have never seen any evidence that PDs give less creedance to UK clinicals. The only people I hear say that are basic science students....

Originally Posted by teratos

The only people I hear say that are basic science students....

Not true. George, please stop misleading these poor people and spreading disinformation at the behest of the school, no matter how much money they are giving you for it! We have seen exceptions in this very forum!

Now, for the truth....

We have also seen PRE-basic science students posting about this.

If I disclosed how much money the school pays me, then everyone would know I plan to retire when I'm 35. G

Originally Posted by teratos

I plan to retire when I'm 35. G

In dog years?

Well, this is a bit "controversial" on here so in order to prevent WWIII from breaking loose I will say this.....DISCLAIMER: the statement I'm about to make is a general statement, and of course will not be the same for EVERY single hospital in the US. With that said, I was told personally by a former AUC student who is currently a chief resident who actually deals with choosing candidates, as well as by a physician who works at one of the AUC-affiliated hospitals.....if you are looking to get a more competitive residency, it is in your best interest not to go to the UK for these reasons:
- First, coming from a Caribbean school, you already have one strike against you when it comes to finding residencies so you need to work twice as hard to "prove" that we are just as capable as the US students. (No, it's not fair, but it's true....)
- You may miss out on making important connections (obvious reasons)
- Some residency programs may look down upon doing clinicals outside of the US because different procedures are not the same in the US vs the UK. Also, the names of medications are different. Thus, you have to "re-learn" SOME of the information you've learned in the UK in order to prepare for USMLE Step 2 as well as for work in the US.... Thus, SOME programs don't like that.

Therefore, going to the UK MAY hurt you, but staying in the US CAN'T hurt you so if you are looking for a difficult residency it's in your best interest to stay in the US for clinicals. However, if you are looking for a less competitive residency (internal med, pediatrics, etc., it doesn't really matter....as long as you do fairly well in clinicals/USLME you shouldn't have a problem finding a residency)

how do you know? You are one of the basic science students I was talking about. You aren't going to have to "re-learn" anything. Medicine is medicine. Some of the drug names are a little different, but that is no big deal. Have you even taken step 2?

So, do your cores in the UK and do electives in the US. Problem solved. Where on earth do you get your information? G

Originally Posted by StudentAUC.

Well, this is a bit "controversial" on here so in order to prevent WWIII from breaking loose I will say this.....DISCLAIMER: the statement I'm about to make is a general statement, and of course will not be the same for EVERY single hospital in the US. With that said, I was told personally by a former AUC student who is currently a chief resident who actually deals with choosing candidates, as well as by a physician who works at one of the AUC-affiliated hospitals.....if you are looking to get a more competitive residency, it is in your best interest not to go to the UK for these reasons:
- First, coming from a Caribbean school, you already have one strike against you when it comes to finding residencies so you need to work twice as hard to "prove" that we are just as capable as the US students. (No, it's not fair, but it's true....)
- You may miss out on making important connections (obvious reasons)
- Some residency programs may look down upon doing clinicals outside of the US because different procedures are not the same in the US vs the UK. Also, the names of medications are different. Thus, you have to "re-learn" SOME of the information you've learned in the UK in order to prepare for USMLE Step 2 as well as for work in the US.... Thus, SOME programs don't like that.

Therefore, going to the UK MAY hurt you, but staying in the US CAN'T hurt you so if you are looking for a difficult residency it's in your best interest to stay in the US for clinicals. However, if you are looking for a less competitive residency (internal med, pediatrics, etc., it doesn't really matter....as long as you do fairly well in clinicals/USLME you shouldn't have a problem finding a residency)

well, you make these claims, based on what seems logical to you. however, you offer no evidence that what you say is true. in fact, your stance is contradicted by the many, many grads in practice that did exceedingly well coming from uk rotations.

third year cores mean squat when residency time comes. you do not make connections. you simply try to learn something and not look stupid. a few well planned rotations in the states after you know something in the specialty that you desire can do just as much for your application.

Originally Posted by StudentAUC.

Well, this is a bit "controversial" on here so in order to prevent WWIII from breaking loose I will say this.....DISCLAIMER: the statement I'm about to make is a general statement, and of course will not be the same for EVERY single hospital in the US. With that said, I was told personally by a former AUC student who is currently a chief resident who actually deals with choosing candidates, as well as by a physician who works at one of the AUC-affiliated hospitals.....if you are looking to get a more competitive residency, it is in your best interest not to go to the UK for these reasons:

For those who were wondering where I got my info...it's right there in the post. These are the people who are actually in charge of choosing candidates so I think their information is very reliable. Again, as I have said many times, this does not apply to those who are looking for the lesser competitive residencies, and moreover it does not apply to every single hospital in the US...but it is a legitamate factor to take into consideration.

Originally Posted by teratos

how do you know? You are one of the basic science students I was talking about. You aren't going to have to "re-learn" anything. Medicine is medicine. Some of the drug names are a little different, but that is no big deal. Have you even taken step 2?

So, do your cores in the UK and do electives in the US. Problem solved. Where on earth do you get your information? G

yes, the medications and from what dr. model was saying, maybe a few testing procedures etc are different, but no major differences....that wasn't the main focus of my post ...I agree it's not a big deal, but take into consideration what I wrote in it's entirety and you'll see my point.