Info from Residency PDs FINALLY POSTED!! It's quite long...

[Andrew21]

Okay, I wrote to all the programs in psych, neuro, Ob/Gyn, and gen surg programs in IN, IL, FL, and NY. I had about a 20% response rate. Here is what I sent them:

Hello!
My name is Andrew Smith, and I am preparing to enter medical
school. I graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Psychology lastAugust, and I will be attending the American Univeristy of the Caribbean or St. George's University this fall. As such, I will graduate as an IMG. I am very interested in OB/GYN, and I am curious to know if your program generally approves of IMGs. I appreciate your getting back to me. This is a big decision for me, and your feedback will be most appreciated. Thank you very much for your time.



The list that I have made does not include phone numbers, addresses, or names. It is 7 pages long in MS Word. I hope that some of you find it useful or at least interesting. Thanks

NEW YORK GENERAL SURGERY PROGRAMS
1. North Shore University Hospital/NYU School of Medicine
Hi Andrew - Yes, we do take in IMG's and currently among our 63 residents
approx. 20 are IMG's. As a matter of fact, I think we have at least 2 who
come from St. George's.Just as a word of advice, DO VERY, VERY WELL ON YOUR USMLE SCORES. Ourcriteria is 200>, but this year we saw a lot of applicants with scores of250, 260 and one person had a 270! So, it is very competitive.Also, if you are not a permanent resident of the US or a US citizen, I
suggest you take your Step3 when appropriate. You will need it to apply for
an H1 visa.Good luck in school and perhaps we'll see you someday for an interview?!
Take care.

2. New York Presbyterian
We normally do take FMG's, we currently have a graduate from St. Georges in our program, categorical. We always look for the best medical students. Good Luck.

3. Brookdale
Of Course...study hard and do well in the USMLE!

4. SUNY Buffalo
All General Surgery programs will prefer American medical school
graduates over FMG's. With that said, many programs will also
consider American citizens from off-shore medical schools. As far as
UB is concerned, we consider American citizens from off-shore schools
because we have had students who have been excellent residents in our
program over the last 4-5 years.

Hope this helps

5. Bronx Lebanon
We accept IMG. Presently we have 75% IMG in our program.

6. New York Medical College (Sound Shore) program
Dear Mr. Smith:
Thank you for your interest in our program. Our program accepts both AMGs and
IMGs. Also you may be interested to know that our program director, Dr. Herz, is a
faculty member of St. George's University. We do have SGU students completing
their Surgery, Medicine and Pediatric clerkships here.
Best of luck to you!

7. Harlem
thank you for your interest in our general surgery resident program. We do
accept foreign medical graduates and we sponsor J-1 and H1B visas.

7. Downstate
Yes

FLORIDA GENERAL SURGERY PROGRAMS
1. Orlando Regional Health System
As you know residency is very competitive. Some programs have criteria that do not include consideration to IMG's or DO's. It has been my experience that most IMG's have a difficult time securing a match to a residency program in their 4th year. Many people feel that with such a tremendous pool to draw upon from US Medical Schools that there is little need to recruit anyone from an International School. Most IMG's start as a preliminary resident where they find a position in the "scramble". This is a one year position and you would have to re-enter the match for the next year. Having said all of this, who knows how things will be when you are ready for residency in 5 years. If you are able to attend an LCME school, you should do so.

2. USF
We have IMG's in our program and I must say that applicants are selected
based on many factors. Being a foreign medical graduate is not against you
if you have a good academic record. I would suggest to you that research
and publications are an important factor as well as good board scores and
good grades in surgery clerkships. Extracurricular activities, volunteer
work, etc. are also good things to have on your CV.
Best wishes in your career!

3. Mount Sinai Medical Center
Hi Andrew: I've been the Surgery Coordinator for 6 years and this is what I've learned. Although half of our program is comprised of IMG's, most of them are inpreliminary spots. The few categorical IMG's we have were prelims. when we unexpectedly had an opening in the categorical slot and they moved up. It will be considerably more difficult to get a spot as an IMG, but not impossible. Be sure to make helpful contacts during your med. schooling for good letters of recommendation. Try to do some rotations in the States as well. I hope this helps you a bit. I wish you good luck

ILLINOIS GENERAL SURGERY RESIDENCIES
1. University of Chicago
Andrew,
We consider all applicants equally.

2. RESHealthCare
We do consider IMGs. We also look for strong letters of recommendation, USMLE scores of 200 or greater, and we prefer our applicants to be in their last year of medical school, or no more than 2 years out.

3. Advocate Health
If at all possible, the optimal choice for a medical school would be either an allopathic or osteopathic medical school in the United States.


NEW YORK OB/GYN PROGRAMS
1. Staten Island University Hospital
We do have IMGs in our program. Several of our residents are graduates of
St. George's and Ross. We don't have anyone from the American Univ. of the
Caribbean.

2. Lenox Hill
Yes we do accept IMG's into our residency program. Also as I am unaware of
your citizenship status, I will inform you that Lenox Hill Hospital also
sponsors J-1 Visas. Thank you for your interest in our program

3. North Shore University Hospital
Thank you for your interest in North Shore University Hospital's OB/GYN Residency Program. We do accept International Medical Graduates and have no minimum requirements other than you must have passed Steps 1 and 2 of the USMLE exam, have a medical school transcript, CV, Dean's letter, at least 3 letters of recommendation and a personal statement as to your interest in our program. Unfortunately, this residency program does not sponsor applicants for visas.

4. Buffalo
Of course we accept IMG's we have one or two in our program from St.
George's University at Present. I hope to see you application VIA ERAS in
the future.

5. Rochester General Hospital
Right now, we have 8 IMGs in our residency comlement of 12. We have no
problem interviewing IMGs, nor putting them on our Rank Order List. We
would be pleased to receive your residency application in four years,
should you still want to pursue an Obstetrics and Gynecology residency
at that time. Please let me know if you have any more
questions

6. Mount Sinai (Jamaica)
Thank you for your interest in The Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Jamaica) Program. We do not prescreen. All applicants must apply via ERAS. We do
accept and currently have FMGs. We do not have specific score requirements but do require the basic exams & documents (eg. pass USMLE 1 & 2 prior to
starting the program, pass CSA, current ECFMG Certification, at least 3 letters of recommendation). We only have categorical positions. Having US
experience, research and/or publications are very helpful but not mandatory. We do not have any subspecialty Fellowship Programs.

7. St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center
thanks for the email. Our program does not generally accept or for that matter interview IMGs. However, with the decline of applicants in OB/GYN over the past couple of years, it is impossible to predict whether or not programs such as ours will change their policies. This year's match should be very informative. However, if at all possible, attending an American Medical school will substantially improve your chances for residency.

8. Catholic Health System Sisters Hospital
In recent years we have had many IMG in our program, in fact, a St.
George's University Graduate completed our program in 2000. We wish you
the best.

9. SUNY at Stony Brook
Our Residency Director reviews all the applications but you must apply
through the ERAS computer system. Good luck in medical school

10. Flushing Hospital Medical Center Program
We have IMG's in our program

11. Zucker Hillside Hospital
Our program does accept IMG's. To be honest, we generally find
those coming from St. George's to be better prepared than from other
Caribbean schools. Best of luck.

ILLINOIS OB/GYN RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. University of Illinois at Chicago
Yes, we are IMG friendly. Good luck to you! We have several IMG's in our residency program, including one physician that graduated from a school in the Caribbean. Thank you for your inquiry.

2. Northwestern Memorial Hospital
We do accept IMG's. However, we have only accepted one in the past four
years. I can tell you that one of the things that we look for when taking
international graduates is that they pursue a residency directly after
graduation. We also take into consideration clinical experience in the U.S.

3. Loyola University
am the Education Coordinator for the Dept of OB/GYN at Loyola University. We accept IMG's, but we require a year of clinical experience in the United States for an applicant to be eligible to apply to our program. A good person to get some information from might be one of our residents who graduated as an IMG. He did a year of residency elsewhere, and when we increased the number of residents in our program, he transferred into our program in his second year.

4. Sinai Health System
Andrew, yes we do accept IMG's. Our program is probably 50/50. Good luck to you. OB/GYN is a very exciting field. You get the best of everything....patient continuity, surgery, and there are many options open to you when you graduate from Residency. Good Luck to you! Don't forget to apply to our program after medical school!

5. Mercy-Chicago
We have interviewed IMGs in the past two years and have ranked some of the
better qualified ones. The people who are considered are applicants with
generally good grades and USMLE I and II scores above the 80%. I also
recommend that you have letters of recommendation from OB/Gyn physicians. It
is also mandatory to have passed your ECFMG. We have had to not rank
applicants this year because, although they scored well on their USMLE, they
did not have ECFMG certification, and therefore, could not obtain a license
to practice. Lastly, I strongly recommend that you either do a fifth
pathway, a rotating internship, or an OB/Gyn preliminary year first. This
will serve to get some connections into our field. Often many programs shy
away from IMG applicants because they think that the applicants are
foreigners and will need VISA sponsorship. Many programs do not want to
become involved in that. Having some connection with an ACGME accredited
program will help you to stand out as someone who is a known worker and will
not have VISA problems. Hopefully this helps. Best of luck

6. Rush University
We do have foreign grads in our program

INDIANA OB/GYN RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. IUPUI
Dear Mr. Smith:
Thank you for your interest in the Residency Program at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of OB/GYN. We are strictly an ERAS match program therefore, our interview selection process starts with an ERAS application. Once we receive your complete application from ERAS, our faculty reviews each application on an individual basis and then decides who will be invited for an interview. IMG's are not excluded from our interview process nor from our ranking process that facilitates the match. Each applicant is given careful consideration.

NEW YORK PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. Nassau University Medical Center
Mr Smith, yes our facility approves of IMG's

2. Cabrini Medical Center
Dear Mr. (Dr.) Smith,
We certainly interview and accept IMG's (as does much of the country). Major academic centers generally do not interview IMG's but there are plenty of opportunities for IMG's (but it is competitive). Most importantly, your Step 1 and 2 test scores will be most helpful in getting an interview. Acceptance to a program will depend also on the rest of your application and how you interview.

3. St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center
Attached please find information about our program. With regards to IMG's, we require permanent residency (green card). No visas are sponsored.
4. Stony Brook University
Dear Mr. Smith:
Thank you for your interest in our residency program. We are on ERAS and
we do accept applications from IMGs. Good luck in medical school.

5. Cornell
yes we accept FMG's

6. Brookdale
A large percentage of our program consists of IMG's. Best of luck.

7. Downstate
Yes indeed, we certainly do accept Foreign Medical Graduates. Please visit
our website at www.downstate.edu for more information.

8. NYMC
We do accept IMGs and only accept applications through ERAS.
Additional Program info attached.

9. Maimonides Medical Center
Yes!!! and we are affiliated and seek outSt. Georges grads

10. Rochester
Andrew-- our program reviews all qualified applicants for the interview
process with the graduating medical school being only one factor in our
decision to interview an applicant. Graduating from an international
medcial school would not necessarily prevent you from being considered for
our program. We in fact currently have a couple of residents who graduated
from Carribean medical schools in our training program. I hope this answers
your question. Good luck to you in the future.

11. Flushing Hospital Medical Center
Hello. All of our residents are IMGs, several of whom are outstanding clinicians. I hope you are encouraged

12. St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center
I wish you the best of luck in your medical training. Our program is composed of US and international grads. We welcome everyone to apply.

13. SUNY Presbyterian
Thank you for your interest in our program. For future reference, we like to see 80 and above on the USMLE exams and we like to see US psychiatry experience (at least 3 months clinical or research). We sponsor both H-1 and J-1 visas.

14. Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Our program is highly competitive. In choosing we do try to pick the
best applicants. A top applicant from a top school would stand a better
chance than a top applicant from a lower ranked school. The fact that
you are an IMG is less significant by itself

ILLINOIS PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. Loyola
Hi Andrew: Thank you so much for your interest in our program. Yes, Loyola does take IMGs. About 60% of our program is made up of IMGs. If you email me your address, I will be happy to mail you a packet reviewing our program. Good luck to you in medical school.

2. University of Illinois at Chicago
Being an IMG is not a liability for our program. However, the competition
is high, and to be competitive in our program, you'd need to meet more than
the minimum screening criteria, which are: having done Psychiatry
electives, and participating in psychiatry research during your training,
USMLE scores not less than 80 (mid-80s or higher would be better), and, of
course strong recommendation letters.
In our experience, while there have been graduates of "off-shore schools"
who have met these criteria, the majority tend not to, and hence they end up
not being considered by our program. I hope this helps.

3. Advocate Health
Our program does accept IMGs on condition that they are residents or citizens of the US, since we don't sponsor any visas

4. Rush
Hello,
Currently we do accept IMG's. We have 2 in our program now. Best Wishes

5. Finch
Hello Andrew,
Congratulations on your Medical School acceptance! Our Psychiatry residency
is predominantly foreign medical grads. We do require that they are either
US Citizens or Permanent Residents.

INDIANA PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. IUPUI
yes, we do take IMGs. However, Indiana will not grant a medical license to graduates of some schools, and I believe St. Georges is one of them. Of course this could change by the time you graduate and sometimes, they will review on a case-by-case basis. Please don't hesitate to contact us as you near completion of your degree. Thank you for your interest in our program and good luck in medical school.

FLORIDA PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. University of Florida
We interview on the merit of grades, letters of recommendation and the
interview process.

2. University of Miami
We have many residents that are IMG's. No Problem

NEW YORK NEUROLOGY RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. North Shore University
Congratulations as you move forward with your career. We welcome all qualified candidates into the program. Please forward a completed application through CAS from September - December of this year. We look forward to meeting you.

2. Albany Medical Center
We appreciate your interest in Neurology. Yes, we certainly do take
IMG's. One of our current residents is a graduate of St. George's.
Many of our applicants this year were from either of the schools you
mentioned. Good luck in medical school.

3. Upstate
About half of our residents are IMGs, no problem.

4. Mount Sinai
Thank you for taking an interest in Mount Sinai's Neurology Residency Training Program. If you check out the San Francisco Match for Neurology Programs at www.sfmatch.org you can apply to our program through the Central Application System. (CAS). Check out our website at http://www.mssm.edu/neurology/residency.shtml We will start receiving applications August 1, 2004. Our deadline date is December 15, 2004. In order to apply for a PGY1 position in Internal Medicine you must go through ERAS.

5. Cornell
yes, we do accept img's

6. NYU
NYU School of Medicine's Neurology Residency Training Program enjoys a
continuing tradition of accepting outstanding candidates from all medical
schools.Over the past several years, we have averaged about one IMG per match in our adult program; this year, all of our adult matches were U.S. graduates,
despite our having ranked several IMGs. Our combined psychiatry/neurology
program matched one IMG last year, none this year. Our combined
neurology/diagnostic radiology/neuroradiology program has not yet accepted
an IMG, but IMGs have been finalists over the past few years in this highly
competitive program. I hope this answers your questions.

7. Buffalo
Yes, we do have IMG's all the time
ILLINOIS PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. Southern Illinois University
We absolutely do Andrew. Nearly half of all neurology residency positions are filled with IMGs. We would be happy to consider your application when you finish medical school.Good luck to you!

FLORIDA PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
1. Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic College of Medicine/Mayo School of Graduate Medical
Education is committed to the policy of equal opportunity and affirmative
action in its appointment process. Thank you for your early interest in our institution and much success in your medical school decision

2. University of South Florida
Thank you for your interest in the Neurology Residency Program at the
University of South Florida. We do accept IMG's into our residency program. Many of our current residents and past graduates are IMG's (not to forget to mention that many of our faculty members are IMG's). I do believe we have had a few St. George grad's in our program as well. IMG's are certainly welcome & encouraged to apply. We do have one policy about IMG's, specifically those who are on work visas (which shouldn't apply to you?). The University can only accept J1 work visas. I wish you the best of luck on your endeavors -

3. Miami
Yes, we do interview IMGs

[stephew]

that's great, thanks.

[Miklos]

Great post.

Miklos

[studentMD]

thanks for sharing this information with everyone.. im sure it will help more than a handful out there...

[stephew]

I should note a few responces contain some errors of understanding. First of all you dont "pass" your ECFMG. Its merely the group that give your accredidation as the NBME does US students. Second, both AUC and SGU have no 5th pathway -as they dont need it, clincals being primarily in the US.

Many major academic centers do interview IMGs, but admittedly not as readily.

Also sgu is licensed for all 50 states so the Indiana comment is wrong.

These are little points and certainly you seemd to get very nice and informative responces for most.

Another guy from sgu did neurology at Mt Sinai in NYC.
(he's got a site on the net so do a search for sgusom: dr nilay shah is his name)


WRT psych, my pal who did her residency at med college of virginia is now here at hopkins doing a child psyc fellow ship with in fact a ross grad.

[peacefuljourney]

I appreciate you sharing the responses with us. It must have been a lot of work preparing everything and sending it out. Thanks again. S-

[Magyarorszag69]

Thank you very much for putting together all of this informative material....

[newbieundergrad]

Wow..great post....thank you Andrew21....gives so much hope to all of us that are IMGs or going to be.

[rossgrad2b]

JUst to let you guys know, as a 4th year grad from Ross, I was very fortunate to get over 20 or so interviews this year, about 6 or so university programs. I had a very high gpa and scores above 200....if you work hard at whatever offshore school you go to then you are going to get interviews from places.
I have found that the USIMG have a much easier time, than those with visa issues. I think Ross and St. George's have well established themselves and AUC is on the rise to doing so.

When residency comes you have to be realistic and have a sense for what the trends are for fields. IM, Pysch, FP, OB are not that competitive. Radio, Anesthesia, Ortho...that's another story...hand in there, work hard and you can get one of your top 2 choices in residency

[stephew]

i should add one young man i interviewed a few years ago has had well over 20 inteviews for er this year and needs to cancell some.