Thoroughly confused

[jiva20]

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Hi Everyone, i am a 2004 graduate, have 95 in step 1, 87 in Ck, didnt pass my first attempt at CS. Am currently doing residency in my home country, am in my second year. I also have a Green Card. I have always wanted to do Surgery, so i don't feel i can settle for another residency in the U.S.Should i apply for the match programme this year? I would like to finish my residency here, which would mean i would be better off applying next year, for a position in June, 2011. I also feel that spending 5 more years in a residency in the U.S after completing about 4 years here is a step backward. Do FMGs who have completed General Surgery in their Home country stand a chance of Fellowship in the US? Is there another route coz i still feel life is better in US in terms of pay, plus the instability of developing countries? I don't want to end up feeling like i wasted my time in residency here in my home country.. Are Unsuccessful attemts in the match programme counted against one? Should i quit my residency to come do Externship or Research as most posts in this forum recommend?So many questions... Report

[RussianJoo]

if you want get a license to be a physician in the US especially a surgeon you have to complete your residency in the US, then you can apply for a fellowship if you want to. but you can't get licensed without the residency.

[devildoc8404]

Yeah. What RJ said... but to reiterate:

In order to practice in the States, you MUST complete residency here. You can't skip to a fellowship because of surgical residency overseas. If you choose to complete residency at home, and then come to the States, you will be starting from square one. (Well, I have read that there is a chance that a residency may cut off ONE year of the US residency, but that's the most you will get.)

Yep, it'd be a step backward. It's also how things roll in the US. For some foreign physicians, though, they'd make more money as a resident in the States than they would as a board-certified physician in their home country... so while it's a headache it's also not a complete waste.