IM residency question

[interleukin]

hello everyone
I am an img with a step 1 score of 232/99
i would really like to get into a university based program and not community
is my score good enough for such ivs?

Thank you

[interleukin]

no replies?
any advice please anyone?

[devildoc8404]

Do you have a green card/US passport, or do you need a visa?

Your Step 1 score is nice, and I hope that mine is as good, but a lot of this will hinge on visa requirements, Step 2CK score, and USCE.

[interleukin]

i need visa. no Green card
unfortunately no USCE (yet) and still have not done step 2 ck...

[devildoc8404]

Then I would say that you are off to a good start, but you are only part of the way there. From my understanding, 232/99 may be competitive for mid-range IM university programs and below, but probably won't get you to the top-ranked programs. 2CK will matter a lot, too, of course, as well as USCE and letters. Good luck.

[houmd]

Just as devildoc mentioned, score well on the CK and get as much USCE as possible, especially in the fields in which you are applying. Get LORs from US faculty in the department for which you are applying. Those will be huge for getting you where you want to go

[interleukin]

thanks for ur replies guys...low tier uni programs??
I once read on a site that 230+ will get you into top IM programs, but I guess I was wrong lol
so if i get 240+ on step 2 ck and pass CS on first attempt (besides LoRs and USCE), will that mean I have a good chance at good uni programs? thanks for ur advices..much appreciated..gl to u both

[RussianJoo]

no unfortunately it won't mean that. It sounds like you went to med school in India or some other country which doesn't do it's clinical rotations in the US, you also need a Visa, thus making you an FMG not an IMG (which is someone who's a US citizen but went to the Carib or some other country for med school). Being an FMG will make things a lot tougher for you, you'll need to do well on step2 CK, pass CS and for some places you'll need to do well on Step3 as well and be ECFMG certified. Even then you'll have problems because of Visa issues, many places just don't want to sponsor visas because it costs the program time and money.

Also when did you graduate from medical school? if you're a recent grad i.e. graduated in 2008 or earlier then that's fine if you're an older grad it will make matching for you even harder.

As for US clinical experiences, because you're an FMG you'll only be able to shadow at most places which frankly sucks and doesn't say anything about the person. All you do is observe you can't touch the patient, and I don't think you can talk to the patient. Thus making it very hard for a US attending to write you a good LOR because you don't do anything.

TOP univeristy programs don't typically take FMGs or IMGs, there are exceptions but for FMGs those exceptions usually are that the applicant was a well published or did a lot of research or program director or chairman in their own country.

Mid tier programs are also a reach and you really need to show them some research which you have done.. For most university programs research is a requirement, because that's what they mostly do is research, treating patients is just something they do on the side.

Now low tier university programs will allow you to shadow them, so that you can get to know their program and that they can get to know you. There's a girl from a Polish medical school that has been shadowing the surgeons at my hospital for over 3 months now, I asked her how long she'll be shadowing them for and she told me till they offer her a residency (well I hate to break it to her but chances are they probably won't offer her a residency and she should look somewhere else.)

For FMGs it's kind of expected for them to get at least 230 or more, because they usually take a year or more to study for each USMLE.


What you read about getting a 230+ and you'll be able to match into a top university program is for US medical grads not IMGs or FMGs because those top schools don't even look at your application if you're an FMG or IMG unless there's something very special about it.


Residency programs especially IM programs literally get thousands of applications for around 10 to 20 spots, if they wanted to they could match only those that don't need visas or only those that don't need visas and scored more than 230 on the USMLE.

Also based on the NRMP charting outcomes if I remember correctly only about 30% of FMGs that apply and go through the match actually end up matching.

So the odds are against you. You're off to a good start but you still have a very long way to go so it's very early to tell where you'll match but if I were you I wouldn't set my heart on the top tier university programs because frankly they don't want IMGs/FMGs in their program, that's the harsh truth, but I think it's better to know what to expect and be realistic about this whole thing.

good luck.

[interleukin]

wow thanks alot for that. I really needed a realistic opinion. I prepared for step 1 for 3 months... yes I'm a recent grad...things are tough for imgs yes that's the reality! can't complain I do have research experience but have not published.... GL to u and thanks again!

[rokshana]

For most university programs research is a requirement, because that's what they mostly do is research, treating patients is just something they do on the side.

given our patient volume, i assure you we are not just treating pts "on the side". while we are a research institution, we have people who are dedicated to research only (that is WHY we are a research institution)...as residents, we get maybe 1 research month (as an elective) out of 12, so 11 months of the yr, we are involved in direct pt care...and our attendings are service attendings...meaning that they don't have community practices or outside interests...and while they may be doing some research, the majority of their commitment is to the wards or clinic.