The ONLY reason why you should FOREGO your dream of US residency training

In a previous blog, I discussed five reasons why aninternational medical graduate (IMG) should seriously consider pursuingpostgraduate medical education in US. But what might be absolute contraindication(s) i.e. are there some reasons one should totally give up the thoughts of US residency training?

After a lot of thought and search, I could find just one potential problem: Having a cause for the state medical board to not authorize you to practice medicine would be this sole reason.

So having a criminal history, being involved in litigation or a medical malpractice case, irregular behavior on the exams, history of drug or alcohol use jeopardizing your ability to practice, being dismissed or withdraw(n) from medical school, medical school not being in the world directory of medical schools, multiple attempts at USMLE (maximum 3 attempts for my state of VT https://www.fsmb.org/step-3/state-licensure/) are serious red flags.

Here is another blog post with more details. 

Any information pertinent to the above needs to be revealed to residency programs (in ERAS) when you apply and to the state medical licensing bodies. If you have any of these red flags, you really need to weigh whether it is worth applying to a US residency training. 

Psychiatric or physical disability is something that you cannot be discriminated against and need to provide the information to residency programs and the medical boards. 

Other factors below are not insurmountable: 

1.  1. Specialty choice: maybe you were an orthopedic surgeon, ophthalmologist or neurosurgeon in your home country and looking to be one in the US. If you choose to pursue a competitive specialty (as in my previous blog post), you would just need to be prepared to go through a long steep road with many bumps and have the resilience and patience to ‘stay the course’. You would really need to strengthen your portfolio through research, publications, networking. I personally know two general surgeon IMGs who after trying for a few years to get into general surgery, then chose to pursue internal medicine residency and move on with their lives. This might work for some and not for some - you need to decide.

2.   2. Need for visas: yes this does make it onerous to get interviews and match, but again you need to buff up your portfolio as best as you can through research, clinical observerships etc. Some get lucky to marry and have a spouse with US citizenship that opens a lot of doors for their careers.

3.      

4.   3. Low score on USMLE or a second attempt: What are your chances of getting into a US residency? Again, this is not an absolute contraindication. Some just are not good exam takers and still do very well. 

So that’s it – I would love to hear your thoughts and comments. Join the mailing list and check out www.ed4medus.com to learn more about personalized services to help you get into a US medical residency program.

Before you go: Here's your golden opportunity to have your voice heard. Write down your ONE question regarding your US residency program application, personal statement, interviews or anything that has been bothering you and keeping you up at night. You can reply at the end of this blog or post a message at my Facebook page.

The top 10 popular questions will be featured on my next blog posts at https://ed4medllc.blogspot.com/ and the winners will receive a coupon each for a FREE practice interview at Ed4medus.com ! Put those thinking caps on and hurry up!

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