It's no wonder that it's getting harder for IMGs to get into a residency year after year. A study published in the Am J Psychiatry 1997; 154:1608-1609 "Possible Discrimination in Recruitment of Psychiatry Residents?", led the authors to conclude that "Some residency programs in psychiatry are attempting to limit the influx of international medical graduate applicants at the very first level: the request for an application form. The reasons for this practice are not known, but discrimination could be a possible explanation."
Responding to studies that warn of a current or impending physician surplus in the United States, a panel of influential health experts is calling on the government to stop subsidizing medical training for international medical graduates (IMGs) and to impose a freeze on the number of medical schools and the size of their classes. Read the following report Too many Docs or too many IMGs? for details. While there are reports suggesting that limiting foreign doctors is not an answer to doctor surplus. The American College of Physicians recommends the following for fairness and equity of the International medical Graduates in the US.
According to AAMC news press release, of the 7,957 international medical school graduates (non-U.S. IMGs) that participated this year matched at a rate of 31.4 percent, down from 34.5 percent in 1998. The 133 fewer IMG participants in this year s Match over 1997 represents the first drop in six years.
IMGs as PAs:
Its not uncommon these days to see IMGs taking on the career of a Physician Assistant (PA). This area has its
own controversies. Here are two articles that might interest you.
Please use the "IMG Forum" to post your questions or leave your name and e-mail address if you want to contact other IMGs in your area to form study groups. I hope you enjoy your stay here and please e-mail your comments or use the feedback form.
| NRMP Match Results | 1998 | Match results for Independent applicants listed by Personal Identification Number click here. |
| NRMP Unfilled Programs | 1998 | By Specialty click here. |
| USMLE Dates | 1998 | For USMLE Step 1 and 2 dates click here. |
| USMLE Dates | 1998 | For Step 3 info click here. Write to FSMB in the state where you want to appear. |
| NRMP Dates | 1999 | For schedule of dates click here. |
| NRMP Forms | 1999 | To download the various NRMP independent applicant forms click here, includes the Universal application. |
| ERAS | 1998-99 | For list of programs participating in ERAS click here. |
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The first step is to pass USMLE steps 1 & 2 and the ECFMG English
exam / TOEFL and qualify for the standard ECFMG certificate.
Get the test schedules for 1998 here. Read the on-line version of the
1998 edition of USMLE bulletin of information or download it here.
The higher you score the better, at least aim for an 80 percentile since most of the hospitals have a cutoff at 80.
Check out the Medical Study Guide for USMLE step 1. It has excellent material, some of which could be downloaded for later review.
Starting this year CSA is supposed to be introduced. Get the latest information
on CSA here.
Interested IMGs can participate in the Clinical
Skill Assessment Calibration and Validity (CAV) Study.
Participants will be paid a honorarium of $175. A complete design of the study can be found here including the eligibility requirements.
Form for enrolling in the study is available here.
Before you spend an awful lot of money on
these courses, spend a day at the center reviewing their material.
You could even take a diagnostic test. Following are the review courses
that I am aware of.
You can print out a couple of forms needed to get you started with the F-1 visa process here.
Now you are all set to apply to residency programs. It's better to start
early, say in June. Start with your personal statement and curriculum vitae.
Have them both checked by friends and if possible by professionals for
possible errors. A number of books are available with sample personal statements and CVs to help you out.
...the best-selling guide through the process of selecting a medical specialty and obtaining a residency
position... provides invaluable info, such as his Must/Want analysis that helps you to rank residency
program selections.
...a step-by-step process that covers choosing a medical specialty, planning clinical years, selecting programs for application,
interviewing, ranking, Match Day, tips for foreign medical graduates, and recommended reading.
...written by students for students, it is designed to help medical students and foreign medical grads navigate, select, and get into
the right residency program."
...a concise manual providing hundreds of practical tips for students, interns, residents, & postdoctoral
fellows in every specialty...updated to include guidance on careers, finances, relationships, ethical/legal
matters, & much more.
Kaplan: The advantage of kaplan is that they can sponsor you for a student visa (F-1) to the US. For more information on F-1 visa click here.
Order Kenneth V. Iserson's Getting Into a Residency; A Guide for Medical Students Today!
Order Lee T. Miller & Leigh G. Donowitz's
1997-1998 Medical Student's Guide to Successful Residency Matching Today!
Order Tao Le, et al First Aid for the Match : Insider Advice from Students and Residency Directors Today!
A few links to help you write a resume.
How to write a masterpiece of a resume click here
Rules of the resume game click here
Guide to resume writing click here
Resume proof reading check list click here
Order James W. Tysinger & Cathy McLeod's Resumes and Personal Statements for Health Professionals Today!
Get program information from on-line Green book (The Graduate Medical Education Directory).
To order a copy of the Graduate Medical Education Directory Click here
Order Allan D. Peterkin's Staying human during residency Today!
Get all the information about NRMP here.
| Specialty | Matching Program | Month of Match Day |
| Dermatology | NRMP 2450 N Street NW, Suite 201 Washington, DC 20037-1141 Tel: (202) 828-0566 |
October after Graduation |
| Neurology | Neurology Matching Program P O Box 7999 San Francisco, CA 94120 Tel: (415)-923-3907 |
January of senior year |
| Neurosurgery | Neurosurgery Matching Program P O Box 7999 San Francisco, CA 94120 Tel: (415)-923-3907 |
January of senior year |
| Ophthalmology | Ophthalmology Matching Program P O Box 7999 San Francisco, CA 94120 Tel: (415)-923-3907 |
January of senior year |
| Otolaryngology | Otolaryngology Matching Program P O Box 7999 San Francisco, CA 94120 Tel: (415)-923-3907 |
January of senior year |
| Urology | AUA Residency Matching Program 6900 Fannin, Suite 546 Houston, TX 77030 Tel: (713)-665-7500 |
Late January of senior year |
Students and graduates of foreign medical schools should contact ECFMG for application information on using ERAS by sending an inquiry to
For on-line help on using ERAS click here.
For information for IMGs using ERAS click here.
Internal Medicine Embraces ERAS for 1999. To Obtain an ERAS application kit for Residency programs starting in 1999 click here.
Please Note: Payment of the $75 non-refundable ECFMG Application Fee must accompany this request. The application kit will not be
mailed until your payment is received at ECFMG.
This fee covers the costs of acting as the designated Dean's Office and of
processing and transmitting documents to the ERAS Post Office, where they are available to all residency programs selected by
the applicant.
The ERAS application fee would be as below:
The AAMC ERAS application fee of $60 covers the registration and it includes the first 10 programs.
Beyond 10 programs the schedule is:
ECFMG/ERAS Program,
P.O. Box 13467,
Philadelphia, PA 19101-3467,
U.S.A.
fax: (215) 387-9963.
If you are planning on applying to, say a 100 Internal Medicine programs, It would cost you ~$2415 + the uncertainty of the match!!!
Use the money converter to calculate the amount in your currency. Please keep in mind
the day-to-day fluctuations of the dollar.
Money ConverterSURPRISED!!!
You have to be an US citizen or a permanent resident (Green Card) to qualify for the loan.
For more information about the MedAchiever Loan and to apply by phone, call the Key Education Resource Line at 1-800-KEY-LEND Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Eastern Time.
Allow sufficient time to prepare for the interviews. If you do not have the hospital
brochure, access the information from FREIDA here. Read what others have to say
about their interviews and get some feedback here.
Keep yourself updated with latest HMO news and read a glossary of HMO terms
here. Read about the changes taking place in managed care or just read a
managed care hand book.
Read about medical ethics here,
Do you know the approved guidelines for patholysis (medically-assisted suicide)?
Here is the chronological list of patients whom Dr. Kevorkian has helped to die. This is a similar list
based on official autopsy reports and death certificates.
Click here for definitions on advance directives and to view sample forms.
What are Advance Directives?
"Advance directive" is a general term that refers to oral and written instructions about future
medical care, in the event that a person becomes unable to speak for himself/herself. Each state regulates the use of
advance directives differently. There are two types of advance directives: a living will and a medical power
of attorney.
Click here for a list of interview questions.
| Airline | Regions Mainly Covered | Telephone Number |
| Alaska Airlines | West Coast | (800)-426-0333 |
| America West | Southwest | (800)-235-9292 |
| Frontier | Denver, West Coast, and Midwest | (800)-432-1359 |
| Midway | Midwest and East Coast | (800)-446-4392 |
| Midwest Express | Midwest | (800)-452-2022 |
| Reno Air | Nevada and West Coast | (800)-736-6247 |
| Southwest Airlines | West Coast, Midwest, South | (800)-I-FLY-SWA |
| Tower Air | Coast-to-Coast | (800)-221-2500 |
| United Shuttle | Both Coasts | (800)-SHUTTLE |
| Amtrack | "All Board" travel program, 3 stops within 45-day period | (800)-USA-RAIL |
| Metro North | For NY metropolitan area and Connecticut | (800)-638-7646 |
| Hotel Reservations Network | (800)-964-6835 |
| Quickbook | (800)-789-9887 |
| Room Exchange | (800)-846-7000 |
| Budgets Inns | (800)-4-BUDGET |
| Clubhouse Inns | (800)-CLUB-INN |
| Comfort Inns | (800)-4-CHOICE |
| Country Lodging | (800)-456-4000 |
| Courtyard Marriott | (800)-321-2211 |
| Days-Inns | (800)-325-2525 |
| Econo Lodge | (800)-4-CHOICE |
| Fairfield Inn | (800)-228-2800 |
| Friendship Inns | (800)-4-CHOICE |
| Hampton Inn | (800)-HAMPTON |
| HoJo Inn | (800)-654-2000 |
| Holiday Inn Express | (800)-HOLIDAY |
| La Quinta | (800)-531-5900 |
| Motel 6 | (505)-891-6161 |
| Comfort Inns | (800)-4-CHOICE |
| Ramada Ltd | (800)-2-RAMADA |
| Red Roof Inns | (800)-THE-ROOF |
| Super8 | (800)-800-8000 |
| Travelodge | (800)-255-3050 |
The last hurdle in your journey towards a residency
is the visa. Basically, IMGs have the option of either J-1 or H-1B visa. H-1B requires the successful
completion of USMLE step 3.
Some useful visa links,
Check this Jigsaw puzzle out.
Thank you for visiting my web site. I hope you found
it useful and informative. Please e-mail your questions or suggestions to
further improve this site.
Immigration News Get the latest news on immigration with almost
Visa Forms by mail
Statement of No Objection for J-1 Waivers.
J-1 Waivers for Physicians Yet another page explaining the procedure for getting a J-1 waiver
Drug Database Use this database to access the drug information resources on
PharmInfoNet and elsewhere on the Internet.ER Watch A searchable database of real emergency room cases from 100 US hospitals using the latest government data.Mental Health On line dictionary.
OrthoSearch: First search engine dedicated to Orthopedic Surgery.
Search CME Search page
Upcoming Medical Meetings Search
IMG Caucus of American Medical Association
IMG Facts Statistics about IMGs in the US
Sharmila's Home Page
"A website to encourage physicians & health care consumers in getting the maximum medical
information (& the latest) from the internet
in the shortest possible time".Percent distribution of MDs by specialty in the US.
Median net income of MDs in the US.
Academic Emergency Medicine Clinical pearls
Acid-Base Balance
A tutorialBasic Dermatology
An introductionCancer Links
ONCOLINK A University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center Resource
CancerNet™ National Cancer Institute's-CancerNet™ information is reviewed regularly by oncology experts and is based on the latest research
Virtual Trials Clinical Trials & Noteworthy Treatements for Brain Tumors-This web site is a project of the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research & Information. It supplies information on the treatments available for brain tumors
Childhood Immunization Schedule
Recommended childhood immunization schedule, US, January-December 1998Communicable Diseases
Epidemiologic Fact SheetCyberounds: Free to use but you have to register.
Emergency Medicine ECG Quiz
From The Canberra Hospital Department of Emergency MedicineInteractive Testing in Psychiatry:
Get CME credit.Jon Morrow's Ob/Gyn Toolbox
Interactive Patient Homepage
"The Interactive Patient" at Marshall University School of Medicine is a truly unique Interactive World Wide Web Program that allows the user to simulate an actual patient encounter.Leading Causes of Death
Deaths and death rates for the 10 leading causes of death in specified age groups: United States, preliminary 1995Monitoring the Cardiovascular System
MedicineNet
: An alphabetical index of Diseases & Treatments and Drugs.
Medical Interviewing Skills:
Some might find it helpful following the implementation of CSAMedscape: Free to use but you have to register.
Med Rounds Medrounds is a compilation of interactive medical cases submitted by physicians from around the world. Feel free to browse around the cases below and submit your responses. You do not need a password to read the cases or to respond to the
discussion.
MedStudents: It has clinical cases and a section 'make your diagnosis'
Mental Disorders Symptoms And Treatment:
Choose the appropriate topic for which you would like a listing of symptoms or general treatment guidelines.Normal and abnormal Heart Sounds.
Prenatal Diagnosis
Obstetric ultrasound and pre-natal diagnosisProof Medical Evaluation Software
Pathology 703 slides
Respiratory Sounds: You could either listen or download these sounds.
S2S Med Student-2-Student: a site dedicated for medical and
premedical students. This is your forum where you can meet to exchange information and advice - to help each other meet the many challenges of a medical education.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
1998 Guidelines for treatmentThe Anti-Epileptic Drug Page
Properties of Anti-Epileptic MedicationTraumatic Brain Injury Resource Guide
Trauma Moulage
A moulage is a practice scenario, where you have a patient to assess and manage appropriately. These moulages are the first on the internet and more are planned for the future.WebDoctor
WebDoctor is a comprehensive index of Internet medical resources
that provides physicians with a virtual library of up-to-date,
peer-reviewed professional medical information. Designed by
physicians - for physicians...Has excellent cases characterised by specialty/disease.
List Name: Residency
Description: "Discussion of residency issues state wide"
To subscribe send e-mail to: listproc@u.washington.edu
With the following line in the body of the message: subscribe residency FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME
List Name: Aamsnet
Description: "Asian American Medical Students"
To subscribe send e-mail to: listproc@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
With the following line in the body of the message: subscribe residency FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME
List Name: UWRES
Description: "UW Residency Program Alumni"
To subscribe send e-mail to: listproc@u.washington.edu
With the following line in the body of the message: subscribe residency FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME
List Name: UC-Residents
Description: "UC residents discuss health care, residency and UCAIR"
To subscribe send e-mail to: majordomo@igc.apc.org
With the following line in the body of the message: subscribe residency FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME
Dr Martin Balzan, Astonix project
Volume1 and Volume2 EKG, is a tutorial
for medical students. An
educational program aimed at
clinical year medical students,
junior doctors and nurses and
paramedics in cardiology and
emergency services.
Astonix
project volume 1 ECG tutor File Size
2 MB, Win 95
Astonix
project Volume 2 ECG tutor File Size 2 MB, Win 95
Ectwin, is an Electro-Convulsive Therapy tutorial for windows by Dr. Carl Littlejohns.
The above 5 volumes are an excellent presentation of Radiology cases in Pediatric
Emergency Medicine by Dr. Loren G. Yamamoto.
The OB Calulator was developed by York Winston, MD. It was written primarily for health care professionals, but
it can be used by anyone. Visit Dr. York Winston's home page hereObCalc
File Size 125KB
Sample English Questions
File Size 1.57MB
Universal Application
BAC Calculator this is just for FUN.
Titanic!!
Greeting Cards Send a card to anyone, over 200 occasions
Requires a java enabled browser.
Finally some Lessons from Geese
Countdown to the next century!!
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Get your own Free Home PageLast updated August/05/1998, 15:50GMT
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