Advice / suggestions / opinions / comments would be appreciated

[MindWalker]

I'm at my whit's end.

I'm a US citizen who studied medicine in europe. At the time I was "deluded" and thought that studying in europe would expand my horizons, an educational experience of a lifetime. What a crock! I guess that's for every and any field but medicine.

I've never matched even though my scores are fine and I've passed every step on first attempt.
As a result of not matching repeatedly, I've tried applying for every miserable allied health position you can imagine only to find that my medical degree does not equate with an RN, LPN, PA, Psych tech, Sleep tech, etc etc or any other education when it comes to employment.
Every one of these position requires me to go back to school.. Considering that I can't find a frikking job, how am I supposed to pay for that option?

There's supposed to be a severe shortage of nurses in this country. There're importing boatloads of foreign nurses to be certified and licensed here. You would think that with a medical degree I would be more than capable of functioning as a nurse but no, there is no avenue to retrain an MD to an RN. How can that be?

I've applied to every hospital in NYC for any job including cleaning to no avail.
I've applied to HMO's but every position including reviewing patient files requires either an RN, LPN or PA license.
I've applied and interviewed for many non-medical non-clinical position only to be told that my educational background is not suitable.

If I don't mention medical school or my years as a physician on the resume they say I have no education, when I do then I'm over qualified.

I don't get it. What is someone like me supposed to do? Work at McDonald's? I've applied and never been hired.

I have been beating my head against a wall, sponging off relatives who are all very tired of supporting me and simply cannot understand how a person with my education can't find a job, any job.

Why are there no groups or programs (I've found only 1) to help the majority of US based FMG's who do not match to transition into allied healthcare?
(I did find one program in California but they only accept hispanics targeted at the growing hispanic population in CA.)
Nowhere else do they seem to value FMG's that are not working as physicians.

I guess the next step is welfare cause god knows I've tried and tried and I don't see any hope of my ever finding a job.

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[peppy]

I'm very sorry to hear you are experiencing so much trouble. It's not fair for those who have worked so hard to end up having so much trouble just finding a job in anything.
How long ago did you graduate? When you were applying for residencies, how many programs did you apply to? Were they all in psych or did you also try going for stuff like surgical prelims?
I agree that it would be nice if there was a way to use all the effort we put into learning medicine towards other related medical careers. The closest thing I can think of to that is that there are nursing training programs out there that will offer a "fast track" option to get a nursing degree if you already have a bachelor's degree in a different field. I know that would not be ideal and finding the funds for more schooling might not be easy but maybe as a last resort it might be something to look into.

Another thought - what about trying to get into an organization like the Peace Corps or Teach for America? It looks like Doctors Without Borders requires completion of a residency, but perhaps those other organizations would appreciate someone who has had additional training in medicine even if not licensed or in residency. The experience might help you find future employment later on.
I hope that things get easier for you soon.

 

[PsyDGrrrl]

Is working in Europe an option for you?

 

[redbookfan]

I'm very sorry to hear about your situation...seems so unfair! But be positive....some thing will come out of this...something good. Have u considered NYCOM (New York College of Osteopathic Medicine)'s program for FMGs where they accept a certain number of FMGs per year to train with their regular medical school class each year? Look on their website. Have you considered maybe talking to the directors of admission at both allopathic and osteopathic medicine programs to see if you can go to med school here again? Or better yet, have you tried applying to a variety of programs all over the country and maybe tried talking to the program directors directly to see if they've any insight/advice? If you're interested in nursing or something, maybe take out loans to support yourself and then pay back once you start working? I know this is a tough journey but hang in there and don't lose hope.

 

[notdeadyet]

Weird. Are you ECFMG certified? If you are, and passed your steps, I'm suprised you weren't able to match somewhere in Psychiatry.

How widely did you apply? Which med school in Europe did you attend?

You would think that with a medical degree I would be more than capable of functioning as a nurse but no, there is no avenue to retrain an MD to an RN. How can that be?

I think your case is pretty unique. Not many MDs look to recert as an RN. If you had to go this route, there are one year RN programs. There are some that are free programs that even go as far as taking you to NP.

If you give us some more detail, folks might be able to try to give better help.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, though. Very rough.

 

[whopper]

I don't get it. What is someone like me supposed to do? Work at McDonald's? I've applied and never been hired.

I got a good friend in a similar boat as you. This guy is a very good friend, perhaps the best I've had since my college buddies. His situation has on several occasions make me pause and just feel terrible for him. He is a truly good guy, and one of the few guys in medschool I knew that didn't allow the competition to make him act amoral.

He did residency in a malignant FP program. The PD in that program actually made him take Paxil for ADHD. Yeah I know, breaks several conflict of interest standards, and Paxil doesn't even work for ADHD, so this PD was wrong on that too.

My own program which was a University program had an opening, and I mentioned my friend who wanted out of his program. He had to let his program know about it, and the PD pretty much sabotogued him--which to many in his program they felt was a control issue. The PD picked on my buddy a lot, and now he has an oppurtunity to get into an even better program? The PD accused him of lying on documentation, which he did not, and he had several attendings back him on that.

So he ends up leaving that program, but now he's blackmarked from the experience.

Your own story is a pretty hard one. There are currents in the residency application process that do not allow to give certain people who may deserve a more closer examination that oppurtunity. After all, when you have hundreds to thousands of applicants for only a handful of spots, the programs don't have the time to do such. They also start throwing in factors to filter candidates that really don't truly separate the wheat from the chaff. E.g. take off a year- toss that application out, guy got ejected from a program even though the charge turned out to be bogus--toss that application out as well.

I don't know what I can tell you. I dont' have some magic idea that could get you into a program.

 

[MindWalker]

I got a good friend in a similar boat as you.................................. .

Thanks for unloading.

Let me point out the difference:
At least your friend got into a residency program, I've never been accepted.

At least he's had some internship in the US .
AMG plus some US residency experience makes him an ideal candidate for an HMO job which at this point I would kill anyone to get.

The only similarity is we're both american and attended medical school
he, here - me, over there.

 

[peppy]

Have you looked into joining the military? Even if it didn't lead to a residency spot (I don't know how that works in the military), I would imagine there must be some job within the military that you would be considered for.

 

[benjee]

mindwalker,
sorry to hear your bad situation. Not sure if you try to work as a phlebotomist?? It only needs a certification which does not take much money.Or you may be able to work as a medical assisstant which can help you to stay in the field while reapplying spot next year.
It is the hardest for Us Imgs in match , worse than AMGs and foreign FMGs. This is shown in the stats this year, you can check it out. When you compare the absolute numbers among them, you will see.
The other areas you may be able to improve is your PS, and the numbers of programs you apply( should try as many as possible).Hope this helps. GL

 

[Rena]

In New Mexico you can work as a RN with your MD. You should just take NCLEX which I believe will not be a problem for you.

I guess you were not born in the US. If that's true you probably have a gap after the graduation. You should explain this in your CV.

You didn't give us enough details but there are a lot of similar stories from usmle.net and usmleforum.com. They even organized group against FMGs who "took their spots"....

 

[notdeadyet]

Have you looked into joining the military? Even if it didn't lead to a residency spot (I don't know how that works in the military), I would imagine there must be some job within the military that you would be considered for.

Foreign med school graduates need to have a year of U.S. internship. After that, they can join the military, do a utilization tour, and be eligible for a military residency.

MindWalker- would this be a viable option for you? If you'd be amicable to joining the military for a few years, once you join, the military match is much more egalitarian (MD=DO, etc.) and for psychiatry, it's extremely non-competitive. Have you looked into internship-only in the U.S.?

 

[MindWalker]

notdeadyet

I truly appreciate your efforts, but you seem to be overlooking a vital point, namely that I have NEVER been accepted in a US residency program and therefore I do not have any/ or part of an american internship.

It states quite clearly in my OP that I have NEVER matched.

No match = no residency = no internship = no military match!

 

[notdeadyet]

I truly appreciate your efforts, but you seem to be overlooking a vital point, namely that I have NEVER been accepted in a US residency program and therefore I do not have any/ or part of an american internship.

It states quite clearly in my OP that I have NEVER matched.

No match = no residency = no internship = no military match!

Sorry if I wasn't clear. When I asked "Have you looked into internship-only in the U.S.?", I meant have you applied far and wide to internship programs not necessarily affiliated with a four year psych program.

Would you be willing to go anywhere/do any specialty internship? If you were, even if you did an internship in an area you didn't have a strong interest in one of the least desirable programs in the country, it would make you eligible for a GMO tour in the military. After that, you'd be able to apply to the military match, for any field, which doesn't have the same judging standards as the civilian match. No one will really care where you went to med school or did your internship. It's a series of checkboxes. It's a maddening fact for many, but would be a boon to you.

 

[peppy]

Even if working as a physician in the military isn't an option, my thinking was that a non-physician job in the military would probably offer better pay and opportunities than janitorial or fast food work. It might even be possible to re-train in a different healthcare career through the military.
I had never heard before that New Mexico offers the chance for MDs to work as RNs though. I hope that's a viable option if you don't think you can find any preliminary year programs that would consider you.

 

[BabyPsychDoc]

Sorry to hear about your situation. What medical school did you attend? How long has it been since you qualified as a doctor? Where did you work as a physician? have you tried getting an observership/externship in the US, to get some recent clinical experience in that setting and to get some US LORs? Is it possible that one of your referees black-balled you during the application process? You absolutely do not have to give answers to any of these questions here - just some things to consider, really...

 

[MindWalker]

have you tried getting an observership/externship in the US,
........................ Is it possible that one of your referees black-balled you during the application process?

I have USCE and LORs.

How would one find out if a LOR writer gave a different and unflattering assessment of you than is written in the LOR?
When are they contacted, is it after the interview and before ranking?