Australian MD looking to practice in the US

[heylo10]

Hello all!

I am a first-year Australian medical student hoping to practice in the US in the future. I'd like to do this as some members of my extended family live there. Ideally, with the pathway being as straightforward as possible, although of course I am aware of some of the challenges of being an IMG applying for a residency over there.

I've done some preliminary research about what's required and involved, including taking the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 exams, obtaining the relevant visas and such. I was just wondering if there was anybody here who would be happy to delve into it a little more, act as a mentor or even recommend some resources that would help me answer some of the questions I have about my specific case.

Any help would be much appreciated!

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[Future_Bone_Docta]

What specialty are you trying to match into?

 

[heylo10]

What specialty are you trying to match into?

I'm not sure yet! I know that some specialties are more IMG-friendly than others (eg. family medicine, paediatrics, internal medicine) and honestly I don't think I mind, as of now anyway. I guess the priority is being able to actually get into a residency program.

 

[Wolvvs]

Any chance you're at UQ?

One of the biggest roadblocks to IMGs can be getting US clinical experience and letters of recommendation, and this can be further complicated by administration who aren't familiar with the process even if they do want to help you out. These problems are often worse at smaller/newer schools. The absolute best place for you to get advice would be from someone who went to your school and successfully matched to the US, as they'll be able to give you advice tailored to your school and your situation. Your school admin should be able to help you get in contact with someone who's gone through this before (unless you're like at Macquarie in which case you'll probably have to figure out a bunch of this for yourself unfortunately)

 

[annoyedpsychiatrist]

I'm not sure yet! I know that some specialties are more IMG-friendly than others (eg. family medicine, paediatrics, internal medicine) and honestly I don't think I mind, as of now anyway. I guess the priority is being able to actually get into a residency program.

Hi, im an attending psychiatrist based in the US. I think it is important to get a sense of what specialty you want to do- eventually youll likely do audition rotations, which for IMGs I think can be very important. Im a younger attending so things are a bit different than when I did board exams, but my understanding is step 1 is pass/fail and step 2 is still scored, so if you cant stand out with your scores then standing out with your personality/work ethic/experience may significantly improve your chances. There are some residency programs that are more IMG friendly than others, but its still fairly completive out there for IMGs. Psychiatry is still IMG friendly as well, depending on the program, as well as peds/im/fm. These all offer differences so getting a good sense of the direction you want to go in (which happens throughout med school) would be the first step.

 

[heylo10]

Any chance you're at UQ?

One of the biggest roadblocks to IMGs can be getting US clinical experience and letters of recommendation, and this can be further complicated by administration who aren't familiar with the process even if they do want to help you out. These problems are often worse at smaller/newer schools. The absolute best place for you to get advice would be from someone who went to your school and successfully matched to the US, as they'll be able to give you advice tailored to your school and your situation. Your school admin should be able to help you get in contact with someone who's gone through this before (unless you're like at Macquarie in which case you'll probably have to figure out a bunch of this for yourself unfortunately)

Not at UQ, unfortunately! But thank you for the advice. I think that is probably the best thing to do for now.

Hi, im an attending psychiatrist based in the US. I think it is important to get a sense of what specialty you want to do- eventually youll likely do audition rotations, which for IMGs I think can be very important. Im a younger attending so things are a bit different than when I did board exams, but my understanding is step 1 is pass/fail and step 2 is still scored, so if you cant stand out with your scores then standing out with your personality/work ethic/experience may significantly improve your chances. There are some residency programs that are more IMG friendly than others, but its still fairly completive out there for IMGs. Psychiatry is still IMG friendly as well, depending on the program, as well as peds/im/fm. These all offer differences so getting a good sense of the direction you want to go in (which happens throughout med school) would be the first step.

Thanks for chiming in! You're definitely correct, I think I'm just still at the point where I haven't decided what I like yet. At this stage I am probably just looking at getting started early and having enough information for later down the track when I do decide.