Img and fellowships

[NeuroKlitch]

Does the IMG stigma follow u around all the way to fellowships ? Or will I be on somewhat of an equal level playing field after residency if I want to pursue a competitive fellowship in my given specialty . Is step 1 also a big factor in fellowships also ? Thanks


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[It's_A_Service_Wolf]

I think it depends on the specialty. Your school will be important but not as important as your letters of recommendations, publications and passing Step 3.

 

[Medgrad12]

The IMG stigma disappears as soon as you start residency. As a medical graduate from AUA and having obtained residency in Massachusetts, I can honestly say that you will encounter many residents from all parts of the world including the US and Caribbean medical schools. At the end of the day the program directors of each medical program will consider you as a competent medical professional regardless of the early education you may received.

For residency, many programs consider USMLE steps 1 and 2 but for fellowships step 3 is more important along with any research opportunities acquired during residency training.

Please feel free to message me privately if you have any additional questions.

 

[aformerstudent]

In the AUA grad's defense, I know a girl who recently just got a nephrology fellowship and she's from AUA. I know a handful of SGU and Ross grads that got pulmonology/critical critical care. So I am a little confused why some people here still think the Caribbean is a complete dead end.

I don't know if those are what you are considering but to answer your question based on these examples, no, I don't think IMG means anything once you start residency.

 

[Skip Intro]

Does the IMG stigma follow u around all the way to fellowships ?

No.

-Skip

 

[surgonc2017]

Different opinion - yes it does, but not to the degree as with resident matching. You will still be asked in interviews why you aren't an AMG. Some fellowships will decline apps because of img status, it's a filter my institution uses for a particularly competitive fellowship. It's nothing like the discrimination in finding a residency though.


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[IslandStyle808]

It is going to depend on where you match. The IMG bias usually hits the hardest for residency. This can prevent IMGs from reach as high as they could if they were instead US MDs. The residency's reputation plays the largest role in matching potential for fellowship. So again where you match initially will determine how well you do in the match for fellowship.

As stated above, I have similarly read of residents who were DOs that didn't match into hyper competitive residencies because of the DO filters. So I think it also hold true for IMGs. However, not as strongly as where you did your residency.