IMG Family Medicine Applicants- Match 2020

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probably no more interviews coming now?

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This advice might be too late for this cycle, but for anyone reading in the future....

If you don’t have any specific connections to any programs, then I’d suggest you attend some of the family med conferences that have residency booths throughout the year and make personal connections. FMEC for example was just last weekend and A LOT of residency programs were there.

I work at a family med program right now that has taken some non-US med school grads over the years, however the PD said that this year due to the sheer number of applicants they received they aren’t reviewing any non-US med school grads unless they rotated with us or had some personal connection or had expressed interest at a residency fair like FMEC. So even with stellar scores or curing cancer unfortunately those applications are going unread.

So if you have any connections to programs definitely reach out or hustle throughout the year to meet programs at family medicine conferences if you’re truly interested in family med and matching at a program.

Good luck!!
 
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1 Interview : Genesys Regional Medical Center
 
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grads unless they rotated with us or had some personal connection or had expressed interest at a residency fair like FMEC. So even with stellar scores or curing cancer unfortunately those applications are going unread.

When you say “rotated with us” does it mean that it’s sufficient to have done even a 1 or 2 month elective/clerkship experience in that particular hospital?
 
When you say “rotated with us” does it mean that it’s sufficient to have done even a 1 or 2 month elective/clerkship experience in that particular hospital?

In residency and where I work now med students typically either did 2 or 4 week elective rotations. I’ve never seen a med student do an elective longer than 4 weeks.
 
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This advice might be too late for this cycle, but for anyone reading in the future....

If you don’t have any specific connections to any programs, then I’d suggest you attend some of the family med conferences that have residency booths throughout the year and make personal connections. FMEC for example was just last weekend and A LOT of residency programs were there.

I work at a family med program right now that has taken some non-US med school grads over the years, however the PD said that this year due to the sheer number of applicants they received they aren’t reviewing any non-US med school grads unless they rotated with us or had some personal connection or had expressed interest at a residency fair like FMEC. So even with stellar scores or curing cancer unfortunately those applications are going unread.

So if you have any connections to programs definitely reach out or hustle throughout the year to meet programs at family medicine conferences if you’re truly interested in family med and matching at a program.

Good luck!!
sorry brother I disagree. I attended dAAFP conference and NONE of the programs i talked to got back to me. BY CONNECTION, you need to attend either clinical rotation there, observership , do research there, or at least attend their rounds . Even drive up to the programs and personally hand in your resume that worked for some ppl. But CONFERENCES ARE TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME unless YOU PRESENT your RESEARCH AT THEM . This is also true for all my friends who attended AAFP with me. ALL MY INVITES were from places I rotated or knew a resident or i was just " qualified" ( it is different definition for every program ) candidate .
 
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sorry brother I disagree. I attended dAAFP conference and NONE of the programs i talked to got back to me. BY CONNECTION, you need to attend either clinical rotation there, observership , do research there, or at least attend their rounds . Even drive up to the programs and personally hand in your resume that worked for some ppl. But CONFERENCES ARE TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME unless YOU PRESENT your RESEARCH AT THEM . This is also true for all my friends who attended AAFP with me. ALL MY INVITES were from places I rotated or knew a resident or i was just " qualified" ( it is different definition for every program ) candidate .

1) I’m not a brother
2) I was just trying to be helpful. My advice is obviously only anecdotal based on the current program I’m with as we have interviewed people we met at conferences who expressed genuine interest
3) Posters throughout this post have expressed not understanding why they haven’t gotten any interviews, hence why I mentioned my experience and gave a few suggestions
4) Clearly I said I recommend people have connections like doing a rotation at a program. I didn’t just say attending conferences will get you many invites, it was just one suggestion
5) When someone is nice and trying to be helpful it’s not a good look to come back at them swinging and yelling with all caps in disagreement
 
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1) I’m not a brother
2) I was just trying to be helpful. My advice is obviously only anecdotal based on the current program I’m with as we have interviewed people we met at conferences who expressed genuine interest
3) Posters throughout this post have expressed not understanding why they haven’t gotten any interviews, hence why I mentioned my experience and gave a few suggestions
4) Clearly I said I recommend people have connections like doing a rotation at a program. I didn’t just say attending conferences will get you many invites, it was just one suggestion
5) When someone is nice and trying to be helpful it’s not a good look to come back at them swinging and yelling with all caps in disagreement
I apologize for calling you a brother . I appreciate you trying guiding the folks in this forum ; however, misguiding can really hurt people and also put them thousands of dollars back. I didn’t meant to yell . The caps were for people to see it and get their attention . I apologize if it presented that way. Best of luck .
 
I apologize for calling you a brother . I appreciate you trying guiding the folks in this forum ; however, misguiding can really hurt people and also put them thousands of dollars back. I didn’t meant to yell . The caps were for people to see it and get their attention . I apologize if it presented that way. Best of luck .

Again I’m not misguiding. Based on my experience and being on the "inside" it is possible to get interviews by networking such as by going to conferences as I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes. I never claimed it was going to make people go from 0 to 20 invites, but considering people are excited about getting just 1 interview invite it doesn’t hurt to have multiple strategies.

If one is living in the US, then it does not necessarily cost thousands to attend a conference. FMEC is pretty inexpensive for example. They have a residency fair for a reason....to talk to potential applicants and advertise their program. In addition, Typically family med conferences have good sessions and a lot of networking opportunities. In addition, attending a family med conference is something that you can bring up during an interview and shows you’re genuinely interested in the field.

Considering people on this thread are applying to 100+ programs, they’ve already spent a lot of money, so doing everything possible to try to match is certainly not out of the question for some.

My advice wasn’t a mandate, just a suggestion from someone who is a family med physician and works at a residency program. If you’re already an expert on how to match and complete residency then that’s great for you, but some other people might be interested in some other advice. Medicine certainly is about "who you know," so networking can possibly open some doors.

I’ll see myself out!
 
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Again I’m not misguiding. Based on my experience and being on the "inside" it is possible to get interviews by networking such as by going to conferences as I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes. I never claimed it was going to make people go from 0 to 20 invites, but considering people are excited about getting just 1 interview invite it doesn’t hurt to have multiple strategies.

If one is living in the US, then it does not necessarily cost thousands to attend a conference. FMEC is pretty inexpensive for example. They have a residency fair for a reason....to talk to potential applicants and advertise their program. In addition, Typically family med conferences have good sessions and a lot of networking opportunities. In addition, attending a family med conference is something that you can bring up during an interview and shows you’re genuinely interested in the field.

Considering people on this thread are applying to 100+ programs, they’ve already spent a lot of money, so doing everything possible to try to match is certainly not out of the question for some.

My advice wasn’t a mandate, just a suggestion from someone who is a family med physician and works at a residency program. If you’re already an expert on how to match and complete residency then that’s great for you, but some other people might be interested in some other advice. Medicine certainly is about "who you know," so networking can possibly open some doors.

I’ll see myself out!
thank you interesting way to put it . perhaps 1 interview is one interview .
 
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Hello everyone! Jumping in late here as I just found this but I wanted to contribute.

US IMG here and I am a 2nd time applicant. Here are my stats:

YOG: Jan 2019
Step 1: 205
Step 2 CK: 234
Step 2 CS: Pass on 2nd attempt
Step 3: 216

Last Year IVs: 5
This Year: 9

So to be brief, I am a 2nd time applicant. What changed the second time around? I got ECFMG certified and got my step 3 done. First time I applied last year I got 5 IVs. I went back and reevaluated myself, including reaching out to programs. Got cordial answers back but nothing too specific. As hard as a hit it was, I did not want to give up. I attended the AAFP Conference this past two years and I will attest to the fact that if I did not attend them, I would not have gotten my invites. I made sure to make strong personal connections at the conference, whether it was something specific, such as a track in the program or a geographical area where I have ties to such as friends or family. Realistically speaking, it's tough to make connections with all programs. At the end of the day, I am a strong believer in that programs will be drawn to us if they feel that we would be a great fit for their program. I know that sounds cliche, but the 2nd time attending this conference, I was able to make much better connections. I followed up and kept in touch with a handful of programs. Last year, 3 out 5 came from the conference. This year, 7 out 9 so far were due to the conference.

I did make strides with my application this year with getting Step 3 done and being ECFMG certified. I will also say that attending the AAFP Conference this year was a much smoother process for me because I knew beforehand which programs I liked and wanted to connect to.


For anyone else that is anxious or worried, keep your head up. I received my last invite around the second week of december last year.
 
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Hello everyone! Jumping in late here as I just found this but I wanted to contribute.

US IMG here and I am a 2nd time applicant. Here are my stats:

YOG: Jan 2019
Step 1: 205
Step 2 CK: 234
Step 2 CS: Pass on 2nd attempt
Step 3: 216

Last Year IVs: 5
This Year: 9

So to be brief, I am a 2nd time applicant. What changed the second time around? I got ECFMG certified and got my step 3 done. First time I applied last year I got 5 IVs. I went back and reevaluated myself, including reaching out to programs. Got cordial answers back but nothing too specific. As hard as a hit it was, I did not want to give up. I attended the AAFP Conference this past two years and I will attest to the fact that if I did not attend them, I would not have gotten my invites. I made sure to make strong personal connections at the conference, whether it was something specific, such as a track in the program or a geographical area where I have ties to such as friends or family. Realistically speaking, it's tough to make connections with all programs. At the end of the day, I am a strong believer in that programs will be drawn to us if they feel that we would be a great fit for their program. I know that sounds cliche, but the 2nd time attending this conference, I was able to make much better connections. I followed up and kept in touch with a handful of programs. Last year, 3 out 5 came from the conference. This year, 7 out 9 so far were due to the conference.

I did make strides with my application this year with getting Step 3 done and being ECFMG certified. I will also say that attending the AAFP Conference this year was a much smoother process for me because I knew beforehand which programs I liked and wanted to connect to.


For anyone else that is anxious or worried, keep your head up. I received my last invite around the second week of december last year.
which programs from AAFP have you been invited from?
 
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Got another one! So it’s not completely all done with!
 
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A GC holder is a non-US IMG according to NRMP. I know because I am one and registered as a non-US on NRMP. Only citizens are considered US-IMGs. Although it does give you an advantage since you don't need a visa.

that's what gives misleading stats on websites such as residency explorer where you see a high non-US IMG% so you think that they sponsor visa, but we don't realize the residents who are non-US IMG could be GC holders
 
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0 FM interview till now
I read thru your post history. My guess is that you are not receiving any FM invites because of no CS result yet. Also...the 130 FM programs you applied to...are they programs that have taken IMGs? In rural places?
reach out to places that are in your state or in nearby states...
 
I read thru your post history. My guess is that you are not receiving any FM invites because of no CS result yet. Also...the 130 FM programs you applied to...are they programs that have taken IMGs? In rural places?
reach out to places that are in your state or in nearby states...

I am a carribean student. Yes almost all the places that I've applied to takes imgs. I reached out to some programs but haven't heard back unfortunately. I think my cs is holding me back. I know people with much lower scores than me have gotten atleast few ivs
 
I am a carribean student. Yes almost all the places that I've applied to takes imgs. I reached out to some programs but haven't heard back unfortunately. I think my cs is holding me back. I know people with much lower scores than me have gotten atleast few ivs

yea I 2nd what the other poster said
IMG + no CS results = very hard to get interviews.
 
I got invite from uams Baptist health their January date still has open slots. Keep your hopes up ppl
 
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hey guys,
has anyone interviewed at LSU Shreveport Monroe? or know anything about the program? I would appreciate any info! thanks!
 
Did anyone hear from St. Peter Hospital (Chehalis) in Washinton?
 
Yes just got rejected today for the 3rd time but they apologized lol

lol what does that mean? Why do they keep apologizing?.. does that mean we are actually rejected or we still have hope?
 
which programs from AAFP have you been invited from?

From the AAFP Conference,I had a mix batch, 4 in the East Coast with one in the Midwest and two in the West Coast.

As far as invites go now, I think it will be slow this week, but it will pick up next week after the holiday break
 
Wow South Carolina Campbell uni /Conway invite cake today. How many invites and you are safe to match?

Congrats!!! Those are some top notch programs! TBH, I knew people that only matched with 2-3 IVs. However, on the statistical side of things, IMGs usually match with 6 or above according to the NRMP date. If you already above 7-8, you should be good. Just remember, everyone's situation is a case by case basis. The number of IVS increases your chances, but it depends on how you present yourself on IV day, which I have no doubt that you did great! Keep up the great work!
 
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Hello folks! hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I know most of you are on here exchanging Interview advice. I've been contemplating whether or not i should continue on my medical journey and wanted some honest advice from the sdn community.
step 1: 220
step CK 218 all on 1st attempt
but....passed CS on my 4th attempt.. CS for some reason was a nightmare for me. all my failures were on ICE, just about had high performance on CIS on all my attempts.

my questions is, at this point should i even continue with the match and do i even have a chance. It's silly to think that such a subjective exam as CS is holding me back from practicing medicine. but on the other hand, the sheer competitiveness and numbers game of the match sort of discourages me. I appreciate the advice. Thanks!
 
Hello folks! hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I know most of you are on here exchanging Interview advice. I've been contemplating whether or not i should continue on my medical journey and wanted some honest advice from the sdn community.
step 1: 220
step CK 218 all on 1st attempt
but....passed CS on my 4th attempt.. CS for some reason was a nightmare for me. all my failures were on ICE, just about had high performance on CIS on all my attempts.

my questions is, at this point should i even continue with the match and do i even have a chance. It's silly to think that such a subjective exam as CS is holding me back from practicing medicine. but on the other hand, the sheer competitiveness and numbers game of the match sort of discourages me. I appreciate the advice. Thanks!
Sorry to hear that. But can you please share if you received any invite ? If so how many? I be honest i have seen ppl with worst shape than you but to sheer connection got 4-5 invites. I recommend doing research, attending ground rounds, attend aafp ( but you have to follow up with programs aggressively and do few programs to focus on at the conference), and observation. Also how strong are your LOR? Make sure the LOR focus on your clinical ability. Basically you want cancer your poor performance at CS. I really think more face to face time with faculty at a program can really benefit you, since they can overlook your performance on cs and see you are very competent clinically. Also consider taking step 3 because I see downward trend since step 1. But make sure you score higher than your step 1 . Best of luck.
 
Sorry to hear that. But can you please share if you received any invite ? If so how many? I be honest i have seen ppl with worst shape than you but to sheer connection got 4-5 invites. I recommend doing research, attending ground rounds, attend aafp ( but you have to follow up with programs aggressively and do few programs to focus on at the conference), and observation. Also how strong are your LOR? Make sure the LOR focus on your clinical ability. Basically you want cancer your poor performance at CS. I really think more face to face time with faculty at a program can really benefit you, since they can overlook your performance on cs and see you are very competent clinically. Also consider taking step 3 because I see downward trend since step 1. But make sure you score higher than your step 1 . Best of luck.
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I have not received any IV's, and i don't expect any this yr without taking step 3. I appreciate your feedback. I'll try to network, do research, take step 3 and apply again next year. best of luck to you
 
Has Henry ford/WSU FM sent all their invites? Anyone got an interview from there?
 
Email today from RWJ - CentraState in NJ saying they’re no longer offering interviews.
 
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