Internship required for foreign MBBS graduates?

[RK06]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this type of question and please accept my apologies if it isn't. If this indeed is not the right place it'd be greatly appreciated if someone can point out where I should be posing this type of question.

Now off to the real head scratcher --- My wife is a MBBS student in Bangladesh and she's in her final year of med school. The next step would be a year long internship. We're trying to figure out whether that internship part is necessary to complete since she's a permanent resident and doesn't intend to practice in Bangladesh. I've searched through the forum and haven't really found any straight forward answer. Some threads are very insistent on doing the internship, while others suggest skipping the internship and start focusing on the USMLE step 1 prep.

What should we be focusing on now? Is the internship necessary? Also, will she be considered as foreign student come residency time even though she's a permanent resident?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[bashwell]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this type of question and please accept my apologies if it isn't. If this indeed is not the right place it'd be greatly appreciated if someone can point out where I should be posing this type of question.

Now off to the real head scratcher --- My wife is a MBBS student in Bangladesh and she's in her final year of med school. The next step would be a year long internship. We're trying to figure out whether that internship part is necessary to complete since she's a permanent resident and doesn't intend to practice in Bangladesh. I've searched through the forum and haven't really found any straight forward answer. Some threads are very insistent on doing the internship, while others suggest skipping the internship and start focusing on the USMLE step 1 prep.

What should we be focusing on now? Is the internship necessary? Also, will she be considered as foreign student come residency time even though she's a permanent resident?

I'm assuming you mean she wants to come to the US for internship? If so, then an "internship" is for all practical purposes included in a US residency now. (I assume you're not talking about only applying for a prelim or transitional year). So she'd just have to apply for residency in whatever field she is interested in. (Some specialties like anesthesia and radiology may have a separate "internship" year, a prelim or TY, if the program is not categorical but advanced, but I'll leave that aside for now).

Anyway if she wants to come to the US for residency, and if she is a permanent resident in the US (i.e., green card holder), then she will still be considered an IMG or international medical graduate. As an IMG, she will have to take not only the USMLE Step 1, but also Step 2CK/CS, get ECFMG certified, etc. If she's a permanent resident, that will mean she won't need a visa, so things will be somewhat easier for her in that regard, but there's still no guarantees for her. She won't be able to apply for US residencies without having passed Step 1 and 2CK/CS at a minimum.

 

[RK06]

Actually the MBBS degree that she's pursuing in Bangladesh has an one year internship built into it as part of the 5.5 years program. We talked to her school administrators and they said they can waive the internship for her since she has her permanent residency and doesn't intend to practice in Bangladesh. But we are trying to figure out if it'll cause any trouble when she applies for residency here. I've heard as part of the ECFMG certification internship can become handy, but what I have been reading seems a bit confusing as I've mentioned in my OP. So trying to figure out what the right path is.

 

[RK06]

get ECFMG certified

If she completes her internship as part of her MBBS program does it get easier to be ECFMG certified?

 

[wzosman]

I think she should do her internship in Bangladesh before starting her preparation for Ecfmg certificate. The prep for the exams is very lengthy procedure, leaving her with no time on hand to get any kind of hands on clinical experience which becoming crucial for IMGs.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[CharakaComplex]

Actually the MBBS degree that she's pursuing in Bangladesh has an one year internship built into it as part of the 5.5 years program. We talked to her school administrators and they said they can waive the internship for her since she has her permanent residency and doesn't intend to practice in Bangladesh. But we are trying to figure out if it'll cause any trouble when she applies for residency here. I've heard as part of the ECFMG certification internship can become handy, but what I have been reading seems a bit confusing as I've mentioned in my OP. So trying to figure out what the right path is.

Hey, just so you know - and confirm this with your college administration - that that one year of internship is absolutely compulsory in order to get an MBBS. There's no way she'll get a job/residency anywhere without clinical experience, and that's assuming Bangladesh's medical council will even think about granting her the degree without that year of internship.

 

[RK06]

Hey, just so you know - and confirm this with your college administration - that that one year of internship is absolutely compulsory in order to get an MBBS. There's no way she'll get a job/residency anywhere without clinical experience, and that's assuming Bangladesh's medical council will even think about granting her the degree without that year of internship.

Well in Bangladesh there are 2 different certificates -- one for the education part (MBBS) and another for the clinical experience (internship) part. Once folks pass their final professional exam they get their MBBS degree allowing them to be ECFMG certified. However, without participating in the year long internship one can't practice/be a doctor in Bangladesh, but she doesn't intend on practicing in Bangladesh. That's kinda why we're trying to figure out whether that internship is really necessary or not.

As baswell mentioned internship is part of the residency now. So she'll be getting the clinical experience as part of her residency here. That's why we are wondering if it'd be better to do research work under a professor in the states while she prepares for USMLE. What kind of disadvantages will she be in compared to the other IMGs without an internship? She won't have to worry about visa - which will work in her advantage.

 

[RK06]

I've also heard about EXTERNSHIPS for IMGs. How legitimate are these? Are these frowned upon by residency board of directors? Are recommendations from these institutions frowned upon during residency application?