Plastic Surgery Residency Programmes for international medical graduates

[srrpenna]

Hi ya

I am International medical graduate from India. I am currently doing basic surgical training in UK. I just want to find out how competitive are the plastic surgical residency programmes for International medical graduates. I have not done my steps but intend to do them in near future.

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[salmonella]

It is ridiculously hard for an IMG to land a plastic surgery residency spot. The best approach is, apply to general surgery residency first, work hard and impress your attendings, then try to get a plastics fellowship afterward. If you have no luck getting a fellowship, as a last resort, you can attend a few of those weekend CME courses and learn botox, face lift, laser surgery or something.

 

[Ergo]

You can also work as a research fellow at a program with plastic surgery residency positions. After 1-2 years of work you might be considered for a spot. Its worked for a friend of mine.

 

[PathOne]

As with any competitive residency in the US, you really need not only very strong USMLE scores, but also letters of recommendation from US physicians who really know you. Thus, it's really a hurdle, if you have never worked in a US hospital.

Also consider the fact, that you'll be competing with some of the strongest US medical school graduates; that you're likely to bring extra work for your program because you'd need them to deal with visa issues, and that you're inherently a less-known entity than somebody who graduated from a LCME-accredited school. It's not impossible, but it's certainly an uphill battle.