How to find your IMG friendly residency programs list?
This must be the most common question that eligible residents are asking at the time they start their match application journey.
I know there are commercial services out there that can help you such as www.matcharesident.com and www.imgresidency.com and www.residency-match.com and some others. And I know there are free IMG friendly lists
But I think the most efficient way to do it, is Do it yourself.
Here’s how;
After getting your ECFMG certificate (I insist on this point, because you may get matched without it but your chances are much less).
The first step is go to FREIDA online
Use their search function and look for the specialty you are looking for.
Then choose the state (probably you don’t mind any state, right!).
Then viola you have the list of all accredited graduate medical education programs in the whole USA.
In that list, you’ll have links to all what you want such as the program website and the contact info.
Here’ comes your 7 days job.
Call each and every one of them and ask the following;
“Do you currently have international medical graduates in your residents list?”, do not ask “do you accept IMGs” because the sensitivity of that answer is very low. You can also look in the current residents lists on their website and see if they mention which school they graduated from (do not simply rely on the faces, because a Chinese or an Indian guy may well be an American graduate just as likely as the other European fellow!).
Occasionally, they don’t answer the phone. In this case, try all the emails they mention in their website and call them again and again. Do not leave a message mentioning your name so that u give yourself a chance to call back again tomorrow.
If they answer yes, then put that program in your ERAS list.
Don’t ever bother about your years since graduation because you may really be very attractive for them for other reasons.
Now that you have made your long list, you can go and use the other resources that I mentioned in the beginning to help you cross-match with your list. If you find a program that you have not already listed then you may add it (honestly this is a rare event).
The list you will be generating this way may be very long and perhaps many of them will be rejecting you anyway. But never take the risk of ignoring a glamorous university program that probably by chance find something in you that you don’t know. Many programs have accepted one or two IMGs on occasions because those IMGs have some eye-opening points in their CVs! So increase the confidence interval of your list by applying to as many programs as you possibly can afford.
This procedure takes time. And you have to dedicate at least a whole week to generate your special list. You may initially get confused as each program website is different from others but with time and efforts and motivation and persistence you’ll eventually make your precious individualized and Free IMG friendly list of residency programs.
Related Tags : ecfmg, residency, IMG
Related posts:
-Interview Questions to ask the Residency Program 2
-Medical Residency interview – Questions that Residency Programs Ask
-Residency Interviews – Questions to ask Residents & Fellows 3
-Researching Which Programs to Apply To
-"Residency Stipend Programs" become more prevalent