by IMGspouse » Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:08 am
IMG friendly?!? Hmm.. how courious. I've researched well over 900 programs and this is what I found: not one stated they were friendly or unfriendly. In a majority of the cases, it will be the applicants desire, determination and qualifications that will be the deciding factors. Anti discrimination laws prevent a program from posting " IMG need not apply". However the laws dont prevent a program from making the requirements almost unobtainable, keyword being almost. Also take into consideration the following factors requirements that I have seen: feel free to combine them anyway that you see fit.
"We have no graduation cut-off date"
"We prefer no more than (_____) years from graduation" (i]Prefer[/i] is an awfully ambiguous word.)
"Absolutly no more than (_____) years from graduation"
"Test scores above 75 no more than 3 attempts"
"Test scores above 98 no more than 1 attempt"
"Two letters of recommendation" (non specific)
"Four letters of recommendation, one from the chair of your med school at least two from academic doctors that you have directly worked with for more than 1 year and one from the president (king, dictator or warlord) of the country from which you were born."
"No US clinical experience required"
"Minimum 2 years hands on clinical experience in an acredited academic setting within the United States under the direct supervision of the surgeon general"
"Observerships or research count as US experience"
"Observerships or research dont count as US experience"
"We sponser visas"
"We dont sponser visas"
"All sponsered visas need to have step three completed"
And the list could goes on.
To make things more complicated, I have seen programs change their criteria within the same year. The worst thing is of course is when the program doesnt post anything other than "All applications excepted through ERAS" many of which seem (from my point of view) come from NY and NJ. I have also noticed that when you look at some of the resident biographies or photos in the so called "IMG friendly" hospitals: the friendliness only extends to certain geographic locations. Old American proverb "its not what you know but, who you know that counts."
Are there IMG friendly programs?
Consider the reverse of the question...Are there programs which are more attractive to AMG's either by geography or academic quality?
just some things to ponder