LƯ DOANH DOANH, MD

Study in America:Residency in Medicine

Overview: The medical system in the US

Timeline: College: 4 years Medical school: 4 years Residency (chuyên khoa I): 3-7 years, depending

on specialty Fellowship (chuyên khoa II):1-3 years, depending

on subspecialty Still want to be in school: post-doc research Tired of school: get married, get a jobGrand total: 11 to 18 years

The good news is …

There’s a way you can cut that short by … 2 years! In Vietnam, it only takes 6 years to complete medical

school, compared to 8 years in the US You can apply to residency directly after med. school

(chuyên khoa I) You can go directly to the “get married, get a job”

phase right after residency. Your grand total is only 9 years

International Medical Graduates in the United States

In 2006, out of 902,053 physicians, 228,665 IMGs received medical degrees from 127 different countries, accounting for 25.3% of the total physician count.

IMGs make up approximately 25% of the U.S. physician population.

The heaviest concentration of IMGs is in New Jersey (45% of doctors); New York (42%);  Florida (37%); and Illinois (34%).

California (23%), Texas (24%), Maryland 27.4%, Masschusetts 22%, Virgninia 21%

The largest national group is from India (20.7% of total).  Among the top four primary specialties, the IMG population

represents 37% of total physicians in internal medicine; 28% in anesthesiology; 32% in psychiatry; and 28% in pediatrics.

Other specialties: General/family practice 24%, Obstetric/Gynecology 17.6%, Radiology 19%, General Surgery 20%

www.ama-assn.org

Top 20 countries where IMGs trained

India - 24.0% (44,585) Philippines - 10.6%

(19,656) Mexico - 6.7% (12,448) Pakistan - 5.7% (10,689) Dominican Republic -

3.8% (7,147) Russia - 2.9% (5,343) Grenada - 2.8% (5,196)    Egypt - 2.6% (4,884) Italy - 2.5% (4,755)

South Korea - 2.5% (4,676)

China - 2.4% (4,523) Iran - 2.3% (4,355)  Spain - 2.3% (4,332) Germany - 2.3% (4,269) Dominica - 2.1%

(4,050)  Syria - 1.8% (3,491) Israel - 1.6% (3,098) Colombia 1.6% (3,095) England- 1.6% (3,071) Lebanon 1.5% (2,871) 

Are you eligible?

Yes, if you are a graduate of University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Ho Chi Minh

city Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine University of Medicine Ha Noi

How do you get there?

The process of applying for residencies in the US is complicated (even for US grads) and requires patience and perseverance, but not undoable

You should start by gathering information and required documents

Start months-years in advance for the application process

Start NOW studying for USMLEs

Useful websites

www.ecfmg.org Educational Commission for Foreign Medical

Graduates (ECFMG), the organization that certifies foreign medical graduates to enter U.S. residency and fellowship programs and conductor of the CSA.

Know the ECFMG well!!!www.nrmp.orgwww.ama-assn.orgwww.google.comwww.acponline.org/about_acp/international/www.usmle.org

Getting started

Contact programs for requirements and deadlines

Essential documents: Medical student performance evaluations Medical school transcripts Letters of recommendations (usually 3 or more)

Exams: USMLE 1 and 2 (testing centers in Singapore, Thailand,

Hong Kong, Philippines, etc) TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) Clinical Skills Assessment (this may be hard because it’s

unfamiliar to Vnese medical students)

Getting started

Visa application www.acponline.org/about_acp/international/

Choosing programs

The programs that are more “foreign medical graduate “friendly” are internal medicine, pediatrics, and family practice

Surgical programs are competitive (even for US grads)

Programs that traditionally take IMGs will be more “friendly” as well, and easier to get in

How do you pay for it?

In residencies, you are paid a stipend, which is about $30.000 – $45.000/year, depending on the cost of living in that city. This is generally enough to live on

So you (or more likely, your family) don’t have to pay for it. You don’t need to apply for scholarship. They actually PAY you. Which is nice.

In conclusion

This is a different tract than the master programs

After residency in the US, you can choose to return to VN or to stay

The process is difficult (but not more difficult than other scholarship programs) and chooses only the most clinically competent medical students, but if you get in, the pay and the US clinical training make it all worth it.