Prospect of UK graduate in finding US residency

[pacoblue]

Hi all,

I am one of the 5th year med student in one of the London medical schools. I would very much like to move to US once I complete my medical degree here. I just wanted to find out more about how to go about it and would greatly appreciate if you guys could give me any advice on the followings...

1) Generally speaking, do we have better chance to get into US residency as a UK graduate compared to those graduates from elsewhere?

2) I've always wanted to do medicine, so think Im gonna apply for Internal medicine residencies which is perceived to be relatively easier. but is it really difficult to get into top programs e.g. UCSF, UCLA...etc? How high would my score have to be?

3) In terms of salary, do US physicians earn much more than the UK counterparts?

4) What are the advantages of getting into the top program? Does it really matter where I do residency? (because US is entirely private anyway)

many thanks!

[sjk]

Hi pacoblue,

I'm not a big expert on migration, however I know that the transfer from the UK to the US can be quite a long and expensive process. Firstly there are different exams to be taken to "convert" your degree as the MBChB program isn't recognised over there. Secondly, although the pay would appear to be better, the overall condition are not. Where we are governed under European Regulations to work a certain amount of hours per week, the US is not, which means that Doctors and other medical professionals in the US tend to work long, often 100+ hour weeks.

Sorry I can't really be much more specific, I'm sure someone will be along shortly to provide a more in-depth reply.

Simon

[giella]

ECFMG® | Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates

I think this website should prove useful.

[Scottish Chap]

1) Generally speaking, do we have better chance to get into US residency as a UK graduate compared to those graduates from elsewhere?!

Tough to say. As a rule, British education is generally respected in the U.S., but keep in mind that top graduates from prestigious medical schools in several countries as vying for U.S. residency positions. International medical school graduates are looked at after U.S. graduates in the match. That's the bad news. The good news is that there are more residency positions (quite a few more) in internal medicine than there are applicants at present.

2) I've always wanted to do medicine, so think Im gonna apply for Internal medicine residencies which is perceived to be relatively easier. but is it really difficult to get into top programs e.g. UCSF, UCLA...etc? How high would my score have to be?!

I interviewed for internal medicine residency positions last year. Medicine is currently in the 'intermediate competitive" category (harder to match into than family medicine, psychiatry, and paeds; around as competitive as surgery, emergency medicine, and anesthesia; less competitive than dermatology, orthopaedic surgery, ophthalmology, and neurosurgery). The average Step 1 score for medicine was a little higher than the national average last year. As a foreign medical graduate, you must try to do well on the USMLE exams.

Yes, getting into the top medicine programmes in the U.S. (UCLA is not one of them, but it is good) as an international medical graduate is extremely difficult, and usually involves political connections. The top medicine programs (Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's, UCSF, Johns Hopkins) almost never take medical school graduates outside of the U.S. or Canada for residency. For fellowship, that's not the case, however.

3) In terms of salary, do US physicians earn much more than the UK counterparts?!

Please define "more"; it's a subjective word. The pound is now weaker against the U.S. dollar compared to six months ago, so primary care specialties in the U.S. (medicine, paeds, family medicine) are probably making more by comparison. Specialists in the U.S. make way more than the U.K. (radiology starts out at around 300K after residency, cardiology around 320K, neurourgeons out here can easily earn >500K/year). The hours, however, in the U.S. are longer as a resident (maximum of 80 by law as a resident, however), with patient rounds starting between 6:00am and 7:00am. Consultants out here in private practice can work 80-100+ hours per week according to U.S. law.

4) What are the advantages of getting into the top program? Does it really matter where I do residency? (because US is entirely private anyway)

If you are interested in a competitive sub-specialty fellowship like cardiology or GI, it's very important that you do your medicine residency in an academic institution, and in the strongest programme possible. Not sure what you mean by "entirely private".

I hope that helps!

[pacoblue]

Thanks very much for the info!

Well, that is a rather brutal reality..
If it is virtually impossible to match onto the 'top' IM residencies, what kind of USMLE scores would I need for relatively good ones like UCLA, NYU...etc? (above 90s??)

and secondly, does it really matter where you do residency if I am gonna work straight after iM residency? or would it be difficult to get a job in big cities? (besides, i do not have any research experience other than Masters degree in biomedical science - no published papers!)


I am really sorry for asking too many questions but would greatly appreciate any advice!

[Scottish Chap]

Thanks very much for the info!

Well, that is a rather brutal reality..
If it is virtually impossible to match onto the 'top' IM residencies, what kind of USMLE scores would I need for relatively good ones like UCLA, NYU...etc? (above 90s??)

and secondly, does it really matter where you do residency if I am gonna work straight after iM residency? or would it be difficult to get a job in big cities? (besides, i do not have any research experience other than Masters degree in biomedical science - no published papers!)


I am really sorry for asking too many questions but would greatly appreciate any advice!

Again, tough to say. Programmes rarely disclose that they use cut-off scores. However, I mentioned Brigham and Women's, and they do say that most successful international applicants have step 1 and step 2 scores of >90 (that corresponds to a three digit score of around 220). University of Maryland posted a cut-off of 95, I believe.

If you are looking for a very competitive fellowship or private practice group then, yes, the place where you train matters a lot. If you just want to be a good IM doctor, then it does not matter at all; you just need volume, and that can be found at academic and community internal medicine programmes. There are probably >200 of those.