Reddit is a major social media platform for IMGs. Here’s a list of some commonly asked questions in IMGreddit, a popular sub with 42k+ members.
This is more common than you think, and it’s perfectly okay to have an interest in more than one field. It’s easier to craft your CV if the fields are related, but medicine is medicine. As long as you have concrete strengths that are relevant to each field you apply to, and you make this clear with a sharp and strategic ERAS application, there’s no reason not to apply to and interview with different specialties.
Common Dual Specialties
That being said, if you’re applying to 2 or more specialties, here’s some guidance.
Be strategic with your meaningful experiences, as they are the first 3 CV items program directors see. When applying to more than one specialty, it’s important to highlight the 3 experiences that best demonstrate diverse, yet relevant, aspects of your background.
Do NOT choose a rotation in a specific field as a meaningful experience, even if it’s USCE. Doing so indicates a primary interest in that field…if you’re applying to more than one specialty, this is a ticket right out of one of them. Instead, choose teaching/research/volunteer experiences that aren’t explicitly tied to a certain specialty.
Adapt and shift your bullet points within the meaningful experiences so they appeal to all the specialties you’re applying to. Don’t be untruthful – just craft your descriptions with your goals in mind.
After strategically selecting your first 3 experiences, write the meaningful experience content straight from your heart. Yes, they should be professional, but they should also be subjective and talk about your feelings, values, and perspectives (not what you did or learned). You have only 300 characters (3-4 sentences) to accomplish this, so don’t bother with patient stories or big, fancy words.
A final tip: Write convincing, specialty-specific personal statements for each field you apply to. If your CV focuses heavily on internal medicine and you’re also applying for general surgery, for example, explain how surgery has always been your passion but it was difficult to secure USCE in surgery so you focused on procedures during your IM experiences.
Yes, but it’s crucial for the letter writer to acknowledge they know what specialty they are referring you for.
Ask your writers to upload multiple copies of their letter, based on how many specialties you are applying to:
I strongly recommend Jacob Jacobson for your family medicine program.
…for your internal medicine program.
…for your general surgery program.
The rest of the letter can (usually) be identical across copies, as most letters speak to skills applicable to all fields: communication, professionalism, knowledge base, etc.
It’s not ideal to apply after ERAS opens to programs. It’s also not ideal to apply with fewer LoRs than required (3-4, varies per program). Both scenarios can lead to fewer interviews than you’d have if you applied on opening day with the required number of LoRs.
If you are in this situation:
*Prioritize your LoRs. Many years of experience confirm that, beginning in September, it takes 2+ weeks for LoRs processed through the ECFMG’s OASIS portal to get uploaded to the ERAS application.
Yep. This is totally fine. International medical schools aren’t known for basing their curriculum around prepping for USMLE exams. US residency program directors know this. Taking dedicated time to prepare for the Steps is responsible (and helps you earn a good score). Notably, this gap year is best taken prior to graduating so it is an extension of your medical education. If you take it after graduating, you’ll add to your YOG. In this case, 1 year isn’t likely to have a negative impact on your odds. That changes as years go by and your YOG increases. IMGs taking a gap year (or 2) for the Steps should aim to do some volunteering during this time, even if just 1-day events.
It’s simple: just as with any other metric available in ERAS, programs can filter by YOG. You should not apply to programs with firm YOG requirements that you don’t meet.
The conversation should end there, but since the YOG topic is commonly discussed by IMGs, let’s dig a little deeper.
Common lore is that applying with more than 5 YOG lowers your chances of matching because there are “so many” programs that filter out applicants with 6+ YOG. Some people say the filtered number is 3 YOG, or even 2 YOG.
It’s certainly true that some programs have YOG requirements and preferences. It’s also true that there’s no credible data from the NRMP or other source concerning YOG, so we don’t know how many programs filter for this or how much it matters to programs without filters. In the last NRMP Program Director Survey that examined factors related to selecting applicants to interview and rank, YOG isn’t even mentioned.
Instead of worrying about your YOG, just avoid applying to programs that have clear cut requirements you don’t meet.
There is no answer. Competition changes every year. So do program requirements. Same thing for “averages of matched applicants.” And no red flag is quite the same as another.
A better question is “How do I sell myself?” You can start answering that by identifying your strengths, then sharing them in memorable ways across the ERAS application…and hopefully, being your most authentic self during interviews.
Diligent program research is crucial to your success. To create a strong program list, keep meticulous records of relevant requirements and preferences.Then, evaluate your profile to see how it compares.
Apply to programs where your profile exceeds, aligns with, or comes very close to meeting the stated requirements.
Factors to consider include:
Yes, you do. The MSPE should include evaluations of your clinical performance across core specialties, which is something programs want to see. It’s been a couple years since the NRMP collected data on the MSPE, but when they did, 85% of program directors noted it as an important factor (ranked 4/5 in terms of importance) when selecting applicants to interview.
Also…all USMDs and DOs have them. It’s expected and it matters.
Nope. Use the ERAS hobbies section, not your PS, and don’t overthink it. If the hobby is just for fun, say so. If you’ve medaled in it, go right ahead and brag!
No…but it helps.
If you’ll be a final-year medical student when you apply in September, you won’t be ECFMG certified, and that’s okay.
If you’ve already graduated and are not ECFMG certified, that’s okay too, but since there’s no valid reason not to be, it might count against you.
In either case, if you are not ECFMG certified in September, you should not apply to programs that require ECFMG certification upon application. Do your homework to avoid paying for applications that will be filtered out.
Yes! Reach out before applying if you have questions about their requirements or if you plan to signal the program. You can reach out after applying via a more formal letter of interest, post-interview thank you letter, or letter of interest.
Always be mindful of NRMP standards: “Applicants may request and exchange clarifying information with programs following the interview but must not solicit or engage in post-interview communication for the purposes of influencing or ascertaining a program’s ranking intentions.”
There is no specific indicator within ERAS that denotes you are a reapplicant (see all official terms/labels used within ERAS here…but if you applied to a particular program in the past, it is possible they might notice it’s not your first match season. This is even more likely if you wrote letters of interest to or interviewed with a program.
No, they cannot–unless you tell them or share your ROL.
No, NRMP-participating residency programs cannot see the specific program where you matched via ERAS or the NRMP R3 system, but they can see IF you matched AND the specialty and state where you matched.
Keep in mind that if you post your match results on social media, programs where you interviewed may very well take notice.
Again, no, but it helps. And again, if you won’t be certified, don’t apply to programs that have a “must be certified by ROL deadline” requirement.
You must be ECFMG verified by the ROL deadline, or the NRMP will withdraw you from the match.
ECFMG verification requires:
It does not require graduation from medical school.
The day before you begin residency, but earlier is better.
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