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Post by LaTanya McLeary on Apr 28, 2016 20:53:41 GMT -4
This is an all too familiar story. Unfortunately the physician shortage continues to grow while Congress impedes progress and millions of Americans continue to feel the effects. I look forward to the day when this is no longer an issue. In the meantime I hope that IMGs continue to push forward and not let discouragement have its way. Physicians are desperately needed in this country. The odds look unfavorable but there are opportunities. The best we can do is prepare ourselves and be diligent.
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Echezona Gerald Nsofor (E.G.N)
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Post by Echezona Gerald Nsofor (E.G.N) on Apr 29, 2016 8:25:51 GMT -4
This article just reiterates what most FMGs or IMGs already know about the match. Its a gruesome process but it is all that is available right now. I think as medical doctors, a lot of time has been spent on medical training whether in the basic sciences or clinical sciences, so no MD should ever give up on their dream. There is always some other thing that can be done to make an IMG or FMG to become more competitive if you choose to practice in the states. Hopefully one day the congress will come to their senses and realize the need for more residency spots, as there is a huge shortage of physicians in US. For now, Optimism and doggedness is the WORD.
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Post by Sachin Chatta on Apr 29, 2016 9:44:50 GMT -4
Coming from an IMG program this article was very informative. It is understanding that most US hospitals would like a US graduate medical school because they think that the IMG do not have a good education and foundation for medicine. However, from recent friends and colleagues that have done the match process this year say that at the end of the day it all depends on you and how much you want to be matched and be the 50% that get matched. Medicine in general is not suppose to be easy but at the end of the day it all depends on how much effort we put in it.
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Post by arjunkundra on Apr 30, 2016 17:03:55 GMT -4
Reading articles like these is always interesting, though I don't think these are statistics that most of us are unaware of. As a Canadian, I think there is a different light in which I look at this process. I will comment only on the Canadian system and Canadian students here, to bring a new angle. Canada is struggling to supply physicians to it's population and has not been able to increase medical school seats for prospective students over the years to keep up with the demand and competition. To put this in perspective: there are more medical students spots in just the city of Chicago than in all of Ontario for prospective students to apply. 144 medical schools in the USA + DO schools vs 16 in all of Canada, most of which only hold 5% of their seats for out of province applicants; considering that the population is very disproportionately concentrated in Toronto and Vancouver, this creates a HUGE bottleneck. It is very common for students to pursue a Masters/PhD in order to be deemed somewhat competitive to apply to Canadian medical schools, most of which have GPA cutoffs around 3.82. I've heard personal stories of students with over 3.9 GPA with excellent extra-curriculars unable to attain a spot in a Canadian medical school.
Having said this, many hopeful Canadian students pin their dreams in the Caribbean medical school system. To say that students in the Caribbean medical school system that have made it through the USMLE are sub-par is unfair to say the least, though I see where the judgement comes from. Caribbean students must work harder, be smarter, and outperform their American counterparts to afford the same opportunities that are already part of the package deal that is an admission to an American medical school. With these facts in front of us, it is up to us to prove ourselves in the system that does not work in our favour.
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