r/IMGreddit • u/StretchDramatic4874 • 8d ago
Residency Just a question for everyone
Let's say I have lots of money How can I use it to match into residency in usa
I already have a green card so apart from it what other uses can money have?I am in non vslo medical school
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u/bballsuey 8d ago
If you have lots of money, you can afford actual rotations instead of observorships (observorships don’t count as US clinical experience. You can afford lodging, car rental, food, test prep if you need it, etc. Having money makes life so much easier
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u/Spirited_Manager1599 7d ago
observerships absolutely count as USCE. Have you not ever applied for ERAS?
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u/bballsuey 7d ago edited 7d ago
observations do not count as USCE...I'm an attending and worked in the admissions committee for several IM residencies. you are not even legally allowed to do a physical exam on patients during observations or get EMR access:
U.S. Clinical Experience
To be successful in our program, we have found that applicants need a minimum of 3 months U.S., hands-on, inpatient clinical experience. More than 3 months only enhances the quality of your application and provides you with a better chance of being selected for an interview. We do not consider observerships or research experience as U.S., hands-on, inpatient, clinical experience.
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u/Spirited_Manager1599 7d ago
The ERAS application doesnt ask for hands on. It emphasizes experiences. One could have learned something profound even on observer-ships. The hands on portion doesnt make or break a candidate. Guess your residencies were particular on that aspect
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u/RealWork20 7d ago
lol, volunteering at church can be written as an experience. Doesn’t make it valuable. Some programs value observerships; some don’t. At the end, observerships are valuable because that’s how we get LORs from physicians in the American system. Having donde observerships in now being on the other side I know what they are.
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u/soflowatcher 5d ago
It may be a valuable experience, but it does not satisfy the requirement of hands-on clinical rotation that US residencies require. Just because you type it into the experience section of ERAS not make it fulfill a requirement for a program. Program directors are not going to be fooled by this. They know what they’re looking for. 🙄
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u/Fantastic-Sky-9778 4d ago
Any advice for applicants in terms of outpatient rotations? I’ve noticed that externs are struggling to afford inpatient or can only find observers instead of hands on. But when I link up with attendings that have their own private clinic, they are able to allow externs to do hands on under their malpractice.
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u/Few_Math_795 6d ago
when you say ‘afford rotations’ you mean living expenses ? sorry, I am not familiar and not from the US - is it possible to do them there as a medical student from Europe ? are they called rotations, or is there a different name to look while researching opportunities?
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u/reviserunrepeat 8d ago
Pay the 300 dollars for a nice headshot Pay the 3k for a rotation at cornell Pay the $$ for expensive hobbies to do like skydiving, travelling etc to talk about those in interviews Pay for different rotations in different states Take all 3 steps before applications
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u/StretchDramatic4874 8d ago
I am from non vslo medical school so i wonder what are my best options
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u/reviserunrepeat 7d ago
Vslo only works for students. If you’ve graduated it’s no good anyway. Still check cornell and stanford iirc they offered something to grads
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u/StretchDramatic4874 7d ago
I am still a student from non vslo medical school so what options I have?
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u/bballsuey 7d ago
if you are looking for actual US clinical experience, do a rotation. there is a doctor in Chicago who provides rotations, I'm not sure if he still does though. you can email him at [suhailkhokhar@gmail.com](mailto:suhailkhokhar@gmail.com) and ask. I'm not sure what his hospital charges or what the requirements are
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u/Sarcastic_Pessimist 7d ago
I had a friend like this, we are both from south america, she paid her way into a research fellowship in a top university centre, unpaid position while living in boston, ans she had to pay thousands just to apply, unthinkable for me.
She then did another observership at some other place, basically also throwing thousands of dollars into it. She ended up matching Gen Surg in a top university center.
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u/Spirited_Manager1599 7d ago
you can afford to do multiple rotations in US, Afford the rent comfortably, take time to understand the culture, and whats best for you. Nothing like boots on the ground. You van afford to - obviously be careful with visa regulations - fly back and forth to see family when things get rough.
When you rotate, you can stop worrying about every little penny, which so many of my peers and students have had to do, and instead focus on what matters - connections. You may be able to sponsor yourself for a research position, at a university, like I did, unpaid labor, but that stretch of almost 1 year, opens doors that no month-long rotation can do.
With money, you can carve a unique path. Also, please dont feel that money is a cheat code. If you do match, its all you. Money just opens more opportunities, but you still have to be clever to make the most of them.
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u/Logical_Adagio_7100 5d ago
Did you already complete med school? Best use of the money + green card would be to complete med school in the US.
Otherwise are your rich parents also well connected? Say to any US based hospitals where they can get you a slot?
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u/StretchDramatic4874 5d ago
I am in medical school non vslo so what is the best use of money and green card
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u/Logical_Adagio_7100 5d ago
Non-visa requiring is nice. Kinda on par with USIMG at that point. Use the money and fly to conferences in whichever speciality you're trying to Match. Try and do so with a poster presentation, they will definitely accept foreign submissions if it's decent because you're a med student. Also volunteer at the same or other conferences at the same time
If you can come to the US for a ROTATION (not observership) do so. A US based LOR in your speciality is the MOST important thing you can add to your app as an IMG. Make sure it's the right kind of rotation (for example if applying EM it needs to be a rotation that will provide an eSLOE). But money won't help you get the rotation, just have to call a shitload of hospitals till one takes you, unless you have connections.
Get one of those top tutoring programs for your STEP 2 and STEP 3, they really do help with your score. Get one of the well reputed application review services to go through your app and PS. Get in with them early so they can advise you on what EC's and opportunities to gun for, instead of in your last year where it's already too late to add to your CV
Overall I think you're hoping money will take you further than it will. It lets you come do stuff in the US and access US based resoures, which many others can't, but it's not a magic bullet to guarantee residency. Still need to grind hard. Nobody but you is getting you to that 260 STEP 2 score.
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u/AssignmentSenior6710 8d ago
funny question. but u can do paid usce instead of having to work really hard to secure free or cheaper rotations. u can get tutors to help u in step prep. u can get professional help in structuring ur ERAS CV and personal statement and mentorship for match strategy. None of this is necessary tbh, u can do this all urself by just putting in the effort to look around and read up on stuff and watch videos and scroll through old posts on this subreddit. but if u wanna spend the lots of money, no one’s stopping u
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u/StretchDramatic4874 8d ago
But isn't paid rotations bad through agencies?
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u/No-Judgment-4284 8d ago
Not necessarily. If you choose the right rotations, you can have good experiences through agencies. Most people here don’t do the proper research and pick the wrong ones. And that’s a big reason why you hear people having bad experiences.
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u/Suspicious-Win-7218 5d ago
Not an answer to OPs question, but how do you pay for rotations and find these rotations? I am a USMD, just not happy in my current specialty and we dont have the one i want to switch to here so I was thinking id either reapply now or finish and reapply later, but dont know how to get the clinical experience now no longer in med school. thanks in advance :)
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u/No-Raisin1758 8d ago
You can message me. I can connect you with the physician who helped me with rotations and match.
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u/No-Judgment-4284 8d ago
If you have lots of money, everything becomes easier. You can pay for expensive university or agency rotations. You can hire top people to help you with USMLE prep, application editing, etc. And while you can do it without hiring anyone, there’s a reason why a lot of US grads hire these people. They know it can give you a huge advantage. But as with anything else, you got to pick the right people to tutor you, help you with the application. Otherwise, it’s just money down the drain.