IMG and Waiting for the Match
Hello everyone,
Hope you are all doing well and I thought I would update you all as to what I have been navigating since finishing medical school in December 2018. Being an International Medical Graduate (IMG) at a school with rolling admissions mean you may finish all degree requirements with ample time before finding out Match results or starting residency. For me, I finished in December and have entered this weird limbo period waiting for the Match. Although I finished all degree requirements in December, my degree isn't technically awarded until March 2019. Therefore, I'm not a medical student but not an M.D. either... see -> limbo.
One of the difficulties with finishing with your M.D. but not being licensed to practice is finding a job to do in the meanwhile or figuring out ways to improve your background in case you do not match the first time and want to have a stronger profile. Some of the things I have found regarding what to do during this interim period involves gaining more clinical experience or contributing to research. I was fortunate that one of my attendings offered me a role as a clinical trial coordinator and post-graduate fellow position where I see patients in his office and do in-office procedures. I very much enjoy this role and have been very busy getting this clinical trial up and running. Positions that a recent graduate may consider include: medical assistant, scribe, ophthalmic technician, hospitality manager...and, Uber... You'll want to stay clinically relevant and work on being able to gain experience in the primary care or hospital setting, but I also understand that some of us have to do whatever we have to do even if that means taking a part-time, entry-level job as a barista to have some sort of income....this is why I think the residency hiring process could use an overhaul because what we have doesn't work anyway toward solving the physician shortage in our country but alas I digress...
Another adventure I have embarked upon (but don't think I've shared with many people) is I found an accelerated Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. Although I have a Master of Science in Biology, an MPH is perfect for someone like myself who has ambitions of getting involved with policy development to address health disparities in our country. I am currently entering week three of the first semester, and I very much am enjoying the curriculum content which is refreshing compared to medical school training-although, I could probably do without all the papers I have to write. Honestly, I would not have pursued the additional masters if my school did not extend a generous scholarship to this sister-school I am now attending for the MPH.
NRMP rank list certification opened within the last week so it is time to create my rank list. This is another reminder of this long process toward finding a residency and that I still have plenty of time until I match. There are many different approaches that people take toward creating their rank list. For me, my rank list depends more so on ensuring the needs of my family are going to be met based on locality and cost of living in the area than it is on any emotional component of how a program made me feel or whatnot. I loved where I have interviewed and can see myself learning and growing through any of the ACGME accredited programs I have seen. Each interview can leave you with this gut feeling of liking a program or feeling like it might make you unhappy (which I highly suggest you listening to that gut intuition), and then obviously you want to rank programs where you will be happy. Some people I have spoken with have had upwards of 20 interviews, yet are still unwilling to rank programs that they felt would not mesh with their personality or they would be unhappy at such a program. However, I think this isn't a wise approach personally as I would rather go unmatched a year than I would training somewhere I would not be able to grow to my potential. Residency matching is a very personal process and I think everyone who experiences it takes his or her own approach. For some tips, I recommend The Successful Match 2017: Rules for Success in the Residency Match.
Anyway, I welcome any and all questions or feedback through any means you want to use to get through to me. Hope you all are enjoying the new year.