Clinical / Medical Research: Advantages for IMGs
Earlier on "Does Clinical Research Improve Residency Chances", I had dealt with the factors that WILL help - This post is about the overall advantages that research can confer on the IMGs
1. University programs and even University-Affiliated residency programs love research and publications on the resumes of incoming candidates- Of course you gotta also have the scores and other credentials in addition, but in many University programs, its possible for low scores to get in with excellent research credentials. Community programs may not care much about them - they would rather look at scores, US clinical experience, US LORs, and freshness from medical school
2. A friend who got into a cardiology fellowship told me how he had to take a "research break" for a year after completing his Internal Medicine Residency, in order to qualify for good cardiology fellowship programs. He wished he had devoted time to research while he had time before applying for his internal medicine residency. His opinion = a candidate with fellowship aspirations will need to do research sometime - better to do it BEFORE residency while you still have the patience and inclination, gets kinda tough once you are used to the working life as a resident.
3. Often the researching MD faculty at University Residency programs are very influential since they get a good amount of Grant money to the University. Doing good work for them makes them good 'contacts' for you for residency programs in the same institution and their strong word can potentially be a big trump card for you to get in. Either ways, even for other programs their Letter of Recommendation will matter a lot a too.
4. Two visa-related advantages for the International Medical Graduates:
a. If you manage to land a H1b Research job, the advantage is that residency Programs are more willing for a H1b visa transfer than to sponsor a new H1b Visa for candidates- coz' the transfer is faster and a bigger surety that the IMG will be able to start residency on time. The disadvantage though is that you can hold an H1b for 6 years at a stretch and the research job may 'eat up' your H1b tenure, which could rather be used for residency+ fellowship. Increasingly though, IMGs are beginning to take up H1b physician jobs after H1b residencies, get a Labor Certification, get a green card and THEN apply for fellowships.
b. Having publications in magazines of repute and International Circulation makes it possible for a lawyer to help you apply for your green card on the faster EB1 track reserved for Aliens with Extraordinary ability, which DOES NOT need Labor certification, unlike the regular EB3 track. A friend tells me more than three first-author publications will make it easier for a candidate to apply through the Eb1 Track, but I am not entirely sure. Read about the EB1 track on the US Immigration Website Here.
When I was a kid and was still able to run the athletic race-tracks, I enjoyed the 800-meter multi-lap run better than the frenzied 50-meter dash. The former gave me the joy of strategy part - starting out slow and then running past the "initially-overzealous-but-now-tired" guys with a smug smile..he he....So, for a fresh, well-informed and pre-planner IMG with Residency & Fellowship aspirations in University programs, indulging in publication generating research might be a long-term but an extremely powerful route with excellent benefits. The ideal route, then would look like this:
Medical School (with US Clinical Electives done in the Last Year) --> Complete USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS With Good Scores --> Voluntary /Paid Research Position at a US University with Observerships / Externships now and then in the same University for a Year or Two -> Apply for Residencies within 3 to 5 Years of Graduating from Medical School Graduation --> Enjoy the Benefits :-)
I shall soon put up a post on going about the clinical research track for residency, as time permits...of which I wish I had like 48 hours a day ;-). Hmmm...For Starters, you might wanna check out the individual websites for research job openings in this list of Top-50 American Universities for Medical Research.
Search keywords to this blog article:
- "does clinical research help residency chances for IMGs and FMGs"
1. University programs and even University-Affiliated residency programs love research and publications on the resumes of incoming candidates- Of course you gotta also have the scores and other credentials in addition, but in many University programs, its possible for low scores to get in with excellent research credentials. Community programs may not care much about them - they would rather look at scores, US clinical experience, US LORs, and freshness from medical school
2. A friend who got into a cardiology fellowship told me how he had to take a "research break" for a year after completing his Internal Medicine Residency, in order to qualify for good cardiology fellowship programs. He wished he had devoted time to research while he had time before applying for his internal medicine residency. His opinion = a candidate with fellowship aspirations will need to do research sometime - better to do it BEFORE residency while you still have the patience and inclination, gets kinda tough once you are used to the working life as a resident.
3. Often the researching MD faculty at University Residency programs are very influential since they get a good amount of Grant money to the University. Doing good work for them makes them good 'contacts' for you for residency programs in the same institution and their strong word can potentially be a big trump card for you to get in. Either ways, even for other programs their Letter of Recommendation will matter a lot a too.
4. Two visa-related advantages for the International Medical Graduates:
a. If you manage to land a H1b Research job, the advantage is that residency Programs are more willing for a H1b visa transfer than to sponsor a new H1b Visa for candidates- coz' the transfer is faster and a bigger surety that the IMG will be able to start residency on time. The disadvantage though is that you can hold an H1b for 6 years at a stretch and the research job may 'eat up' your H1b tenure, which could rather be used for residency+ fellowship. Increasingly though, IMGs are beginning to take up H1b physician jobs after H1b residencies, get a Labor Certification, get a green card and THEN apply for fellowships.
b. Having publications in magazines of repute and International Circulation makes it possible for a lawyer to help you apply for your green card on the faster EB1 track reserved for Aliens with Extraordinary ability, which DOES NOT need Labor certification, unlike the regular EB3 track. A friend tells me more than three first-author publications will make it easier for a candidate to apply through the Eb1 Track, but I am not entirely sure. Read about the EB1 track on the US Immigration Website Here.
When I was a kid and was still able to run the athletic race-tracks, I enjoyed the 800-meter multi-lap run better than the frenzied 50-meter dash. The former gave me the joy of strategy part - starting out slow and then running past the "initially-overzealous-but-now-tired" guys with a smug smile..he he....So, for a fresh, well-informed and pre-planner IMG with Residency & Fellowship aspirations in University programs, indulging in publication generating research might be a long-term but an extremely powerful route with excellent benefits. The ideal route, then would look like this:
Medical School (with US Clinical Electives done in the Last Year) --> Complete USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS With Good Scores --> Voluntary /Paid Research Position at a US University with Observerships / Externships now and then in the same University for a Year or Two -> Apply for Residencies within 3 to 5 Years of Graduating from Medical School Graduation --> Enjoy the Benefits :-)
I shall soon put up a post on going about the clinical research track for residency, as time permits...of which I wish I had like 48 hours a day ;-). Hmmm...For Starters, you might wanna check out the individual websites for research job openings in this list of Top-50 American Universities for Medical Research.
Search keywords to this blog article:
- "does clinical research help residency chances for IMGs and FMGs"
Labels: Clinical Research, IMGs
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posted by Digitaldoc, MD at 9:35 PM
Comments on "Clinical / Medical Research: Advantages for IMGs"
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Anonymous said ... (September 11, 2007 9:37 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (October 13, 2007 11:42 AM) :
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Digitaldoc, MD said ... (October 13, 2007 2:12 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (October 15, 2007 2:23 PM) :
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Digitaldoc, MD said ... (October 15, 2007 2:30 PM) :
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Anonymous said ... (November 21, 2007 4:39 AM) :
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Digitaldoc, MD said ... (November 21, 2007 11:48 AM) :
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fellowhuman said ... (January 26, 2008 12:15 PM) :
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fellowhuman said ... (January 27, 2008 11:18 AM) :
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Digitaldoc, MD said ... (January 31, 2008 10:13 PM) :
Post Your Comment !Anonymous said ... (May 17, 2007 11:26 PM) :
digital doc sir, first of all i'd thank u for this awesome site...very helpful!..i am year 3 mbbs students in kanpur,India...is it possible to do some kind of externship in usa during my internship or during my vacations this year..that would help me land an internal medicine residency programme easily...i have cleared usmle step 1 with an above average score..
Digitaldoc, MD said ... (May 18, 2007 10:20 AM) :
Of course it will help to do clinical electives in the US during your intership. Read more about applying to electives here. Start early on ur search :-)
doctor said ... (May 18, 2007 12:36 PM) :
hi digitaldoc
thaaanks a lot 4 the info
i was lookin for research topics ..
thanks again
god bless you
can u plz tell if my plan is ok...
i wanna do 6 months research (from jan '08)
then observership n while doing dat apply to universities by sept 1st
is it okay?
wat u think?
or shud i go in for step 3?
do suggest wat u think is good...
thanks
doctor said ... (May 18, 2007 1:38 PM) :
HI DIGIDOC
i wanted to kno which position am i applying for???
i mean A RESEARCH ASSISTANT?
RESEARCH COORDINATOR??
WHAT?
this is important to mention on the application
PLZ GUIDE ME ABOUT IT
I SHALL B HIGHLY THANKFUL..
docsunited said ... (May 18, 2007 8:14 PM) :
hi digital doc,
its really great to hear the information from me... you just read our minds of the confusion we have had...
few more question..
1.which research to apply in.. anyone is fine or somespecific?
2.How do we apply for it?
3.And as you said, it is more usefull for uni programm, but what abt the community or affilated..but if we go for community than what is more important..
Digitaldoc, MD said ... (May 18, 2007 10:13 PM) :
Answer 1: Step 3 can wait, or you can do both step 3 and the experiences you are talking about, since you are more concerned about passing the exam than scoring too high or something. Having research / clinical experiences will help you more, when program directors screen incoming applications.
Answer 2: Research assistant is more like it. Coordinator will need more experience and may have more of administrative responsibilities that research
Answer 3: Research in the field you wanna get in will help you more- like Neurology for neurology aspirants ,..or Nephrology for Internal Medicine -> Nephrology Fellowship track aspirant, etc. I shall be covering applying , etc. on another post soon. - for community programs USMLE scores, date of graduation and US experience and US LORs seem more important in case of IMGs
Anonymous said ... (May 19, 2007 11:19 AM) :
actually i meant to ask if they will take me without having received my mbbs degree..cuz that will be received after my internship.thanks alot.
Anonymous said ... (June 08, 2007 7:30 AM) :
can it be advantageous for me if i do "masters in clinical research" for my residency
Anonymous said ... (July 11, 2007 2:42 PM) :
thanks a lot for very useful site Sir Digidoc...i couldnt understand how to use the link you've given t apply for research.Is it to go to the website of individual universities and go to their research section.Will you please clarify it.
Anonymous said ... (July 24, 2007 9:15 PM) :
Hi:
How does and upto what extent does a PhD help in getting into a residency program?
All the replies/input would be appreciated.
Thanks,
MBBS,PhD!
shilpa said ... (August 25, 2007 3:47 AM) :
Hi doc..i have done a project in nephrology and it was presented in a conference n it won first prize n was published in the conference book..can i add this in publication column of CAF..?
thanx
Digitaldoc, MD said ... (August 25, 2007 6:22 PM) :
Yes you can - as the CAF instructions say:
"(Include Articles/Abstracts, Books, Poster Sessions, Invited National or Regional Presentations)"
Hi,
I graduated july 2007(India) and I am planning for Feb 2008 STEP 1. I understand that I may not be able to make it for 2009 Residency, if I dont complete my CK and CS by july 2008.
Now I know of a Professor in my medical college(INDIA) who could help me with some research work.So you think its advisable that I get some research credits, before I plan my step 2?
Sure, it may be worth it - more worth it if that research will result in a publication.
If you plan Step 1 in Feb, you can still get done with Step 2 CK by June end and apply for the 2009 match with Step 1 and Step 2 CK scores and a CS date taken
Hi Digitaldoc,
i wanted to know if research with the indian council of medical research....the short term research studentships that students do during their mbbs have any value if they havent led to publications in journals.like just the study by itself accepted and completed for icmr?
Consider it like this - if you would not doing anything better at that time - like US clinical / research experience, then its time well spent , surely adds to your resume , but see to it that it does not consume too much of your USMLE study time
hi digidoc, i'm a 3rd year med student from india, and already have already done a project. will it add up to my credits to getting a residency in the u.s p.s. my research is in the area of pharmacology & i aspire to get into an int.med. residency
From the project, if you had a publication in a recognized journal, - it will certainly help in programs where the program director or a major research faculty is interested in a similar research. So you can google residency programs to find out similar research interests, and apply there.
Dear digitaldoc,
i have few advices i would like to share with u- based on my and my friends experiences- and at the end i have a question. 1- try to do research back home befor u apply to any research position in the feild u r intrested in ,
2-when u contact US doctors concerning research position choose the people whom r intrested in the feild in which u did research , for example if u did research about dibaebitic nephropathy , email someone who is intrested in that feild of research.
3- try to aim for big institutes bec. large institutes have large FUNDS.
4-when u email someone try to make the email personal for example , dear doc, i read yor x, y , z papers , i am intrested in this feild of research ,i participated in a research project etc...and i aspire to be a specialize in this feild.
read some of his papers on pubmed , you can get the fulltext free from HINARI ,its easy to find a hacked password in one of the forums.
REMEBER U R DEALING WITH SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW U , u need to convince him it worths invisting in u.
and when u write the email please check the english langauge .
5- prepare a CV , bec there is a chance he might ask u to provide your CV .
6-frm personal experince depend more on ur work and yr self rather than the connections.
7-regarding doing research back home , contact your professors if there is any available research , case reports.
8-there are some free online courses provided by NIH and others which might help u to shine a little and to show u r commited to research
now my question ,
if i go on H1 research visa and after that i manage to get into a residency program that offerd h1 ,can i apply for a new H1 visa (so that i will not face the problem of the time limit of h1) or i am obliged to transfer it(from h1 research to h1 clinical)i understand the advantage of easy transfering the h1 rather than applying for a new one. another thing if i transfered the h1 visa how long does it take to get the greencard from the date i filed the application
i am very gratefull for your help and i hope people will benefit from what i posted above. and to the guys still in 2nd 3rd and 4th year med school . MY ADVICE TRY TO GET ORIENTED to the US residency system early , ask people from years above u , go through forums and blogs , contact your us grad. professors. and put a plan and work.and try to work on your english langaue early if u have a problem with that. and when there is a well there is a way . and one last point , u r as good as US grads or even BETTER so trust your selves
Yours
Fellow Human
FIRST OF ALL , what u r going to read is based on my readings, its not 100% garanteed to be true so consult a lawyer to be sure, i do not hold responsible nor does this blog:-)
well, regarding my question above i have been doing some reading . i will use my case as an example for explaination.i got a h1b research job and i am planning to apply for surgical residency after completing my research.
you can stay under h1b category for no more than 6 year!!! this means that if you go on H1b research visa and then you are accepted in an h1b residency program then the sum of the total time of your research post + the residency program must be =<6 years. so the clock starts ticking from the time you get your first h1b visa. and changing categories from h1b research to h1b clinical DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE A NEW 6 YEARS. so what are the options then?
1-if your research institute agree to sponsor a greencard for you then you can apply for a greencard , take notice that h1b research positions are legibile to THE PERM APPLICATION PROCESS- a bit complicated process and you have to make sure 100% of this by consulting a legal counsler- however what i am sure of is h1b residency jobs are illegible for the greencard application.
2-if your residency program(for example internal medicine) +research program is <6 years then simply switch the visa from h1b research to h1b clinical. and then after residency get a permenant job and certification of labor and apply for green card.
3- however if your research job +residency is >6 years (example 2 year research in general surgery and then 5 year general surgery residency ) then you have to switch the h1b research visa to j1 clinical visa.or you can do 1 year research only and then enter g. surgery residency .
4-during your h1b research if you satisfy the EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY (EB1) or NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER PETITIONS (EB2) category 1 which deals which requires no job offer and deals with highly talented physicians, you can apply for green card. HOWEVER, beaware of something very improtant, i read on some forums that if you apply for EB1 or EB2 and get refused this might affect your chances to get j1 clinical .I AM NOT SURE I AM NOT A LAWYER AND YOU NEED TO CONSULT ONE, this is based only on my readings of various law sites and forums.
5-now if you apply for h1b research , spend 2 and half years doing research , your institute did not sponsor u for greencard, soi after that you got a 5 year surgical categorical position on j1, now after completeing your surgical residency you decided to do a 3 year fellowhsip, lets say cardiothoracic ,(5 yrs +3 yrs =8 yrs,j1 limit is 7 yrs) what do then. well if you worked very hard and did some good research during your residency years you can apply for o1 visa-visa for extraordinary people- complete your fellowship then return home for 2 years or waiver job.if you check this blog you will find more explaination concerning O1. and this is what i plan to do 2 yr research a good surgical categorical position a 2 year fellowship or gettign an o1 and going for cardiothoracic surgery if i decide to choose it as a career. one last thing i would like to add another beenfit of research ,u get a social security number and u can apply for california letter.
regards,
fellow human
Thanks for all the extensive research you have done on this matter. This will be of great benefit to readers in the same situation. Thanks for posting this.