DERMATOLOGY & IMGs

Beauty is only skin deep and unfortunately, so are the chances for an IMG to get into a Dermatology residency program. But then again, like we spoke in Radiology, it may be possible to eventually land a residency in Dermatology after "getting into the system" through a residency in Internal Medicine , Family Practice, etc.


Lotsa things contribute to making Dermatology very very tough :

1. American graduates love the field for the great life-style and the good incomes

2. Unlike the number of seats for specialties like Internal Medicine and Family Practice (Indeed - many programs could build one or more football teams with their Internal Medicine residents ;-)), the number of positions for Dermatology remain very low - like 2 to 5 and rarely more.

3. Thirdly, the American Board of Dermatology requires all residents to have a postgraduate year of medical training, in a specialty approved by the Board of Dermatology (internal medicine, general surgery, family practice, obstetrics & gynecology, pediatrics or emergency medicine) prior to beginning the dermatology training - which basically calls for a prelim / transitional year or even leaving another residency half-way ....Hmmm

4. Life-style Professions are fairly closely guarded, meaning you get an entry mostly through contacts and recommendation letters from other skin docs....


Dermatology in US has got more exciting with the advent of new technologies and with "Teledermatology" where patients far away from the clinic are diagnosed over high-resolution video cams.

Harvard Medical School does have a "International Training Program" in Dermatology meant to train FMGs - to find out more and contact them, Click Here.

Also , University of South Florida accepts 4th Year Medical School IMGs for Dermatology Electives - Click Here for application process



Also Read:

Read about Dermatologist Salaries Here

Locate some IMG friendly Dermatology Program Here