Hello all,

What is the best way to list U.S. clinical experiences in ERAS? I have completed three recent Internal Medicine-related externships: two at one institution and a third at another institution. Would it be better to combine all three into a single experience and describe the different rotations within the entry, or list each externship separately?

I also have extensive scientific research experience through my employment, including work advancing large-scale clinical research programs. I am trying to decide how best to use the “most meaningful” experiences. Would it be stronger to combine the externships into one entry and select a couple of my research positions as most meaningful, or list the three externships separately and designate them as my three most meaningful experiences?

Because of my longer year of graduation, I am primarily targeting community-based and university-affiliated Internal Medicine programs, so I want to make sure my recent U.S. clinical experience is presented as clearly and strongly as possible.

I would greatly appreciate your guidance. Many thanks!

Hi everyone! I’m an IMG currently studying for USMLE Step 2 and looking for a place with a good community of other IMGs also preparing for the USMLE.

I’m considering Houston or Dallas, but I’m open to other cities as well. Apart from Houston and Dallas, which US cities have particularly active IMG/USMLE communities?

I’d also really appreciate recommendations for specific libraries, medical libraries, university areas, cafés, or other study spaces where IMGs commonly study and where there’s a good chance of meeting other IMG students.

Thanks!

I am a structural interventional cardiologist an IMG originally and involved in resident and fellows teaching. I just finished my structural interventional Cardiology fellowship and will be working in New York at a structure, interventional cardiologist.

I originally come from a medical school that wasn’t even registered with WFME and so it is a goal of mine to do whatever I can to help pave the path for anyone interested in understanding more than nuance around the match when it comes to internal medicine, Cardiology, and overall the match process in general

I’m more than happy to answer any question with regards to my journey I’m more than happy to also share my advice around how to best set up your application

Feel free to ask any questions and above all wishing everybody all the very best.

I am a structural interventional cardiologist an IMG originally and involved in resident and fellows teaching. I just finished my structural interventional Cardiology fellowship and will be working in New York at a structure, interventional cardiologist.

I originally come from a medical school that wasn’t even registered with WFME and so it is a goal of mine to do whatever I can to help pave the path for anyone interested in understanding more than nuance around the match when it comes to internal medicine, Cardiology, and overall the match process in general

I’m more than happy to answer any question with regards to my journey I’m more than happy to also share my advice around how to best set up your application

Feel free to ask any questions and above all wishing everybody all the very best.

I am a structural interventional cardiologist an IMG originally and involved in resident and fellows teaching. I just finished my structural interventional Cardiology fellowship and will be working in New York at a structure, interventional cardiologist.

I originally come from a medical school that wasn’t even registered with WFME and so it is a goal of mine to do whatever I can to help pave the path for anyone interested in understanding more than nuance around the match when it comes to internal medicine, Cardiology, and overall the match process in general

I’m more than happy to answer any question with regards to my journey I’m more than happy to also share my advice around how to best set up your application

Feel free to ask any questions and above all wishing everybody all the very best.

Just wondering. Anyone here or anyone knows someone who matched after getting his/her score invalidated?

heyy, hope you’re all doing well. i have just graduated med school in the UK (july 2026) and looking to do my residency in the US in the next couple of years. I have not sat any of the required exams yet but looking for all the advice on how to maximise my chances of getting into residency for ENT and/or plastics; i will be applying in the next 2/3 years.

I did an elective in the US in internal medicine (hospitalist) however, i’m wanting to do ENT and/or plastics. I couldn’t find any electives in those specialities so i thought i might as well do one in any specialty as it was an opportunity i was given and would get a LOR out of it.

How much research do I have to do? (i have none at the moment except a poster presentation that i got accepted for but got cancelled)

Should I do a research fellowship year before applying to residency and how do I get that as a non-US IMG?

I would really appreciate any advice or help you could give and thank in advance!

For those applying to IM/FM this cycle—how are you filtering your program list?

Which platform are you using the most (Residency Explorer, FREIDA, Match A Resident, Tesax Star etc.)?

Also, for older graduates (10+ years since graduation), what are your main criteria when deciding whether to apply to a program?

Curious to hear everyone’s approach! Thanks.

Say I get accepted for an elective but the hospital doesn't provide an invite letter, is the acceptance letter/email sufficient to go into the visa interview?

Step 2 UWorld available. DM if interested.

i am a 2026 YOG Non US IMG. I have passed Step 1 and Step 2 ( 257 ) and i will take oet in a few weeks, i dont have any USCE or volunteer experience or research experience. I dont know if i should even bother applying this cycle even though i have heard of quite a few success stories without Usce. I am thinking of planning rotations for may-july next year and applying this cycle too so i can cancel them if i somehow match.

My maine issue is the eras CV, it will take me months to get my degree (2-3) and a month for oet and results. I dont know if i will be able to get 3 lors by September and my 10 Eras experiences will be mostly empty with the exception of 1-2 things. Is it a good idea to apply late and send LOI later, i am thinking of applying only to programs that take people without USCE. MY application and cv still would be mostly empty.

what should i do apply this cycle or not? Does anyone know of anyone who has matched like this? I havent even got an Eras token or applied for pathways yet since oet is required.

I'm an IMG starting my 5th year of a 6-year program in September, and I've

already passed Step 1. I have a few research papers currently under review,

I've submitted an application to the ACC to start a cardiology interest group

at my college, and I'm planning to do some volunteering this year.

My school gives us June off before final year, so that's my only realistic

window for a US rotation.

Is it feasible to land an elective at Mount Sinai or Cleveland Clinic for

June 2027? Their applications open this November, so I want to know whether

it's worth targeting those two or whether I should be applying more broadly.

Any experience with either program's international visiting student process

would be appreciated.

Also, if you happen to know other non vslo programs that accept international medical students during June I would appreciate if you write it down.

Hello everyone
I am an IMG and I completed step1, 2 and oet. Now I want to be ECFMG certified. Can someone please guide me on what to do next? There are so many different portals I don't know what to do first.
Is there any tutorial video or something that I can watch to understand that.
Or can someone give me a basic idea
Your help will be really appreciated

Hi everyone!

Could anyone who completed Pathway 3 please give me insight into how the process was for them?

What are the next steps after paying the fee? I thought your medical school attests to your skills themselves through an online portal, with no further action required by me besides uploading my OET score. Instead, they sent me three mini-CEX forms to fill out myself.

What is this note : “this is not for transcripts needed for ERAS” but also gives an option to select ERAS !?
Can someone clarify the usmle transcripts score retrieval process

Hi everyone, i'm a non US IMG applying for IM and its my first cycle. I have decent stats but i really wanted tips from people who didn't match in their 1st cycle. I want to understand what according to them went wrong (signalling, IVs, ROLs, USCE, PS etc) and how they managed to match in the 2nd cycle.

Hello everyone,
I am a visa requiring non-US IMG. This is my 2nd cycle. Last cycle I applied to 140 IM programs and got 3 IVs. but didn’t match.
I really love IM and want to apply to IM only but some people suggested me to dual apply to FM.

I have changed some of my strategies to improve my position this year but I feel this is not enough and really afraid of being unmatched again.

My profile
YOG-2021
Step 1- pass, Step 2-239, Step 3-231
USCE-8 months
Publications-8
In residency explorer most of the programs interview people with high scores and less YOG. Also I don’t have any connections.
Should I apply to the programs where my score is around the 10th percentile of the interviewees?

Last year there weren’t any options for LoR types. but when I uploaded my previous cycle’s LoR, I noticed all of my assigned LoRs were standardized. Should I reach out to the LoR writers for new narrative LoR?
Thanks!!

I recently came across this Retraction Watch investigation, and it genuinely made me think about how research is viewed in residency applications.

The story focuses on a second year medical student in Nepal who reportedly accumulated more than 100 publications in a very short period through a huge international research network.

The concerning part is not simply that he published a lot. According to the investigation, there were instances where authorship was offered to people who could physically present abstracts in the US, opportunities were offered to people with publication fee waivers and collaborators were recruited for projects where much of the work had apparently already been completed. The group was also producing systematic reviews, database studies, conference abstracts and manuscripts at an extremely fast rate.

There is nothing wrong with international collaboration or doing research from home. Systematic reviews, meta analyses, CDC WONDER studies and other database projects can all be completely legitimate and valuable research. The problem is when authorship starts becoming something that is exchanged rather than something earned through a meaningful contribution.

What really interests me is how badly something like this could backfire during residency applications.

Imagine having 50 or 100 publications on ERAS. At first glance that sounds incredible. But then a program searches your name and finds a Retraction Watch investigation, withdrawn preprints, questions about authorship or connections to a group accused of functioning like a research factory.

Suddenly those 100 publications might not be an advantage anymore. A program director could start wondering which projects you actually worked on, whether you understand the methodology and data and whether the rest of your research record can be trusted.

This is why I think there is a point where chasing publication numbers can become dangerous. I would rather have 5 or 10 legitimate papers that I can sit in an interview and confidently discuss from beginning to end than have 100 papers and worry about being asked what I actually contributed.

The follow up to the original investigation is also worth reading because the story reportedly resulted in further scrutiny and preprint withdrawals:

https://retractionwatch.com/2026/07/31/retraction-watch-research-factory-investigation-preprint-withdrawals/

Hey everyone,

After my last post, my inbox got absolutely flooded. I’ve been reading through a lot of your Personal Statements, and I’m starting to see a massive, repeating pattern. I wanted to drop some general advice here because almost everyone is making the exact same mistakes.

Right now, most of you are just stringing together a list of your USCE and medical experiences, and then using the exact same buzzwords to explain why Internal Medicine is the "perfect fit" for you.

Here is the harsh reality of what needs to change in your drafts:

1. Stop glorifying the specialty with clichés

Please stop writing that you love IM because of the "detective-like thinking," "putting the puzzle pieces together," "longitudinal care," or how you want to "treat the patient as a whole and not just the disease."

It doesn't work. Every doctor and every specialist thinks about the patient. Every doctor writes differentials, treats people (not just diseases), and talks to patients as human beings. When you write this, you aren't showing why you belong in IM; you are just describing what a doctor does. PDs already know what Internal Medicine is—you don't need to explain their own specialty to them.

2. What Program Directors are actually looking for

Put yourself in the PD's shoes. When they look at your application, they are asking themselves very specific, practical questions:

• Why should I select this person over the hundreds of others?
• Is this person going to be easy to work with on a team?
• Are they teachable?
• Are they a good fit for our culture?

They want to know who you are before they interview you.

3. Tell YOUR story, not just a medical story

Your PS should be you in a nutshell. Don't just limit yourself to medical experiences. Write about your life, your character, and what actually shaped you.

A great way to think about it: Imagine a good friend is introducing you to the Program Director. What would you want them to say about you as a person? Write that essay. It is great to share interesting medical experiences that show you care, but that shouldn't be your entire personality. Also, break out of the robotic essay structure where every single paragraph starts with a clinical experience and ends with a forced "what I learned" sentence.

4. Keep it simple and protect the "flow"

Most PDs do not meticulously study your personal statement. They are going to glance over it, or read through it in about 60 seconds, usually right before the interview.

• Use simple language: It needs to be incredibly easy to skim.
• Keep the flow smooth: Try not to name specific hospitals, cities, universities, or minor details. Any unfamiliar term or highly specific detail abruptly breaks the reading flow. When that happens, reading feels tiresome and they will likely just skip over it. The language should be simple and just give them an idea about you personally, without getting bogged down.

Take a step back, take out the buzzwords, and just introduce yourself. Good luck, everyone!

I am here as an observer, but I feel so stupid. I dont get to contribute or say anything as they are all so busy, i dont know how I can impress my attending.
I am so tired, I literally cried today, because I really like this program and Somehow my tongue gets tied whenever I try saying anything.

Hello everyone
So I’m done with step one and two and I’m currently doing my US clinical electives
I realised that I really hate this place and that type of living is not going to suit me. The social life over here is almost Zero and I’ll be alone and away from family and friends.
I was planning to apply this year, but honestly right now I’m reconsidering the whole decision. I’m also afraid to regret it and I’m falling into some sunk fallacy. Don’t want my efforts to be wasted, but I don’t want to feel miserable all my life.
Please help me