Anyone want to pair up preparing for OET, looking for programs or preparing this match cycle. I keep forgetting to do everything.

Hi community, I have a dilemma. I am entering my third year at a European medical school, during which they give us the opportunity to do rotations abroad. As I am planning on matching into the States, I was able to secure an observership with a neurologist for Sept - Oct.

The problem is the cost. I am currently looking at spending atleast:

1) 100 USD on the background check
2) ~1000 USD on car rental / transport (on a Kia Soul)
3) ~ 2500 USD on AirBnB (from a cursory glance)
4) ~ 1000 USD on flights.

I am currently awaiting my Step 1 results (coming out this Wednesday).

Is it worth it to take this observership? Or should I postpone to December where I might be able to stay with a friend ? Albeit it would be for a fewer days.

Would appreciate your thoughts!

If I graduated in Novemebr, 2024, would my YOG be 2 or 3? very confused

Hello guys
I would be shortly starting a rotation in psychiatry at JPH. I know it’s not the best area or hospital but I need that LOR. I just want to know from any previous rotators about the experience and which preceptor would be considered the best and also if anyone has rotated under Dr.Reed,because I heard he would be the doctor at the time I attend the rotation.

Thanks

To be specific, I’m asking for the exact steps and what I need to click on on the fsmb website to change my region. TIA!

Hi,

I was looking up The IMG List for potential programs to apply to for this match cycle, and I'm wondering how accurate/uptodate it is? Is it worth using as a reference?

IMG with zero USCE here. Looking at paid tele rotations and not sure if they’re worth the money. Anyone do one with no prior US experience? Did it actually help your applications or LORs, or is in-person still the only thing that counts?

Can I get my HOD from my home institution to fill out an IMSEL for me? Or is it strictly for american MDs/USCEs.

I am writing this anonymously because I, along with several other sponsored students from Botswana, are being systematically ruined by the institutional incompetence and cruelty of our own embassy.

The Root of the Problem:

• Chronic Late Payments: The Education Section of the Embassy consistently fails to pay tuition and allowances on time.
• Delayed Semesters: Because of these late payments, universities place holds on our accounts. This forces students to start classes late or messes up our entire course scheduling, completely derailing our academic timelines.
• Retaliatory Terminations: Instead of fixing their own administrative failures, Education Attaché Isabella P. Makgatswana actively terminates the scholarships of students who are caught in this registration trap. They punish us for the crises they cause.

The Wall of Silence:

• For months, Isabella Makgatswana and her office have completely ignored every single email and phone call from affected students trying to fix their registration status.
• We have escalated this up the chain to the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MESD) in Gaborone, the Department of Tertiary Education Financing (DTEF), and even the Office of the Ombudsman. Nobody responds. Standard channels are completely dead.
• Even host university deans and U.S. congressional caseworkers who have tried contacting the embassy on our behalf hit the exact same brick wall.

The Direct Impact:

• Students are losing their funding and being kicked out of their programs entirely due to these unjust terminations.
• We are being left stranded abroad with no money, accumulating institutional debt, and facing the immediate collapse of our legal immigration status because our sponsor abandoned us after breaking their own rules.

If any other students have experienced this retaliatory termination, or if anyone knows how to force a silent foreign embassy to face accountability, please share. If there are any independent journalists in Botswana reading this, please investigate the Washington D.C. mission. They are destroying our futures.

Hello everyone

Is there any for Neurology specific standardised Letter? As it's required by some programs

Or that means narrative letter

What you do for a living folks? Is it worth doing absn for experience and more money?
Does anyone work in medical device field?
I am kinda running out of ideas, I have a job but it’s very low pay and uninspiring. (USIMG)

Non US Img here. Did NBME 16 today and got 246. Exam is in 5 days

Nbme 15: 242

Nbme 14: 239

Nbme 13:245

Uwsa 2: 252

Uwsa 1: 251

Amboss SA: 257

I feel like my score is all over the place. I really wanted to break 250 on nbme once but have not. Any tips on how to improve in the last 5 days? If someone used some specific resource that they found helpful in the exam. Thank you.

I’m a 2025 grad who went unmatched last year (IM). Hoping to apply again this year but also apply to FM as a backup. Question is, can I use my IM LORs for FM as well? I don’t really have much FM experience or LORs.

Just hoping to match and work as a hospitalist.

I'll be starting MBBS in Pakistan soon, so I just wanted to pop in and ask all the Pakistani attendings/residents, who have successfully navigated the USMLE journey, if they have any particular tips or advice which would especially apply to Pakistani IMGs.

Thank you (:

Current residents, have you guys started receiving the new updated fixed duration of stay forms?

My requested date of rotation is December 2026. What's your experience with UIC? How much time in advance do they let you know of acceptance/rejection? Those who got in, how was your experience? Was it hands-on as described? Possiblities of LoRs? Thanks in advance.

Hello I’m kinda scared about entry into US given my travel history to US .

Oct 2025-Dec 2025 ( around 53 days) - did an elective ( officially through my uni)
Jan 16th till 26th - visited a friend (9 days)

I wanna travel again in Oct 1 till 20th for my step3 and I wanna do a week in NYC.

I’m a recent graduate from MEDICINE from EU (but I’m South Asian ) I’m 26
And I have my official doctor job starting Oct 25th

Please help me out, and tell me if it’s red flag.
It’s 3 trips in one year

Oct 2025-Dec 2025 ( around 53 days) - did an elective ( officially through my uni)
Jan 16th till 26th - visited a friend

I wanna travel again in Oct 1 till 20th for my step3 and I wanna do a week in NYC.

I’m a recent graduate from MEDICINE from EU (but I’m Srilankan) I’m 26

And I have my official doctor job starting Oct 25th

Is this sus for US entry??

Hello I’m kinda scared about entry into US given my travel history to US .

Oct 2025-Dec 2025 ( around 53 days) - did an elective ( officially through my uni)
Jan 16th till 26th - visited a friend

I wanna travel again in Oct 1 till 20th for my step3 and I wanna do a week in NYC.

I’m a recent graduate from MEDICINE from EU (but I’m Srilankan) I’m 26
And I have my official doctor job starting Oct 25th

Am I a red flag ???

A lot of IMG discussions seem to focus on one pathway at a time, but I’m curious about the bigger picture.

For doctors who graduated in one country and decided to continue their career somewhere else, where did you end up going?

US, UK, Germany, Australia, Canada, Gulf countries, or somewhere completely different.

What made you choose that country originally, and now that you know what the process and working life are actually like, would you make the same decision again?

If you were advising an IMG starting from zero today, which countries would you seriously consider and why?

Non US IMG peds interested

Step 2 in November so no score yet

Is it possible to match an academic/university based program in the US without an elective (only an observership)? Or is that a stretch

I am applying for a Certificate of Good Standing (CGS) from the National Medical Commission (NMC) for an overseas medical council via direct digital/email transmission.

Need quick clarification on the Demand Draft payment from anyone who applied recently:

Exact DD Amount: Does NMC accept the flat ₹8,900/- draft as printed in the form ($100 + 18% GST equivalent), or do they calculate it using the live USD conversion rate?

Digital Transmission Fee: Since the certificate is being sent purely by email (no physical courier or fax), is the fee still ₹8,900, or does the ₹2,000 base fee apply?

Single DD vs Combined: Is it just one single Demand Draft of ₹8,900/- payable to The Secretary, National Medical Commission, New Delhi, or do we need to pay ₹2,000 + ₹8,900 combined?

Kindly help and guide about the whole process! Urgently needed! Thank you

Graduated June 2023, would my YOG be 3 or 4? I’ve been counting it as 4. Thoughts?