Strategies for the Experienced IMG
I’m Already a Doctor!
Some IMGs decide at a more mature age that they are going to move to the US and hope to practice in their specialty. These IMGs have a few advantages and disadvantages that they can try to emphasize or de-emphasize on their applications and essays.
If you are an accomplished faculty member in your home country and have extensively published research and clinical experience, you want to be sure you highlight this in your essay. Don’t spend any time saying why you went into medical school, or your residency. Instead, simply state in 1 or 2 lines why you chose your given specialty and then begin talking about your strengths in the field. Too often essays are focused on more general topics about medicine and not enough about the specialty and the strengths the candidate will bring to residency.
If you have five years of clinical attending experience, then you should highlight that experience, your ability to teach students and residents, and the assets you’ll be bringing to your US residency program. Your greatest assets are your years of clinical experience and patient care experience. Don’t spend any time talking about your initial desires to become a physician. Tell your residency director exactly WHY you are doing your training again, and what you hope to accomplish.
If you are an experienced physician in your home country (but not necessarily distinguished as a faculty member), you should still place a great deal of focus on your clinical abilities and experiences. Too often IMG personal statements are geared toward other aspects of the application. We don’t need to hear so much about why you wanted to become a doctor, or your application into medical school. Program directors want to hear about your contributions to the field and what experiences you have. Program directors want to know exactly what kind of strengths you’ll be bringing to their program.
Can You Really Do it Again?
Program directors want to be sure you are not so “mature” that you won’t be able to stay up all night, running thru the hospital and running Code Blues at all hours of the day. You want to focus on the fact that you are accomplished and motivated to succeed and that you have the energy and the desire to handle all the stresses of residency. You also want to state that you have the ability to learn new things and adapt to a new culture of medicine.