Mexican Residency to U.S. Residency

[LongDocDong]

1.) Would doing a residency in Mexico first help to match into a U.S. residency or is it entirely dependent on Step scores?
2.)Would an MPH make more competitive for a U.S. residency?
3.) Would citizenship or permanent residency help for match?
4.) Will clerkships in the U.S. be a requirement to match into a U.S. residency? if so, how many and how to go about setting those up if out of med school already?
5.) Is a surgical residency viable?
6.) is it possible to get a hospital administrative job in the states without completing a residency or by doing just a Mexican residency and/or MPH?

If you can't help on all the questions, any answers would be much appreciated!

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[medpack87]

1. Entirely dependent on USMLE scores. Some programs might be slightly interested in her experiences, but once she has interviewed.
2. An MPH would make her more competitive in some programs.
3. Not sure about the citizenship. But permanent residency (aka GreenCard) is always a plus when applying to programs. It is easier for them to hire you since they don't have to go through the hassle of the J1 visa. On top of that, if you have a green card you would be able to moonlight and many programs like that. Since I am on this topic, H1b visas are falling out favor in many places, as well as in fellowship application. But if you match into a program where they sponsor your H1b, then you can also moonlight. In summary Greencard>J1>H1B.
4. Clerkships are not a requirement. But it is crucial to have some US clinical experience. At the very least as an observer! There are some organisations out there that help place IMGs into observership programs. I recommend trying to get a contact and asking to observe. Much cheaper and at the end ask for a letter of recommendation all the same.
5. There are many IMGs that go into surgery. They need to have high scores and some US clinical experience. They usually start with a prelim year; sometimes they end up doing multiple prelim years (aka doing an internship in family med or internal med for one year and then reapplying to surgery).
6. No

Question for you:
Why isnt your friend exploring the forums and taking this matter into her own hands? She will find a wealth of information and resources if she sets off to find them.