US Clinical Experience required from a FMG for Med-Peds

[kristo]

Hi,

Next year, I will be a final year medical student in my home country, Iceland. In our last semester, we get three months elective time.

Since I'm interested in doing a Med-Peds residency in the US, I'm hoping to spend those three months doing clinical electives there.

I have been contacting places that have Med-Peds programs, ideally trying to get one month medicine, one month pediatrics and one month combined outpatient med-peds elective.

Now, should this plan fail, would my chances of matching in med-peds be severely impacted by "settling" for one medicine elective, one pediatrics and a third one in maybe pediatric or adult EM at a place that does not have a med-peds program?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on the issue.

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[group_theory]

Hi,

Next year, I will be a final year medical student in my home country, Iceland. In our last semester, we get three months elective time.

Since I'm interested in doing a Med-Peds residency in the US, I'm hoping to spend those three months doing clinical electives there.

I have been contacting places that have Med-Peds programs, ideally trying to get one month medicine, one month pediatrics and one month combined outpatient med-peds elective.

Now, should this plan fail, would my chances of matching in med-peds be severely impacted by "settling" for one medicine elective, one pediatrics and a third one in maybe pediatric or adult EM at a place that does not have a med-peds program?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on the issue.

Get as much US Clinical Experience as you can. Doing an Med-Peds elective gives you more time to be with more Med-Peds residents (and faculty) but it's not necessary. Med-Peds specific electives are rare and there are many students who match into Med-Peds who never did a Med-Peds elective.

But being an international grad, make sure the programs you are interested are able to sponsor the type of visas that you might need.

Try doing medicine electives at programs with med-peds (to get exposure to med-peds faculty and residents). Same advice for pediatrics.

 

[kristo]

Thanks for your help, group_theory. I'll spend those three months in the US, preferably one of them in a med-peds elective, but if I don't get one, then in meds and peds.