International Medical Graduate and the United States Medical Residency Application

Raghav Govindarajan, MD, FAAN, FANA, FACP, FCPP, MRCPS (Glasg)Associate ProfessorAssociate Medical Director, Neurology Clinic and Sleep Disorders CenterClerkship DirectorNeuromuscular Clinic DirectorUniversity of Missouri, Columbia, MOSachin M Bhagavan, MDDepartment of NeurologyUniversity of MissouriColumbia, MOSwathi Beladakere Ramaswamy, MDDepartment of NeurologyUniversity of MissouriColumbia, MO

• What does US residency application consists of?.- How competitive is US residency application?.- How and when to get a clerkship position?.- Does an observership count?.- Does a research position count?.- Do I need to do a master’s program before residency application?.- I am an experienced international graduate, can I apply?.- How to prepare for USMLEs, how to do well and when to take them?.- How can I make my residency application competitive?.- How much does it cost to apply for a US residency?.- What kinds of visa do I need to apply for and when to apply?.- How to get a strong recommendation letter?.- How to write a competitive personal statement?.- What is MSPE?.- How can I make my CV strong?.- I got an interview, how do I prepare for it?.- How many interviews do I need to be safe? Is it same for prelim and advanced programs?.- I have not gotten any interviews, what should I do?.- Tips about the travel preparation for interviews.- How do I ace the interviews?.- I am done with my interviews, what should I do now?.- I matched into prelim what should I do now?.- I matched into advanced what should I do?.- I didn’t match, how do I scramble?.- I matched but not to the program of my choice, what do I do.- I matched but not to the specialist of choice, what do I do?.- I matched and I want to know what the next steps are?.- I didn’t match this year, should I apply again?.- How to prepare for a life in US?.- What should I pack and not pack?.- When can I go back to see my family?.