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All over the world, infectious diseases are on the rise. Every day on the news, you might hear a breaking story about the discovery of a novel virus that has the potential to wreak havoc across the globe. At the same time, you might be hearing about infectious diseases that have been around for centuries but are somehow making a comeback. Consider some of the most recent developments in the field of infectious diseases:

• The Zika virus has gained traction in South American countries like Brazil, and it has also been carried to other countries, like the United States. The effects of the virus are not well understood, but it has been shown to cause microcephaly in infants after their mothers have been infected.
• Between 2014 and 2016, the most recent outbreak of Ebola ravaged countries in West Africa, causing a worldwide health scare.
• Over the last two years, there have been measles outbreaks across Europe, especially in Romania, where over 3,400 cases have been reported since January 2016. Some suggest that the increase in measles, mumps, and rubella has resulted from unwarranted fears about the safety of vaccines for children.
• Scientists have recently reported that the number of new flu viruses is increasing each year. This is making it increasingly harder for scientists to develop effective vaccines.

If stories like these capture your academic interest as a physician, you may want to consider becoming an infectious disease specialist in the future. Read on to learn more about working as an infectious disease specialist and what you need to do to become one.

Working as an Infectious Disease Specialist

An infectious disease specialist is a physician who is an expert at diagnosing, treating, and preventing the spread of illnesses that are transmitted from person to person. Infectious diseases may be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi, and they can affect many different parts of the body. Although some infectious diseases, like the common cold, are relatively easy to diagnose and treat, most infectious disease specialists focus their work on infections that are particularly difficult to treat or have not been fully studied.

As an infectious disease specialist, your job could involve aspects of clinical practice, scientific research, and public health efforts. Depending on your interests and training, you might spend some of your time working directly with patients, providing them with vaccinations against infectious diseases and/or therapies to treat infections that they have already contracted. You might also choose to spend some of your time in the research lab, developing and conducting rigorous studies with the goal of finding new prevention and treatment strategies or identifying new strains of a deadly infection. If you are interested in public health, you could also find yourself using your medical knowledge to develop and direct large-scale efforts to address and eradicate infectious diseases in a broader community.

The Steps to Becoming an Infectious Disease Specialist

Regardless of the particular aspect of infectious disease in which you are most interested, the basic components of training for this career are the same. After you finish your training in medical school, you must complete a three-year medical residency in internal medicine. If you are specifically interested in becoming a pediatric infectious disease specialist, you will also need to complete a medical residency program in pediatrics. Although it can be tough for foreign medical graduates to get matched to U.S. medical residency programs, it is important to note that internal medicine and pediatrics are two of the specialty areas in which foreign medical graduates are most commonly matched. To increase your chances of getting matched, you might also want to consider completing a student elective or a clinical externship program in infectious diseases, internal medicine, and/or pediatrics before you apply for your residency.

After you finish your residency, you can get the expertise you need to become an infectious disease specialist by completing an ACGME-accredited fellowship program in infectious diseases. Depending on the location, these programs can last for either two or three years. In most programs, fellows divide their time between clinical training with patients and research training in a particular area of interest. Research within the field of infectious diseases tends to vary widely, and it may fall into any of the following categories:

• Basic science
• Translational science
• Clinical trials
• Epidemiology / public health
• Global health studies

Upon completion of one of these programs, you will be prepared for the Infectious Disease subspecialty certification exam offered by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). From there, you can start an exciting career as an infectious disease specialist!
FMG Portal offers valuable resources for foreign medical graduates who are looking to pursue careers in a wide range of specialty areas. Contact us today for more information about how to get matched to the U.S. medical residency program of your dreams!

As you look ahead to your medical career, one specialty area that you might want to consider is adolescent medicine. As an adolescent medicine specialist, you would provide care for pre-teens, teenagers, and young adults. The period of adolescence starts when the patient reaches puberty and ends when the patient is in their early twenties, so you would have the opportunity to work with patients during a crucial period of development. Read on to learn more about starting a career in this rewarding field.

The Educational Steps for Aspiring Adolescent Medicine Specialists

After earning your medical degree, you can expect to spend another six years in residency and fellowship programs before you can become a Board-certified adolescent medicine specialist. Specifically, you need to complete a three-year medical residency program and a three-year Adolescent Medicine Fellowship.

The first step is to complete a three-year residency program in one of the more general medical specialty areas. According to the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), applicants for an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship must have previously completed a three-year medical residency in one of the following specialty areas:

• Pediatrics
• Medicine – Pediatrics
• Internal Medicine
• Family Medicine

That’ good news for foreign medical graduates, since internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics were the top three specialty areas in which foreign-trained physicians got matched in 2015, according the the NRMP.

After completing a three-year residency in one of those specialty areas, you can apply for a three-year fellowship in Adolescent Medicine. Unlike some other fellowship programs, the matching process for Adolescent Medicine Fellowship programs is facilitated by the NRMP. Therefore, after you have completed your first residency program, you would go through the ERAS process to get matched to an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship program, just like you would for any other residency program.

What to Expect From an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship Program

All Adolescent Medicine Fellowship programs last for three years. The time that you spend in the program is typically divided between clinical experience, research training, and didactic coursework. In general, the first year is spent mostly on clinical training and coursework, while the second and third years involve more academic research.

However, it is important to note that the proportion of time spent in each of these areas can vary depending on the program. Some programs are primarily intended for aspiring adolescent medicine clinicians, while others focus on training adolescent medicine specialists who spend more time on academic research that supports their practice. As you look at the different programs that are available in the United States, make sure to find out about the emphasis of each one of the programs that you are considering.

Clinical Training in an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship Program

During your clinical training, you will probably have the opportunity to gain experience in multiple settings. You may complete rotations in hospitals, outpatient care centers, behavioral health clinics, substance abuse clinics, gynecology departments, school-based health clinics, and even homeless shelters. If you are interested in public health, adolescent medicine can be a great choice, because many programs offer opportunities to work with teens and young adults from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds.

Because adolescent medicine is such a broad discipline, your clinical training will equip you to treat young people with many different physical and mental health conditions. Some common topics of study include:

• Eating disorders
• Gynecology
• Substance abuse
• Nutrition
• Sports medicine
• Chronic diseases

Research Training in an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship Program

In addition to your clinical training, an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship involves academic research. In most programs, the research opportunities have implications for public health. For instance, you may conduct epidemiological research to try to understand disease frequency in certain adolescent populations, or you may conduct lab-based molecular biology research to develop sexually transmitted disease therapies that are safe for young adults. At some universities, your research can serve as the basis for a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, which you can earn as part of the Adolescent Medicine Fellowship Program.

Starting Your Career as an Adolescent Medicine Specialist

Once you finish your fellowship program, you will be ready to take the Adolescent Medicine Certification Exam. This exam is developed jointly by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP). The ABP administers the exam once a year to candidates who have completed an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship program. Passing this exam means that you are Board-certified in the subspecialty area of Adolescent Medicine.

Advice for Aspiring Adolescent Medicine Specialists

Even if you are still in medical school, there are steps you can take that can help you prepare for an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship program in the United States. Completing a student elective or a graduate externship in the field is a great way to learn more about the subspecialty area and increase your chances of getting matched. FMG Portal offers clinical externships for foreign medical graduates in Adolescent Medicine, as well as the three other relevant specialty areas: Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and Pediatrics. Contact us today for more information about what we offer!

Previously on the blog, we’ve had a few conversations about the personal statement. In the personal statement planning post, we talked about the importance of brainstorming ideas for your personal statement. Last week, we delved further into personal statement drafting. To recap: when it comes time to draft your personal statement, there are some important things to keep in mind that can help you write an outstanding personal statement — like telling a story, being conscious of your audience, organizing it to optimize fluency, and keeping the statement succinct.

That advice can serve as a foundation for a successful personal statement, but as you write, you need to be careful to avoid certain pitfalls that can derail your personal statement and reduce your chances of getting matched. Here is a list of some things NOT to do on your personal statement:

 

• Do NOT simply rewrite your CV in paragraph form. On your residency application, you only have a certain amount of space available to demonstrate why you are an excellent candidate for a US medical residency program. If your personal statement only serves to repeat what is already on your CV, it won’t be adding anything to your application. You should choose a few particularly meaningful experiences from your CV and expand on them in greater depth, explaining how exactly they shaped your academic interests and career goals.

• Do NOT use your medical school application as a template. Many residency applicants make the mistake of simply tacking on a paragraph about a residency to the end of their medical school personal statement. However, residency application readers are more interested in why you chose a particular specialty area — not why you wanted to enter the field of medicine in the first place. They also want to know about your long-term career goals, which should be much more clear than they were when you first applied to medical school.

• Do NOT focus on political or religious issues. You never know who your reader will be, so you should be careful about discussing controversial topics. If a particular life experience related to politics or religion truly merits discussion — for instance, if you worked on a political campaign or volunteered for a religious charity — make sure to discuss it in a way that highlights how it shaped your experience and demonstrates your suitability for the residency program. Don’t spend time touting the political or religious message. The personal statement should be about you.

• Do NOT try to be funny. On a personal statement, humor tends to fall flat. While it might be okay to include a witty comment or two, remember that you are discussing a very serious topic: your future training as a physician. You do not want your application reader to think that you are taking the subject lightly. Also, as a foreign medical graduate, there are sometimes cultural barriers when it comes to humor. An obvious joke in your country may be confusing for an American application reader, so it’s usually better not to risk it.

• Do NOT use abbreviations, jargon, slang, or profanity. Remember that a residency application is essentially a job application, so you need to be professional with your language. You want to let your genuine voice shine through, but you don’t want to come off too casual. Also, abbreviations and jargon might be familiar to you, but they may confuse your application reader and distract from your message. If you need to use an abbreviation for an organization (like a medical society or volunteer group), make sure to spell it out first so your reader knows what you are talking about.

• Do NOT be too repetitive. Application readers will notice if you use the same words over and over or if you start all of your sentences the same way. Don’t worry about it too much when writing the first draft of your personal statement, but as you read it over, try to find ways to vary your sentence structure. A thesaurus can also come in handy when looking for synonyms.

• Do NOT try to make your writing too complex. While the last bullet point on avoiding repetitiveness is important, remember that your goal is to explain why you are an excellent candidate for a medical residency — not to impress your application reader by using lots of big words. Especially if English is your second language, stick to words and sentences that are simple, direct, and focused on your topic.

Your personal statement is one of the most important documents in your medical residency application, so it is essential to avoid common mistakes. That way, you can ensure that your reader will remember all of the reasons why you are a good candidate who is well-prepared to succeed in their program.

Need more help with residency placement? FMG Portal offers a wide range of helpful services for foreign medical graduates. Contact us today!

The 2018 ERAS application season has officially begun! Now that the opening date of June 6 has passed, prospective residents around the world are starting to work on their applications. Here is a guide to get your MyERAS account up and running so that you have all summer to make your application shine.

Setting up a MyERAS Account

Before anything else, you need to set up an account with MyERAS. This part of the process is relatively simple. You just need to go to the AAMC MyERAS landing page and click the “Log in or Register for MyERAS” button. If you already have an account, you can sign in, but if it’s your first time on the AAMC website, you need to register. The registration process is relatively simple — you just need to provide standard personal information like your name, email address, mailing address, and home country.

You’ll also need to choose a username and a password. As with any online account, make sure that they are easy for you to remember (since you’ll be working on your application all summer!), but hard for someone else to guess (since your application will contain very important residency application materials!). For extra security purposes, you will also need to choose three security questions. Again, make sure you choose questions with answers that you will remember.

The final step in the MyERAS Account setup process is the email confirmation. If your email account has an automatic spam filter, make sure to add [email protected] to your list of allowed senders. The confirmation email usually comes within minutes. In that email, you can click the confirmation link, which will allow you to verify your information and log into the website.

ERAS Token Request

When you sign in to your MyERAS account, the first thing you will see is a place to enter your ERAS Electronic Token. The ERAS token is a fourteen-digit alphanumeric code that is required for you to start the application process. In order to obtain a token for the ERAS 2018 season, you must pay a non-refundable fee of $115.00 (U.S. dollars, payable by credit card). To get your token, you need to go to the ERAS Token Request website. On that page, you can mark that you are a graduate of an international medical school, which will take you to a form for foreign medical graduates. In that form, you will need to put in your personal information, as well as your USMLE ID to prove your ECFMG Certification.

Once you have requested and paid for your token, the code will be sent to you by email. For this, you will need to make sure that your email account will accept messages from [email protected]. You should also print out the confirmation page for your records, since it functions as your receipt.

Although you can use the token to apply for residencies in an unlimited number of specialty areas, it is important to note that your ERAS token is only valid for one application season. If you have applied for a U.S. medical residency in the past, you still need to request a new token. This year’s token will expire on May 31, 2018.

Once you have your token and type it into your MyERAS account, you’re all set! You have until September 6, 2017 to get your application ready. If you need help with any part of the U.S. medical residency application and admission process, FMG Portal is here to help. We provide a wide range of resources that can help you show U.S. medical residency programs that you are an excellent candidate. Contact us today for more information!

As a physician, you may choose between a wide range of medical specialties. If you are particularly interested in focusing on the health of the skin, hair, nails, and adjacent mucous membranes, you might want to think about becoming a dermatologists. Dermatologists provide treatment for a wide range of conditions, including benign skin disorders, malignant diseases, and cosmetic disorders. Read on to find out more about what it takes to become a dermatologist.

Prerequisites for a U.S. Medical Residency in Dermatology

As a medical school graduate, before you can enter a dermatology residency program in the United States, you need to complete a one-year ACGME-accredited internship opportunity in either the United States or Canada. That means that, if you are a foreign medical student, you need to plan ahead! There are over a hundred internship programs available, so you have lots of options. Often, future dermatologists start by completing the first year of a U.S. medical residency program in internal medicine, general surgery, or obstetrics & gynecology. However, there are also schools that accept transitional year programs and preliminary medicine internships, so you can explore the possibilities and choose the right one for you.

Dermatology Residency Programs

After completing your one-year internship, you can enroll in a three-year dermatology residency program. Over the course of the program, you will gain hands-on training in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and you will also participate in didactic activities like seminars and conferences. If you are interested in research, you may have the chance to study either basic science or clinical outcomes, depending on your area of interest.

You will likely spend the first year of your residency getting a general education in medical dermatology and surgery in an outpatient setting. You may also be exposed to the specialty area of dermatopathology, which typically involves reviewing biopsies for signs of benign skin conditions or malignant diseases.

In your second year of training, you will likely perform rotations that will expose you to other aspects of dermatology. Aside from general dermatology and dermatopathology, some of the areas in which residency programs typically provide clinical experience include:

• Pediatric dermatology
• Dermatologic surgery
• Dermatopharmacology
• Phototherapy
• Micrographic surgery
• Laser and cosmetic procedures

During your third year of study, you will be challenged to deal with the most complex patient cases. That way, when you finish, you will be well-prepared for the responsibilities of clinical practice in the field of dermatology.

After Your Dermatology Residency

Once you have finished your dermatology residency, you may immediately begin practicing, or you can complete a one-year fellowship in a particular subspecialty area of interest. Fellowship options vary by school, but some of the most common subspecialties include dermatopathology, pediatric dermatology, micrographic surgery, and dermatologic oncology. 

Many dermatology residency programs in the United States accept foreign medical graduates, but they can be competitive! FMG Portal offers a variety of services that can help you increase your likelihood of getting matched, including graduate externships that can provide valuable experience in the field of dermatology. Contact us today for more information!

May is National Mental Health Month, which provides an excellent opportunity for foreign medical students and graduates to consider a U.S. residency program in psychiatry If you are interested in working with patients who struggle with mental health conditions, a psychiatry residency can be a great option.

Becoming a Psychiatrist

As a psychiatrist, you would specialize the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychological problems and mental health disorders. For this, you would employ a wide range of treatment methods, depending on the patient’s individual needs. For example, you can practice psychoanalysis, utilize the techniques of cognitive behavioral therapy, prescribe medication, or use electroconvulsive therapy to help your patients manage and recover from mental health conditions.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, trained psychiatrists have the expertise to treat both the mental and physical aspects of a patient’s health, you might want to become a psychiatrist if you are passionate about both biology and psychology. Additionally, to be a successful psychiatrist, you must be a great listener and have excellent people skills, since so much of psychoanalysis involves listening to patients express their needs and analyzing their condition based on how they act.

Although psychiatry is not the most common residency specialty for foreign medical graduates to pursue in the United States, the growing diversity within the country had led to an increased demand for psychiatrists who are proficient in multiple languages and who are sensitive to the needs of patients from a wide range of cultures. Therefore, if your dream is to become a psychiatrist, now could be a great time to land a U.S. medical residency!

Psychiatry Residency Program Details

A medical residency in psychiatry lasts for four years.

• In the first year, you will solidify your medical knowledge and develop a strong foundation in the basics of psychiatry through a combination of clinical rotations and didactic seminars. Some of the topics covered include psychiatric interviewing, diagnosis using DSM-IV, introductory psychopharmacology, and crisis stabilization.
• In your second year, you will build on what you learned in the first year, gaining more knowledge in psychopharmacology, the diagnosis of more complex conditions, and consultation-liaison psychiatry. Additionally, you may have the opportunity to pursue electives in particular subspecialties of interest.
• Studies in the third year become even more advanced. In many programs, the third year is dedicated to developing outpatient treatment skills, so you will be exposed to therapeutic modalities such as group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and advanced pharmacotherapy. Additionally, if you are interested in scholarly research, you might have the opportunity to work on basic science, translational, or clinical studies.
• In the fourth year, you will have the chance to unify all of your knowledge and focus on your particular clinical or research areas of interest. You may be designated a chief resident, so you would hold a leadership position and gain experience working with the most complex patient cases.

After completing a psychiatry residency, you can begin practicing as a psychiatrist, or you can consider a one-year fellowship in a particular sub-specialty area, such as:

• Addiction psychiatry
• Child/adolescent psychiatry
• Geriatric psychiatry
• Forensic psychiatry
• Psychosomatic medicine

 

Whether you hope to pursue a residency in psychiatry or any other medical specialty, FMG Portal offers valuable resources for foreign medical graduates. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get matched to the program of your dreams!

The ERAS application opens on June 6, which is less than two weeks away! Although you still have the whole summer to get your application components together, you need to start thinking about everything you will need to do over the next few months. That includes brainstorming ideas for your personal statement and updating your CV. It’s also important to start thinking about who you want to ask for letters of reference, since you will need to give them ample time to write their letters.

Medical Residency Application Letter Requirements

Letter requirements can vary between medical residency programs, but most ask for three letters of reference. Some may allow you to submit four. As you research different residency programs, you should check to see if they have any additional, more specific requirements for letters of reference. For instance, some residency programs ask for both professional and personal letters of reference. Others request that you provide letters from attending physicians working in your particular specialty area. As a foreign medical graduate, you may also be required to submit a letter from a physician within the United States.

Who to Ask for a Letter of Reference

Letters of reference are an important part of your application because they can provide information about your clinical skills, personal qualities, work ethic, and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, your professional letters should come from attending physicians who know you relatively well and with whom your rotation was a success. Also, if you completed a student elective or a clinical externship within the United States, it is a good idea to ask for a letter from one of the physicians with whom you worked, because they can vouch for your readiness to complete a residency within the American medical system. In addition, some residency programs prefer letters of reference from rotations you completed during your fourth year of medical school, but it’s also okay to ask for a letter from an attending physician from a third-year rotation.

Although it can be tempting to ask for letters from residents or fellows with whom you worked more closely than the attending physician, most residency programs want to see letters from the attending. However, you could still ask a resident or fellow if they would be willing to meet with the attending physician to talk about your day-to-day work.

If a residency program asks for personal letters of recommendation, you have a much wider latitude of contacts to choose from. While most residency programs discourage you from getting letters from family members, you can ask a friend, mentor, coach, or other community member who knows you well and can help explain why you will be an excellent medical resident.

 

If you need more help with the residency match process, FMG Portal offers a variety of helpful resources. Contact us today for more information about getting matched in U.S. medical residency program!

If you are a foreign medical student thinking about applying to residency programs in the United States, one of the questions that you may be considering is the relative amount of time you will spend in inpatient and outpatient care settings. For the three specializations most commonly pursued by foreign medical graduates — internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics — the amount of inpatient and outpatient care experience you get can vary greatly between residencies, depending on the program. The right type of program for you depends on your interests and career goals.

 

Defining Inpatient and Outpatient Care

The term “inpatient care” encompasses all medical treatments that occur directly in hospitals, performed on patients that have been formally admitted to a facility. As an inpatient provider, you would most commonly be working with patients who have serious conditions that require overnight hospital stays. However, it is important to note that there are a wide variety of treatments that fall under the umbrella of inpatient care, ranging from common diagnostic procedures, like CT scans, to emergency surgery following a traumatic injury. If you envision yourself working in a hospital setting, you will probably want to look for a residency program that dedicates more rotations to inpatient care.

In contrast, “outpatient care,” also known as ambulatory care, occurs in non-hospital settings, like the office of a family physician, an outpatient surgery center, or a specialty services clinic. As an outpatient care provider, you would generally work with patients on a longer-term basis. For instance, as an outpatient family doctor, you would provide regular checkups, rather than just treating patients in the hospital when they are seriously ill or injured. If you are an internist specializing in endocrinology, you might prescribe a pharmacological treatment for patients with hormone-related diseases and monitor their care over the period of months or years, altering the treatment as necessary to improve long-range health outcomes and quality of life.

 

Choosing Between Inpatient and Outpatient Care

You don’t have to choose between a career focusing on inpatient or outpatient care before you apply for your residency, since rotations in both settings are commonly included within residency programs, especially those within internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics. But it can help to have an idea of which you are more interested in, so that you can choose a program that emphasizes one over the other.

One way for foreign medical students to gain experience in both inpatient and outpatient care is to complete a student elective program. In a three-month elective program, you have the opportunity to perform three rotations within the same specialty area, and you may be able to work under physicians in both hospital and non-hospital settings. There are also three-month plans allowing you to complete rotations under the supervision of attending physicians in three separate specialty areas, which can also give you the chance to gain experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
If you are a foreign medical student looking for an elective program, FMG Portal offers programs with both inpatient and outpatient availabilities. Contact us today for more information about the resources we provide.