I love working in the medical field as a doctor . I am planning to take USMLE then apply for internship , so how many steps I need to pass and before applying for internship ?, and do I need to get letters of recommendation from US doctors ? Can doctor Wynn Tran explain that for me because I have never heard Doctor mention about that in his video. Thank you so much . I am really impressed that Doctor Tran devotes himself to the Vietnamese community . Thanks again .
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Thank you for all the replies! I am currently in the process of preparing for USMLE Step 2 CK. After taking the test and receiving the scores, I will look to shadow a US physician ( if I manage to find one ) and see where it goes from there.
Hi, I had a chance to review residency application. I want emphasize how important it is to have good letters of recommendation especially for IMG. You should shadow US doctors and try to obtain LOR from them. It will help your application look stronger. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
To answer your questions:
1. As an IMG, you will need to get ECFMG certified before applying to ERAS. That's being said, you have to past USMLE step 1, USMLE step 2 CS and USMLE step 2 CK in order to be certified. Note that for US graduates, they only need to pass Step 1 to eligible to APPLY.
2. You will need at least 3 letters of recommendation, PREFERABLE to be from US physicians (MD or DO). They are changing the process, instead of sending hard copies (paper), they make the writers send it in by uploading online. It makes it even harder. You can send the letters from Attendings in Vietnam, but whether they will consider? who knows? they've never said (may be Dr. Tran know because he is a PD???)
Hope it help, and good luck!
Yes, you need at least three letters and those are better from US physicians and USMLE test scores as well.