How to Create the Perfect Resume for Residency

How do you increase your chance of matching? No matter what your stories are, some remedies apply like panacea. Below are a few that I know, use accordingly to sooth your ailments. Side effect: potential heartache from rejections. Therapeutic range is pretty limited so please monitor the application deadlines closely.

1. International Physician Observer Program, CCF

Applicant Profile: Physician Only

Application fee: 500 USD

Outcomes: Connections, LoRs

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/international-medical-education/physician-programs/physician-observer

2.  WHO Internship (Geneva) 

Applicant Profile: Recent graduate (not more than 6 months)

Application fee: Zero

Stipend: Yes, in ~1700 CHF

Outcomes: Enrich the content of your residency interviews, Public Health and its aspirations sound really good to the PD’s ears. You can apply to regional office as well, you will have more “hands on” or “on site” experience but Geneva HQ has its glamor. They do stuffs like Cultural Night, various events organization, Intern videos/reports/photoshoot sessions that might be useful during residency interview. Weigh you pros & cons.

https://www.who.int/careers/internships/en/

3.  PAHO Internship, Washington D.C.

Applicant Profile: Recent grad PLUS the following

• is a U.S. Citizen, or
• is a U.S. Legal Permanent Resident, or
• has a valid visa with an Employment Authorization from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or
• is sponsored by PAHO with a G-4 visa.
• Foreign Students in F-1 Nonimmigrant Status Participating in Curricular Practical Training provide a valid OPT or CPT or,
• Foreign Students in F-1 Nonimmigrant Status with the correct endorsement in the I-20 by the university.

Application Fees: ZERO

Do they pay you? No.

https://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?Itemid=4245&lang=en

4.  St. Barbara Elective, CA

Applicant Profile: Student

Application Fees: Zero

Outcomes: LoRs, better chance of getting into their residency (maybe)

https://www.cottagehealth.org/medical-professionals/residency-programs/internal-medicine/internal-medicine-residency-externships/

5.  NIH Elective

Applicant Profile: Student

Application Fees: ZERO

Outcomes: LoRs, but they don’t have residency program

*** NIH has many other research based programs you can look up depending on your professional background. They have 1 year research program for US citizen, and post baccalaureate research program akin to master/PhD.***

      6.  University of Alabama Visiting Student Medical Elective

Applicant Profile: Student

Application fees: is nth compared to the tuition fees of 5000 USD

Outcomes: LoRs and considered as internal candidate for residency, maybe.

NOTES: When I was interviewing at my current matched hospital, I met another candidate who did this elective. The costs can run up to $6000 per month, but he said that he was getting real hands on experiences and airport transports etc, generally positive feedback. That's all I garnered.

https://www.uab.edu/medicine/international/international-students/international-visiting-medical-students

7          7.  Pre-Residency Training Programs (UAB)

Applicant Profile: IMG

Application fees: this must be a conscious omission from their side, email them please.

If you don't feel that you are a strong candidate for this year match, maybe you might want to take an extra year off by joining this program, boost up your credential and apply next cycle as a strong candidate.

https://www.uab.edu/medicine/international/international-scholars/pre-residency-training-programs

US Clinical Experience (USCE) Letter of Recommendation

In total, I submitted four letters of recommendation (LoRs) for my Match application. I received one from my research mentor in Boston, one from my clinical attending in Michigan, one from the NIH, and one from the Chair of the Department from my school.

Typically, clinical rotations in the US last for four weeks, with attending physicians changing every seven days (working one week on and one week off). Therefore, it can be quite challenging to make a lasting impression and impress your attending physician within just seven days, let alone for them to know you well enough and agree to write a strong letter on your behalf.

To address this challenge, it is important to communicate your intention early on. Inform your attending physician that you hope to obtain a LoR, so they can pay extra attention to your performance and evaluate you accordingly. If possible, try to work with the same attending physician again after their one-week break. This way, you can receive two weeks of supervision from the same attending physician. On a positive note, this may increase your chances of obtaining two different LoRs from the four weeks you spend in that rotation. You can then assess which letter is likely to be stronger and upload that one to your ERAS application.

The attending physician may ask you the following questions to assist them in writing the letter:

• Tell me about yourself and your future plans.
• Please send me your CV.
• To what extent were you responsible for patient care? (You should have been involved in admissions, writing H&P, progress notes, discharge summaries, and, of course, daily patient care.)
• Can you provide examples of cases that demonstrate your clinical skills?

During your USCEs (United States Clinical Experiences), make sure to keep track of your patient encounters and select notable ones to reference in your LoRs. Additionally, try to participate in as many case presentations as possible, as interpersonal and presentation skills hold great importance.

Lastly, it is recommended to waive your right to read the letter. Although my attending physician shared my LoR with me, even though I had waived this right, as a gesture of support and assistance for potential future use. Here is an example of an LoR:

A letter of recommendation (LoR) from the US is deemed to be very important. This is likely because it gauges how well you can adapt to their healthcare system, which may be completely different from your home country's. Since you do not have control over this rule, might as well just play by the rule. Hope you get to allocate time for United States Clinical Experiences (USCE) during medical school and check this box off. Good luck!!!