Your Medical Career Starts Here

Everything you’ve heard is true. Residency training will be the most challenging part of your medical career.

What is ‘Residency’?

“Residency” is a 3-6 year training program that med students and International Medical Graduates must complete at a postgraduate hospital. Think of it as “on-the-job training” for doctors. International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and US Med students decide to which specialties and programs they want to apply. Applications for residency are submitted to specific residency programs in the fall of the year prior to the start of residency. Interviews are conducted in the fall and early winter months. The “Match” occurs in March (more on that later). Most residency programs begin July 1.

There are over 8,000 residency programs in the US. The Program Director at each residency program has sole discretion in hiring resident. Therefore, each program director is looking for something a little different. There are no national standards. The task of each person seeking a residency is to find the program director who likes what they have to offer.

In general, program directors evaluate students by:

Passing all four tests of the United States Medical Licensing Exam® (USMLE) sequence is required for any doctor to obtain a license to practice medicine in the United States.

1. USMLE scores
2. Written application material, including personal statement and letters of reference
3. Face-to-face interview
4. Relative strength of other applicants to the same program