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Higher
Education in Abroad

Pathway to Residency and Fellowship in the US

Components of a successful Residency match in the US

  • USMLE Step 1
  • USMLE Step 2 CK (score target 260+)
  • US Clinical Experience
  • Letters of Recommendation (LoR target - 3 or more)
  • USMLE Step 2 CS / OET / ECFMG pathways
  • Publications
  • Research Experience
  • Personal Statement
  • MSPE (Medical Student Performance Evaluation)
  • Interviews
  • USMLE Step 3

    • USMLE Overview

  • About USMLE: 2021 Bulletin of Information- USMLE
  • Recent Changes in USMLE pattern:

  • FAQs about USMLE: USMLE- Frequently Asked Questions
  • End product of giving USMLE: To get ECFMG certified.
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Journey after MBBS: Session 1 - Pathway to US Training by Kanak Parmar and Syed Faiz Abbas Recording of Journey after MBBS part 1

Webinar on Preparation of USMLE and TOEFL during MBBS(Journey After MBBS part 3): Experiences of Esha Vaish (Batch of 2015, KGMU) and Ahmad Ozair (Batch of 2016, KGMU)

Video Recording for the session on preparation of USMLE and TOEFL


ERAS

The Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) is the centralized online application service to deliver applications, along with supporting documents, to residency programs in the U.S.

NRMP

The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) is a private, non-profit organization which provides an orderly and fair mechanism for matching the preferences of applicants for U.S. residency positions with the preferences of residency program directors. It conducts both Residency and Fellowship matches for more than 65 subspecialities.

ELECTIVES

Electives are programmes offering hands on experience in the US healthcare system obtained at any of the US medical institutes. Though not an absolute requirement for the USMLE, electives are highly recommended. They add to your CV and also show that you have clinical experience in the US and that you are aware of how the system works. It helps you build contacts and aids your personal and professional growth. Learn more about electives here.

Pathway to Residency and Fellowship in the UK (PLAB/UKMLA || MRCS/MRCP)

There are many benefits of completing training in the UK after your MBBS in India. After completion of UK training you are awarded the CCT ( certificate of completion of training)

  • With a CCT, your salary in the Indian private sector is 2-4 times the salary of the Indian person. A number of people complete the UK training and then join the large hospital systems in major metro cities.

  • The CCT is very valuable in the Middle East as well where a number of Indian doctors end up practicing. Your salary is directly increased by 100-300% with a CCT in hand compared to an Indian MD person.

  • Finally there are many countries in the world, where laws and regulations are such that it is nearly impossible to get residency position in, for example Canada, which is a completely closed door for IMGs. Australia also in recent years has become quite unfavorable for IMGs like us.Here the CCT is incredibly valuable



For an IMG (International Medical Graduate) who wants to study(Post Graduation) and work in the United Kingdom, they have to pass PLAB ( Professional and Linguistics Assessment Boards) which will be known as UKMLA from 2024 (*UKMLA shouldn't be of much difference for IMG's, it just also includes UK Medical Graduates). This test is conducted by the General Medical Council (GMC), and it is advised that you should always check their website for new updates. Though there are other trusted sources also, for example-

1.The Savvy IMG
2.Road to UK
3.Naseers Journey
4.Omar's Guidelines

You can read the whole relevant journey in this article by medium .

*New Updates on PLAB would be available on GMC Website regarding the Covid Pandemic here.

Now the PLAB is divided into two parts, PLAB 1 and PLAB 2.



PLAB 1 is a written examination which can be taken in India itself, they have special examination centres for it.

PLAB 1- It is an MCQ based exam. It takes only about 4-5 dedicated months to prepare for it. The pass rate is around 69%. You only need to pass PLAB, your score in PLAB doesn't matter. They really don't care about it.

Requirements for booking PLAB 1 includes the following-

1 .Evidence of English proficiency.Proof of English Proficiency can be obtained by giving IELTS ( International English Language Testing System) scores of which are valid for 2 years. You should probably start registering for IELTS exam and the PLAB 1 exam in advance after final proffs.

2 .Completion of an acceptable primary medical qualification (PMQ) - PLAB cannot be taken during medical school years. You can take it after completing Final proffs, during Internship.


For Example the GMC website displayed the following requirements for IELTS test.

  • that you took the academic version of the test. (*UKVI version is not required now.)
  • that you got a score of at least 7.0 in each testing area and an overall score of 7.5
  • that you got these scores in the same test
  • that you got these scores in your most recent sitting of the test.


You can prepare for IELTS by yourself and there are some free courses also available like this Udemy course. Or this course on EDX. (*one should keep up with updates on IELTS as exam changes, these courses might get outdated, so tread carefully)


PLAB 2 is a clinical setting examination, which one has to take in the U.K. itself.

PLAB 2- This can also be taken during internship. It's a clinical exam much similar to the final year ward leaves- History taking, examination and also basic procedures like blood collection/sampling. Pass rate is around 65%. Coaching is needed for it which can be online and/or offline in the UK. The exam is only conducted in Manchester so you have to travel to the UK for it. It has an OSCE based exam with 18 stations displaying various clinical cases (8 minutes for each station).


After PLAB 1 & 2
  • After passing these you need to apply for GMC registration which is not an exam, you just have to pay for it. Once you get this license you can apply for jobs throughout the UK at FY2 level, both within NHS and Non-NHS. Cost of the work visa is borne by the hospital. You go through a month or a few months observership then you're given more responsibilities. You're paid during the observership period.

  • You also need to get your medical degree verified- ECFMG certified. Before applying for jobs

  • The UK is similar to the Indian system where it is possible to get a non-PG JRship (NHS trust grade doctors etc) and then move onto actual training positions. This serves as a great transition tool after spending just 3 lakhs INR. Compare this to the US(through USMLE), where there are no non-PG JRships, there are no transition mechanisms. It's all or none: either you match or you don't.

ESTIMATED COST- Around INR 4 Lakh (Estimated Guess, including IELTS, PLAB 1, PLAB 2, UK Visa, Accomodation, EPIC Verification and GMC Registration )



MRCS/MRCP

Member of Royal College of Surgeons/Member of Royal College of Physicians

MRCS/MRCP can be pursued by students who have just completed their internship, though it is preferable to be given by Medical Graduates with a lot of clinical experience

MRCS-You can book Part A of MRCS right after completing your final proffs provided you meet the rest of the eligibility criteria. You can also book Part B but passing it without clinical experience, especially UK experience, can be difficult.

The Royal College of Surgeons recommends that candidates attempt Part A during the first year of core surgical training (CT1) which is 2 years post-graduation, and Part B during the second year of core surgery (CT2). Many doctors who aim to pursue surgery sit Part A prior to CT1 applications, and clear Part B during CT1.

MRCP- This exam requires 12 months postgraduate clinical experience before you can sit MRCP Part 1 which means you must complete the internship first. There are no further requirements for postgraduate experience for Part 2 or PACES however as a postgraduate exam, MRCP requires postgraduate experience to pass. It appears that UK clinical experience is also very important considering the lower pass rate of IMGs compared to UK candidates, especially for PACES which is an OSCE.

Estimated Cost{MRCS/MRCP}- Around INR 7 Lakh (Including only the Exam Fee of MRCS A and B)

Some Important Information-
  • MBBS degree- You're not eligible to take PLAB before completing your MBBS. You become eligible as soon as you enter internship. And that's the best time to take the exam.

  • IELTS : You need to prove that you're proficient in english language before you can sit for PLAB 1.

  • Foundation Training which is of two years Foundation Year 1 i.e. FY1 and FY2. After completing med school in the UK, students have to go through a foundation programme which is similar to the internship that we have here in India.

  • Since we complete our Internship here we don't need to go through FY1. But we still need additional 12 months experience just like UK graduates have, for this we can either join from FY2 or do private jobs in the UK.

  • We can do private jobs because we have full GMC registration, just like our MCI registration here. So we are eligible to work in the UK after internship but that would only be a non-training job, i.e. without career progression. You only gain experience through the private or trust jobs. We will talk more about types of jobs later.

  • How competitive each speciality can be estimated from its competition ratio. Just like the US, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, dermatology are highly competitive in the UK Here.

In September of 2020, A session with Dr. Kartikeya Mishra of the 2013 batch was held, in which he discussed his journey from KGMU to cracking PLAB 2. The session recording for this is available in Google Drive . It is highly recommended for those Georgians who plan to take IELTS, PLAB 1 or PLAB 2. In the Recording there is mention of Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, you can download a Soft copy of it from here.