Doc, you are as real as it gets, colorful language and all, lol! I cannot believe no U.S. Medical School wouldn't allow you access? or were you accepted at a US Med School and decided Caribbean?
man i'm not sure what exactly the number was (it was in 1998) but I think I got like a 22. 25 is average, and 28.5 is average for those accepted to med school.
My question is why would you not put your small program down at all? If you put it last and then didn't match anywhere else you would have atleast gotten into there...
aakksshhaayy yea definitely an awful decision ha but live and learn. There was likely some justifications he had in his mind at the time that “made sense”. It happens
@@jonathandpg6115 The match process worked differently before. It is currently applicant driven- but previously it was program driven. So if the program ranked him 1st and the program was on his list- he would automatically be matched their despite the order of his list. Currently - it ofc works in reverse.
congratulations Dr Buck, good point: never give up... A question Doc, I finished my cardiovascular residency in my country and I'm preparing for USMLE step 1... What are my chances to get in general surgery residency and choose cardiothoracic surgery again. I graduated from med school 7 years ago but I was doing my residency does this affect my chance to get an interview ...thanks :)
Hi Sana! I won't lie it's more difficult for IMGs to get a residency than US studnets. But the fact that you have done a residency may help you....since you it will be easier for you. You do have to do very well on the USMLEs tho. If you do that, then you can get a CV fellowship again.
you will have to do residency first then fellowship. you COULD get a CV fellowship first but then you will not be able to practice in the states without gen surg residency completion. but I think best is residency then fellowship.
i've just discovered your channel , great content ! can you shed more light as to why you should have put them down in the list ? would ranking them higher give you a better chance at matching with them ? i'd really appreciate the input ! keep up the great content
Thank you for making this video. I am currently in my interview season for surgery. I have met with other candidates that on their last match they had 8-9 interviews and did not match as an IMG. This whole process is literally freaking me out. All my interviews so far I was not told anything like " We will rank you #1", but only "you will fit well in our program" on a couple of interviews, which sounds generic. Do Step Scores and all credentials still matters for programs to rank they candidate or will their ranking will mostly based on how the candidate interview? I still flashback on some of the bad answers I gave out on my interviews. Congrats on making it this far.
Buck Parker, M.D. Thanks, Dr Parker. I really don’t think that I am crazy haha. Hopefully my interviewer thinks the same way. Big thumbs for this video. It was super helpful!
Quick question Doc, did you do a Post Bacc program when u didn't get into a US school or you went straight for Caribbean? I'm sort of in the same boat as you were in the past low 2.84 GPA & not so stellar MCAT. You are truly my inspiration btw
A question doc !the residency is the same thing with specialty ?i dont understand dude !do you agree with legal weed ?i like that but whats your opinion about that ?
You go to residency to get specialized, so yes, they’re the same thing. Let’s say you get matched into Diagnostic radiology. Diagnostic radiology is the speciality you matched into, but to be a licensed doctor in that specialty you have to go through residency
Dr Parker I don’t know if you will see this message but am a Ugandan third year medical student I dream of being a surgeon particularly cardio thoracic but it feels like I started dreaming too late as my second year in particular I wasn’t focused at my books at all got a gpa of 2.6 and 2.9 in both semesters nearly as though wasn’t at school 🥲 I’m trying my best as of now to improve do you think it’s possible for me to do the usmle and if I excelled if at all the path am taking academically keeps going higher is it possible to get my dream residency!?
How much YOG is too much to apply in ophthalmology in US? For ex., is doing a residency in family medicine in Canada (2 years), then doing USMLEs for one year, then applying the next year too much? I Graduated in 2020 in Canada
Hello Doc. My close friend matched into a preliminary spot as a Canadian student, for general surgery. She is defeated and just out of it. The big reason being that she will need a sponsorship Visa and think that this might hinder her chances of not getting a spot after the preliminary year. Any feedback you would have for me would be enormously appreciated. BTW you are the man, doc
Hey man my name is Alex Rodriguez and unfortunately I didn't match into Residency. I tried twice and both times I applied to Psychiatry. Please let me know if you have any advice. Unfortunately I failed Step 1 twice and I know it significantly impacts my ability to match. Your story is inspirational! Keep kicking but and encouraging people to do their best and not give up in the medical field even if it's tough!
Hi there, did you end up matching? If not, I would say you still probably have decent chances in pediatrics, family medicine or internal medicine. Psychiatry I know is generally holistic, but since it's gotten more competitive over the years, most programs will not consider people who failed step. You can still certainly apply, but you should definitely have a backup like FM, IM, peds.
This story does not make sense for someone that knows the match process. Why would you not put them down at all? You can put them last on your list and if you don't match in your top programs, then you will still get the last one. Putting them last does not make you have less chance of bigger programs that you place first. Quite a strange story.....LOL
The match process worked differently before. It is currently applicant driven- but previously it was program driven. So if the program ranked him 1st and the program was on his list- he would automatically be matched their despite the order of his list. Currently - it works in reverse.
Congratulations on your success! I had one interview, no match. Do you think obtaining a good Step 3 score and continued work in nursing will help me succeed the next time around? Are there any doors of opportunity that still exist on March 16th, end of match week?
Your problem maybe that you will struggle this time around to get something. If that is the case keep plugging away and get pushy sitting waiting for the phone to ring may not happen.
Hi, I would like to ask you for advice. I have just graduated from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and would like to specialize in general surgery in US since it has always been my dream. What would your advice be? What would be the next step? Research ( for how long? ), Us clinical expirience ( hands on, observership )? ( have had subinternship at UCLA during med school ) What would you have done? Or do you think it's impossible for a non US-IMG to match GS? I will not have any plan B like many others because surgery is the only specialty I am interested in. I hope you find time to answer my question! Thank you!
I will be brutally honest with you. Non US college graduates cannot attend a US medical school. I have a degree in medicine from the UK and still had to do a 4 year college degree in an American college to get into medical school in the US. I am assuming that you are a medical graduate meaning you are a doctor in Sweden. If you come from a family that has money you could attend a US college and do a degree there. My opinion would be that you would fly through a US college having already graduated a Swedish university and you would find medical school easy. Your problem will be having a US Visa to enable you to get into a US medical school you cannot do it on a student Visa you have to be a resident. America is an amazing country to live in especially compared to Sweden and the UK. The weather in certain states is amazing and the culture is amazing but it is brutally difficult to get into. Easiest way is to marry an American I did that but never set out to do that. If you complete training in Sweden you could always emigrate to Australia. While it is not America it is still amazing place to live in. I spent 18 months in sydney and it was amazing living there. The climate is amazing and their outdoor culture is also amazing with cool beaches, cafe culture and a great outdoor outlook.
Would love to hear some insight on how to do well during 3rd/4th year and auditions. Like when you say you “kicked butt” what do you mean? Showed up early and stayed late and kept a good attitude? Very interested to know any other keys to success there. I’m a 1st year DO student wanting to do gen surge.
Buck Parker, M.D. Then why do you keep saying you're a general surgeon 😂 BTW I really look up to you, I'm a med student I'm the caribbean and I hope to make it up there like you! :)
Ah! Yes you mean fellowship. I planned on doing small town surgery which does not require a fellowship. Remember every year of fellowship will cost you between 250-650k depending on your salary when you get out. Sometimes the fellowship will make u more in the long run and sometimes not. Sounds like a good topic for a video!
Make video how women should behave to survive as surgeon. I'm interested in orthopedic surgery but you can see they behave differently to you then other male colleagues
Tara I really think you have to be yourself. Now, that being said, when you go through residency you have to put up with LOTS OF SHIT. It's not just because you are a woman.....but I do agree its a bit of a boys club in Ortho so I see what you are saying. I think it's a give and take. You can't let them walk all over you, but you also have to be able to work well with others. So that depends on you're specific environment. Each workplace and program has a different culture so you'll have to feel out yours and then adjust accordingly. I like how Bruce Lee describes it "Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
+tara zan Nobody cares if you are a man or women. All they care about is your performance. I feel sorry for people in college today being brainwashed about sexism. The one thing a woman needs to concern herself in regards to her career is having children and the reason I say that is nobody else can make that decision for that women not even another women. Biology is very very cruel and does not care about our opinions or desires sometimes maybe someday we will have more control but not at present.
@@bighands69 a 100% untrue. Tara, ask another woman that has been through it. They'll have better advice. The guys don't even see it. Signed, working in a male dominated sector for over a decade.
@@intrepidtomato Another women is not going to help her navigate life. She has to do that by herself making decisions that are within her sphere of influence.
Good Q. Sorry didn't make that clear. I mean if you take a job, you will be making 250-650k/yr depending on your specialty. But if you go into fellowship you will make like 60k/yr. So I mean you lose those years of 250-650k minus the 60K. Does that make sense? You can't get time back!
Doc, you are as real as it gets, colorful language and all, lol! I cannot believe no U.S. Medical School wouldn't allow you access? or were you accepted at a US Med School and decided Caribbean?
haha thanks Randal that means a lot to me for realzzzz. No i was not accepted to a US school. My college grades and MCAT were not good!
What’s not good generally speaking?
man i'm not sure what exactly the number was (it was in 1998) but I think I got like a 22. 25 is average, and 28.5 is average for those accepted to med school.
@@drbuckparker not anymore! The current national average MCAT score is a 510, which is equivalent to a 31 on the old MCAT
What?
My question is why would you not put your small program down at all? If you put it last and then didn't match anywhere else you would have atleast gotten into there...
aakksshhaayy yea definitely an awful decision ha but live and learn. There was likely some justifications he had in his mind at the time that “made sense”. It happens
Yeah I feel like even how he described it now it's like he doesn't understand how the matching system works.
@@jonathandpg6115 The match process worked differently before. It is currently applicant driven- but previously it was program driven. So if the program ranked him 1st and the program was on his list- he would automatically be matched their despite the order of his list. Currently - it ofc works in reverse.
Man you made me laugh when you said i didn't put them down & I didn't match😂
you persevered, i respect that
what was that website you mentioned that lists the spots that are unfilled?
congratulations Dr Buck, good point: never give up...
A question Doc, I finished my cardiovascular residency in my country and I'm preparing for USMLE step 1... What are my chances to get in general surgery residency and choose cardiothoracic surgery again. I graduated from med school 7 years ago but I was doing my residency does this affect my chance to get an interview ...thanks :)
Hi Sana! I won't lie it's more difficult for IMGs to get a residency than US studnets. But the fact that you have done a residency may help you....since you it will be easier for you. You do have to do very well on the USMLEs tho. If you do that, then you can get a CV fellowship again.
Thank you Parker..... A question please: do you mean that I should apply for A fellowship, or for residency first?
you will have to do residency first then fellowship. you COULD get a CV fellowship first but then you will not be able to practice in the states without gen surg residency completion. but I think best is residency then fellowship.
Thank you Dr.Buck for answering my questions, and really thank you for all your videos they are very helpful.
When you applied for residency did you have a lot of research on your name or did you have really amazing surgery LORs?
NIETHER!!! LOL
This helps.
omg thank you
That's a Shit load of Motivation!🙄
Getting into surgery is way easier for those who hold US citizenship
i've just discovered your channel , great content ! can you shed more light as to why you should have put them down in the list ? would ranking them higher give you a better chance at matching with them ? i'd really appreciate the input ! keep up the great content
Thanks for the inspiration doctor
How much you got in usmle step 1
Docc can you share that website u mentioned here which shows the open resident spots
Thank you for making this video. I am currently in my interview season for surgery. I have met with other candidates that on their last match they had 8-9 interviews and did not match as an IMG. This whole process is literally freaking me out. All my interviews so far I was not told anything like " We will rank you #1", but only "you will fit well in our program" on a couple of interviews, which sounds generic. Do Step Scores and all credentials still matters for programs to rank they candidate or will their ranking will mostly based on how the candidate interview? I still flashback on some of the bad answers I gave out on my interviews. Congrats on making it this far.
The interview is to basically weed out any obviously crazy candidates. They really rank based on step scores, letter of reference, grades and school.
Buck Parker, M.D. Thanks, Dr Parker. I really don’t think that I am crazy haha. Hopefully my interviewer thinks the same way. Big thumbs for this video. It was super helpful!
Hey thanks for the video! Whats the website for the PDs again?
Quick question Doc, did you do a Post Bacc program when u didn't get into a US school or you went straight for Caribbean? I'm sort of in the same boat as you were in the past low 2.84 GPA & not so stellar MCAT. You are truly my inspiration btw
awesome thanks! No I did not do that. I think if you are going to a carribean school you don't need to do that
NEW SUBSCRIBER
A question doc !the residency is the same thing with specialty ?i dont understand dude !do you agree with legal weed ?i like that but whats your opinion about that ?
You go to residency to get specialized, so yes, they’re the same thing. Let’s say you get matched into Diagnostic radiology. Diagnostic radiology is the speciality you matched into, but to be a licensed doctor in that specialty you have to go through residency
How did you shine in your surgery rotation? And how do you find a program that doesn’t use ERAS?
Dr Parker I don’t know if you will see this message but am a Ugandan third year medical student I dream of being a surgeon particularly cardio thoracic but it feels like I started dreaming too late as my second year in particular I wasn’t focused at my books at all got a gpa of 2.6 and 2.9 in both semesters nearly as though wasn’t at school 🥲 I’m trying my best as of now to improve do you think it’s possible for me to do the usmle and if I excelled if at all the path am taking academically keeps going higher is it possible to get my dream residency!?
How much YOG is too much to apply in ophthalmology in US? For ex., is doing a residency in family medicine in Canada (2 years), then doing USMLEs for one year, then applying the next year too much? I Graduated in 2020 in Canada
Hello Doc. My close friend matched into a preliminary spot as a Canadian student, for general surgery. She is defeated and just out of it. The big reason being that she will need a sponsorship Visa and think that this might hinder her chances of not getting a spot after the preliminary year. Any feedback you would have for me would be enormously appreciated. BTW you are the man, doc
Do you know any people who applied to UK or European Medical Schools? Do any of them take any IMGs?
Hey man my name is Alex Rodriguez and unfortunately I didn't match into Residency. I tried twice and both times I applied to Psychiatry. Please let me know if you have any advice. Unfortunately I failed Step 1 twice and I know it significantly impacts my ability to match. Your story is inspirational! Keep kicking but and encouraging people to do their best and not give up in the medical field even if it's tough!
Hi there, did you end up matching? If not, I would say you still probably have decent chances in pediatrics, family medicine or internal medicine. Psychiatry I know is generally holistic, but since it's gotten more competitive over the years, most programs will not consider people who failed step. You can still certainly apply, but you should definitely have a backup like FM, IM, peds.
This story does not make sense for someone that knows the match process. Why would you not put them down at all? You can put them last on your list and if you don't match in your top programs, then you will still get the last one. Putting them last does not make you have less chance of bigger programs that you place first. Quite a strange story.....LOL
The match process worked differently before. It is currently applicant driven- but previously it was program driven. So if the program ranked him 1st and the program was on his list- he would automatically be matched their despite the order of his list. Currently - it works in reverse.
What do you “get” if you drop out of residency? I mean, can you work?
are you mentioning a prelim position in the video?
Congratulations on your success! I had one interview, no match. Do you think obtaining a good Step 3 score and continued work in nursing will help me succeed the next time around? Are there any doors of opportunity that still exist on March 16th, end of match week?
Denise Ellis Do a fellowship.
Your problem maybe that you will struggle this time around to get something. If that is the case keep plugging away and get pushy sitting waiting for the phone to ring may not happen.
Why is this video so shaky??? LOL.
Roseller Simbulan hes driving :|
@@user-gb5tj5kj1n the other ones aren't though. He probably didn't do a shake removal filter
Hi, I would like to ask you for advice. I have just graduated from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and would like to specialize in general surgery in US since it has always been my dream.
What would your advice be? What would be the next step?
Research ( for how long? ), Us clinical expirience ( hands on, observership )? ( have had subinternship at UCLA during med school )
What would you have done?
Or do you think it's impossible for a non US-IMG to match GS? I will not have any plan B like many others because surgery is the only specialty I am interested in.
I hope you find time to answer my question! Thank you!
I will be brutally honest with you. Non US college graduates cannot attend a US medical school. I have a degree in medicine from the UK and still had to do a 4 year college degree in an American college to get into medical school in the US.
I am assuming that you are a medical graduate meaning you are a doctor in Sweden. If you come from a family that has money you could attend a US college and do a degree there. My opinion would be that you would fly through a US college having already graduated a Swedish university and you would find medical school easy.
Your problem will be having a US Visa to enable you to get into a US medical school you cannot do it on a student Visa you have to be a resident.
America is an amazing country to live in especially compared to Sweden and the UK. The weather in certain states is amazing and the culture is amazing but it is brutally difficult to get into. Easiest way is to marry an American I did that but never set out to do that.
If you complete training in Sweden you could always emigrate to Australia. While it is not America it is still amazing place to live in. I spent 18 months in sydney and it was amazing living there. The climate is amazing and their outdoor culture is also amazing with cool beaches, cafe culture and a great outdoor outlook.
camera everywhere
Would love to hear some insight on how to do well during 3rd/4th year and auditions. Like when you say you “kicked butt” what do you mean? Showed up early and stayed late and kept a good attitude? Very interested to know any other keys to success there. I’m a 1st year DO student wanting to do gen surge.
That's a great topic will do.
What was the website that you mentioned at 2:20?
Hi. May i have this website?
Hi there ,what do you mean by saying fellowship will cost 250-650k every fellowship year ?thanks
Jondo Mikeladze That’s the money you could be making it you didn’t do a fellowship. I think that’s what he meant.
Pretty cool for a surgeon. Why did'nt you specialise in surgery?
I DID! LOL
Buck Parker, M.D. Then why do you keep saying you're a general surgeon 😂 BTW I really look up to you, I'm a med student I'm the caribbean and I hope to make it up there like you! :)
Ah! Yes you mean fellowship. I planned on doing small town surgery which does not require a fellowship. Remember every year of fellowship will cost you between 250-650k depending on your salary when you get out. Sometimes the fellowship will make u more in the long run and sometimes not. Sounds like a good topic for a video!
Buck Parker, M.D. Wow didn't really have any idea about that. Thanks!
If you don't mind me asking what was your USMLE score?
275
300
hi i am an img. i scored 229 in step 1 and feeling depressed :( is there a way to prematch in medicine you know any site link? thanks...:)
229 is not bad. You can match into IM/family/peds/ psych with that if you apply broadly!
Wow!
Thank you for sharing. Why did you go to school in the Caribbean instead of in the US
Make video how women should behave to survive as surgeon. I'm interested in orthopedic surgery but you can see they behave differently to you then other male colleagues
Tara I really think you have to be yourself. Now, that being said, when you go through residency you have to put up with LOTS OF SHIT. It's not just because you are a woman.....but I do agree its a bit of a boys club in Ortho so I see what you are saying. I think it's a give and take. You can't let them walk all over you, but you also have to be able to work well with others. So that depends on you're specific environment. Each workplace and program has a different culture so you'll have to feel out yours and then adjust accordingly. I like how Bruce Lee describes it "Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
+tara zan
Nobody cares if you are a man or women. All they care about is your performance.
I feel sorry for people in college today being brainwashed about sexism. The one thing a woman needs to concern herself in regards to her career is having children and the reason I say that is nobody else can make that decision for that women not even another women.
Biology is very very cruel and does not care about our opinions or desires sometimes maybe someday we will have more control but not at present.
@@bighands69 a 100% untrue. Tara, ask another woman that has been through it. They'll have better advice. The guys don't even see it. Signed, working in a male dominated sector for over a decade.
@@intrepidtomato
Another women is not going to help her navigate life. She has to do that by herself making decisions that are within her sphere of influence.
What about the soap
Doc you mean that fellowship is something that we should pay ?
Good Q. Sorry didn't make that clear. I mean if you take a job, you will be making 250-650k/yr depending on your specialty. But if you go into fellowship you will make like 60k/yr. So I mean you lose those years of 250-650k minus the 60K. Does that make sense? You can't get time back!
Buck Parker, M.D. Thanks a lot for responding Doc 🤗
I'm worried i won't make much in general surgery?
In this video he totally looks like robert pattinson 😁
listen if i didn't match a residency i would have started my own practice point blank!
How are going to get the money for that??
Andrena Bailey I don’t think you understand how residency’s work.
Andrena Bailey is you fail to get into a Cardiothoracic residency, you can’t go open your own practice and work on hearts.
Who's going to come and get treated by you, you're experience (for a surgeon) will be extremely limited to say the least.