Frequently Asked Questions
I'm getting more and more emails/facebook messages/tweets about my experience, and it's great! It makes me very happy to see this is useful to so many of you. Some questions come back regularly so I'll post them here.
How long are the Steps valid for?
You have to take all your 3 Steps within 7 years.
What's the best time to take the Steps if I'm just starting med school? - This answer is more specific for French people as I known their curriculum but can somewhat be applied to other countries as well.
I think the best moment for Step 1 is after the third year, at the end of what we call first cycle of medical studies. You'll basically see most of what you need to know for Step 1. You will need time during the summer to review stuff from the first year (biochemistry, genetics etc). If you can, I recommend buying the resources from the beginning and working on both your school curriculum and Step 1. You should be able to match them and do both at the same time, just in two different languages. Obviously this only works if you plan to apply at the end of med school without pursuing residency in your country of origin as the exam is valid for 7 years only.
For Step 2, I would recommend taking it after you're done with med school. I thought it was fairly easy compared to our end of med school ranking exam (ECN). The fund of knowledge is the same except less detailed, the questions are easy to understand and unequivocal, it's all multiple choice questions and there's only one right answer. Time managing is the hardest part.
How long did you study for the Steps?
I sort of studied a little bit during my last year of med school so it's hard to give an exact answer.
- I took Step 2 two weeks after my own board/ranking exam. I did some UWorld questions during the year (about 40 questions/week) and then a lot during the two weeks in between those two exams. I did plan a full day with 8 blocks of 40 questions in 9hrs to mimic the real day - it's tiring but good training! I used a lot of Anki flashcards (I made my own that I'm gladly sharing - Step 1, Step 2 - but I do recommend making your own, tailored to your needs). I also watched Sketchy micro videos during the year.
- For Step 1, I studied the organ systems part during the year as I also needed to know that for my own exam. It accounted for about 70% of the program I would say. Then I took 5 weeks to review the last preclinical part.
=> If you're well advanced in your own field and you haven't studied medicine in a while, you will need more than that. I suggest buying the books and start the process to set up a date once you feel more confident.
Is it a problem if a don't have a "Doctor of medicine" diploma?
No - see here. This page is only in French as I believe France is one of the very few countries that doesn't deliver an MD before the end of residency, but please let me know if you wish me to translate my explanations!
How do you choose your specialty?
You only apply in the specialty you're interested in! The categories are broader here than in France:
- Internal medicine (3 years) then you can do 3 years of fellowship if you want to subspecialize in: cardiology, pulmonology, critical care, infectious diseases, hematology-oncology, nephrology...
- Surgery
- Pediatrics
- OBGYN
- Psychiatry
- Emergency Medicine
- Anesthesiology
With some fancy combinations of med-peds, med-psych, and probably other I don't know about. You can do a fellowship after any sort of residency (but you don't have to).
Can I do x specialty as an IMG?
Some specialties are harder than other to get as an IMG. There are some data you can find online about the Match - try NMRP to begin with. And remember, hard doesn't mean impossible!
Do you have to pay for your studies?
Residency are not studies anymore, you're a doctor! You get paid, and paid well. Here's for UTSW.
How can I do rotations to get more US experience?
That I don't have a good answer for, but I expect you to help! Besides rotations you can set up with your med school, I know some websites/agencies offer rotations for people like you but I don't know more than that (I've just seen ads on my laptop but never clicked on it). I suppose they're expensive. But if one of you happen to use one of them and is willing to share its info/experience, please do! Comment or email me, I'll publish it for you.
How long are the Steps valid for?
You have to take all your 3 Steps within 7 years.
What's the best time to take the Steps if I'm just starting med school? - This answer is more specific for French people as I known their curriculum but can somewhat be applied to other countries as well.
I think the best moment for Step 1 is after the third year, at the end of what we call first cycle of medical studies. You'll basically see most of what you need to know for Step 1. You will need time during the summer to review stuff from the first year (biochemistry, genetics etc). If you can, I recommend buying the resources from the beginning and working on both your school curriculum and Step 1. You should be able to match them and do both at the same time, just in two different languages. Obviously this only works if you plan to apply at the end of med school without pursuing residency in your country of origin as the exam is valid for 7 years only.
For Step 2, I would recommend taking it after you're done with med school. I thought it was fairly easy compared to our end of med school ranking exam (ECN). The fund of knowledge is the same except less detailed, the questions are easy to understand and unequivocal, it's all multiple choice questions and there's only one right answer. Time managing is the hardest part.
How long did you study for the Steps?
I sort of studied a little bit during my last year of med school so it's hard to give an exact answer.
- I took Step 2 two weeks after my own board/ranking exam. I did some UWorld questions during the year (about 40 questions/week) and then a lot during the two weeks in between those two exams. I did plan a full day with 8 blocks of 40 questions in 9hrs to mimic the real day - it's tiring but good training! I used a lot of Anki flashcards (I made my own that I'm gladly sharing - Step 1, Step 2 - but I do recommend making your own, tailored to your needs). I also watched Sketchy micro videos during the year.
- For Step 1, I studied the organ systems part during the year as I also needed to know that for my own exam. It accounted for about 70% of the program I would say. Then I took 5 weeks to review the last preclinical part.
=> If you're well advanced in your own field and you haven't studied medicine in a while, you will need more than that. I suggest buying the books and start the process to set up a date once you feel more confident.
Is it a problem if a don't have a "Doctor of medicine" diploma?
No - see here. This page is only in French as I believe France is one of the very few countries that doesn't deliver an MD before the end of residency, but please let me know if you wish me to translate my explanations!
How do you choose your specialty?
You only apply in the specialty you're interested in! The categories are broader here than in France:
- Internal medicine (3 years) then you can do 3 years of fellowship if you want to subspecialize in: cardiology, pulmonology, critical care, infectious diseases, hematology-oncology, nephrology...
- Surgery
- Pediatrics
- OBGYN
- Psychiatry
- Emergency Medicine
- Anesthesiology
With some fancy combinations of med-peds, med-psych, and probably other I don't know about. You can do a fellowship after any sort of residency (but you don't have to).
Can I do x specialty as an IMG?
Some specialties are harder than other to get as an IMG. There are some data you can find online about the Match - try NMRP to begin with. And remember, hard doesn't mean impossible!
Do you have to pay for your studies?
Residency are not studies anymore, you're a doctor! You get paid, and paid well. Here's for UTSW.
How can I do rotations to get more US experience?
That I don't have a good answer for, but I expect you to help! Besides rotations you can set up with your med school, I know some websites/agencies offer rotations for people like you but I don't know more than that (I've just seen ads on my laptop but never clicked on it). I suppose they're expensive. But if one of you happen to use one of them and is willing to share its info/experience, please do! Comment or email me, I'll publish it for you.
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