Need advice from the experienced! Please respond. - humerus

[ArchivalUser]

Hi there

Could any of you please let me know how i can go about obtaining an observership? is there a list of hospitals somewhere which allow observerships/externships?

also, are externships out of bounds for foreign medical graduates such as myself?

Please do help me out!

[ArchivalUser]

hi
depends what speciality you want to apply..........as far as i know , there are two options
one is to write to local hospitals (quite many) and say if they would offer it
two. i know of some hospitals like mount sinai in maimi florida who offer four week observership program but charge small amount of money....you can visit thier website....
hope this helps
bye and good luck

[ArchivalUser]

There is providence hospital in Virgenia,that offers three month externship.that is like a residency.You have to give duties ,even night call one of my friend did that.

[ArchivalUser]

in regards to the second part of your question, externships or subinternships are off-limits only if you're on a tourist visa. if you (already) have a visa or even a green card which enables you to work in the US, then yes, you can ask about that.

[ArchivalUser]

mcburney, shiva, quirky

thank you all so much for your inputs!

quirky - im in the us on an f-1 visa. will that allow me to qualify for an externship?

also, how many months of observership/externship would you say was ideal to boost the resume?

thank you so much for replying.

[ArchivalUser]

please do give us the web address for providence hospital,virginia... i tried to locate it on google and can't find it. thanks

[ArchivalUser]

i'm sorry, i've just googled and read around the topic. i believe an externship can only be done if you're still in medical school (similar to electives). you'd probably have to do an observership.

as with most things, it's not about quantity, rather quality. if you get an observership in a good university-based program, in the field that you're interested in, i'd say 6-8 weeks could potentially provide a good gauge of your abilities (to attendings, program directors, etc). 12-16 weeks would be good for both clinical experience as well as submitting a good abstract.

the key is to find attendings willing to let you have that first step.

[ArchivalUser]

Hi quirky

you are an absolute angel for actually finding out about this! thanks a tonne.

would i just have to call any and every hospital in the cities im interested in / would there be a handy list somewhere on the internet listing hospitals which are known to allow fmgs to do observership? (hmmm..maybe im asking for too much)

also- im interested in internal medicine, but if a hospital says that it can let me do observership in pediatrics/psychiatry - would that be ok?

ive heard of some who ask private practitioners if they can do observerships in their clinics..just sit and watch and help out if needed i guess. is that an ok /legitimate thing to do? in such a case, this said dr. would give an lor on his letterheard i suppose..

god, im totally stressing out over this!!

thanks quirky for taking the time to reply.. i shall keep what you said in mind.

[ArchivalUser]

heh - never been called an angel before, kind of perks up your day.

1) don't be stressed - there are some things that can be changed, while others you just have to work around.

2) the way i would go about securing an observership is: first, decide which part of the country you'd like to gain your experience / get LORs from. second, google all university-based hospital programs (or get the list from FRIEDA) in that area. third, start getting e-mail addresses for anyone/everyone you think you might want to work with. fourth, write a short, sincere cover letter on why you're contacting this attending, who you are, and what you hope you achieve. fifth, tailor each letter (eg. change attending names and maybe specific speciality goal info within your cover letter) and start e-mailing it to everyone on your 'list'. sixth, sit back and wait (you'll probably have a ton of rejections to go through, but don't take it personally). obviously keep a list of who you've contacted so you don't send the same letter more than once (that gets annoying after awhile). an alternate way to build a 'list' is to call up or e-mail all the program coordinators with similar cover letter (ie. you're interested in spending some time doing xxxxx, and would they know how to go about arranging it, or could they redirect your e-mail to someone who could).

3) i'm unsure (still) about types of visas and what you're allowed to do with each, but i usually check out the department of state (DOS) website, enter search items from there, and read up... i'm sure you'd be able to find more useful stuff on there re: visas. or you could ask ecfmg, specifically the evsp section.

4) there are other things you could do, apart from an observership, and that is research. infact, if you do secure an observership, you could still ask if there's a smallish ongoing research project you might be able to help with or even do. at least get an abstract submitted.

5) there's really no reason to stress. all you need is to make a plan, then stick with it. everything else will fall in place.

[ArchivalUser]

quirky

i called you an angel before, now im calling you a certified star!!! a benign one at that

owe you big time for your detailed reply. does take the anxiety out of my gut!!

shall definetely follow your advice-- thank you so so very very much. i hope you get the very best out of your life and residency!!

humerus.