anesthesia for an IMG green card holder - diyausmle

[ArchivalUser]

Hi I"M an international medical graduate. I'm interested in anesthesia. I have a green card and have US letters of recommendation and 6 months of US clinical experience in IV league schools in internal medicine though(I have one month of critical care if that matters?). I scored a 221 on my step one, passed my cs and working on step 2 now. What are my chances to match into anesthesia? Is it impossible? And if I give it a shot would I be forfeiting my Internal medicine back up plan ? or are the matches different?

[ArchivalUser]

Apply to both
It'll be tough but do able, try and get some more critical care experience. Also do you have anesthesiologist writing an LOR or 2?

Aim for at least >240 on CK, preferably a 250+ and apply to all the progs

Network, try and meet some local anesthesiologists in your area/town...

[ArchivalUser]

thanks.. are the matches different? if i rank anesthesia high will i have to rank IM low and be at risk in case I don't match in either?
I have a letter from an anesthesiologist back in my country, and have a critical care letter from the US. Yes will definately aim higher for step 2. Will also try to do an anesthesia rotation/ observership before i apply but i may not be able to get one..

[ArchivalUser]

a US LOR for anesthesiology, non US LOR wouldnt do much. Its a competitive field even for AMGs.
If IM prog rank you higher, and you dont match into anesthesiology, as long as you rank those IM progs, you will match. Go and read about how match system works on nrmp website.

[ArchivalUser]

I read about the nrmp..its scary to rank a really competitive field above medicine in case I don't match IM because of the lower rank.. thanks for the advice..

[ArchivalUser]

trust me there is no guarantee for IM too , seeing the crazy competition...if i were you i wouldn't risk it and play it safe.and rank IM the highest.

[ArchivalUser]

@diyausmle, your GC will help you earn IVs especially with your USCE, try to score higer on step 2. there is a list of IMG friendly anesthesiology programs on the applicantguide site, apply to all the programs in it and you will get a decent number of interviews.