I have an observership coming up and i need some advice on how to navigate it.
my attending is an old american doctor and though i know many people here done their usce with american doctors its not as common for my country’s students who mostly do it with alumnus or at least an img so i’m anxious about it.
how can i leave a good impression to get a good LoR? how should i approach the topic? when is it appropriate to ask if i can round with other attendings as well?
i tried emailing my attending asking for his expectations from me and what are the cases he sees the most but he didn’t reply to me, is it a good idea to send a follow up email given i’m only few days away from starting the rotation?
any advice would be HIGHLY appreciated

side note : i only mentioned the doctor being old because i feel like young american attendings are more familiar with non-us imgs and LoR for observers than old ones. i really hope i will get proven wrong!

I have an observership coming up and i need some advice on how to navigate it.
my attending is an old american doctor and though i know many people here done their usce with american doctors its not as common for my country’s students who mostly do it with alumnus or at least an img so i’m anxious about it.
how can i leave a good impression to get a good LoR? how should i approach the topic? when is it appropriate to ask if i can round with other attendings as well?
i tried emailing my attending asking for his expectations from me and what are the cases he sees the most but he didn’t reply to me, is it a good idea to send a follow up email given i’m only few days away from starting the rotation?
any advice would be HIGHLY appreciated

hello all
i have my observerships coming up soon and i was wondering if anyone has advices on how to leave a good impression as an observer and when is the perfect timing to ask for a LoR .
Thanks!

i’m an international female solo traveler and i’m staying here for a month, i was wondering how safe it is to walk to hshs st. john’s and spring memorial hospital from oak ridge or new st during daytime? i don’t have a license yet so i can’t rent a car. i have seen/ read some stuff on here that scared me

know posting here might not be the best option but i’ve messaged multiple landlords on furnished finder with no response and airbnb didn’t have any good options, i had an agreement with landlord and they have been ghosting me…

i’m not looking for anything special, as long as it’s a bedroom with a lock and the house has a clothes washer and dryer i’m allowed to use, along with being within walkable distance then i’m content

my budget is 1000$ and i will be staying for one month (september), i dont mind discussing further details in pm

I’m between two options, either two both usces in one state but both with very img friendly programs and even one is going to be with the PD himself or do one in that state and another in another state but the hospital that has accepted me doesn’t have a residency program so there’s no room for making connections but I was promised a strong LoR from the attending who is also an assistant professor. which option is better? my time doesn’t allow me to do all three.
has anyone done all of their usce in one state and still matched in other?

i’m a senior medical student doing my usce soon. i feel like i sabotaged myself with the usce because i didn’t apply to big names like mayo or cleveland even tho my cv is similar to my colleagues who got accepted there, i didn’t do it purely out of fear of being stupid and getting a bad LoR even tho I’m an honorary student at my uni. my usces are okay like nothing great but i feel like a loser for not applying for those and like i ruined my chances. idk just a vent

hey guys! i’m an international medical student doing an away rotation in SIU during september, i’ve already booked a room within a walking distance of the hospitals but unfortunately i don’t have a driver license so i can’t rent a car. i was wondering how is the public transports situation in springfield in case i wanted to go to different parts of Illinois during weekends or to tourism spots in springfield? any advice regarding the matter would be gratefully appreciated since i know how expensive uber can be in the states!

Doing both isn’t an option.

A) university hospital (not img friendly but takes 1 img every once in a while) but you would be at the outpatient clinics with one attending only that is specialized in a certain disease so all of the patients are follow up patients, the doctor is alumnus and is well respected in his field, he might write a strong personalized LoR but he would mention being in OPC. Bonus : I have a relative living in the same city and work near the hospital so no living costs.

B) a community hospital with no residency program but you’d be allowed to handle patients yourself and his subspecialty is something that interests you. he will try his best to make you round with the other attendings, also an alumnus and an assistant professor who definitely would write a strong LoR and won’t mention you being an observer. Cons: in a rural area so you’d spend your free time at the apartment (no car) and the doctor does a week on-week off type of schedule, as i said they would try to get you with other attendings during weeks off but not guaranteed

i’m gonna ask my attending later but i want to ask here as well. i’m doing an observership with an attending who works at university affiliated hospitals and is an clinical assistant professor, hes gonna make me round with him in all those hospitals but i didn’t get my observership through the university itself. for those who were in the same situation, did your lor have the university letterhead or the hospitals?

i know there’s no wrong or right way to study but i want to mention some things that i do and i would really appreciate it if someone told me that i need to change something in order to get the best possible score!

i do 30 questions per day, i know it’s not ideal but i’m still a student (not in the states) and i’m busy with other things so i found 30 questions to be the perfect balance for me. anyway, i’ve only did 33% of uw so far and my average is 75%. whether i got the question right or wrong i only read the explanation and the one to why my answer is wrong or the ones that have completely new concepts. most of my mistakes are due to me misunderstanding or not remembering a detail and not not knowing it at all. if i don’t know ANYTHING or just know a little about a certain topic (whether i got it right or wrong) i try to read the amboss article about it. if i noticed i keep making mistakes in the same topic even if i’m familiar with it i try to refresh my memory from step 1 (bnb or even amboss articles again).

what’s i’m mostly worried about is the fact that i don’t bother reading explanations for other options, i try to do it but my brain gets overwhelmed with the way UW words why it is not the answer and my second worry is that i don’t check amboss or uw library for every topic and just the ones i don’t know or forgetten. someone here said to me that everyone on reddit is aiming to be an outliner but no one actually succeeds to do it which was kind of a bummer to me but as an IMG interested in a competitive speciality i really want to strengthen my CV with outstanding score and i know i can do it so any advice would be appreciated! :)

i do 30 questions per day, i know it’s not ideal but i’m still a student (not in the states) and i’m busy with other things so i found 30 questions to be the perfect balance for me. anyway, i’ve only did 33% of uw so far and my average is 75%. whether i got the question right or wrong i only read the explanation and the one to why my answer is wrong or the ones that have completely new concepts. most of my mistakes are due to me misunderstanding or not remembering a detail and not not knowing it at all. if i don’t know ANYTHING or just know a little about a certain topic (whether i got it right or wrong) i try to read the amboss article about it. if i noticed i keep making mistakes in the same topic even if i’m familiar with it i try to refresh my memory from step 1 (bnb or even amboss articles again).

what’s i’m mostly worried about is the fact that i don’t bother reading explanations for other options, i try to do it but my brain gets overwhelmed with the way UW words why it is not the answer and my second worry is that i don’t check amboss or uw library for every topic and just the ones i don’t know or forgetten. someone here said to me that everyone on reddit is aiming to be an outliner but no one actually succeeds to do it which was kind of a bummer to me but as an IMG interested in a competitive speciality i really want to strengthen my CV with outstanding score and i know i can do it so any advice would be appreciated! :)

hello guys, i hope everyone is doing great!

i'm an international medical student and i will be doing an away rotation at SIU hospitals (SMH & HSHS St. John) this fall. I would be staying alone near the lincoln park area and i want to make the most out of this visit since this is my first time in the states! i would really appreciate if you could suggest me things to do (other than the lincoln museum ofc because thats already on my calendar) or restaurants to try or any must in the area! unfortunately i don't have a car so if public transport are available, any guidance would be welcomed.

also if there are any medical students or residents (especially in neurology since thats what i'm doing) would like to connect that would be wonderful!

thank you all! i know tourists questions are overasked and tiring but unfortunately i don't know anyone who visited the area before to ask them

hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing great. I’m going to travel soon to texas for one month medical internship and I would be by myself. I’m from outside the states and I would be staying around the Cypress area so I was wondering if anyone could suggest me some activities to do in my free time? or a must in houston since i don’t know if i would be able to visit again, also I’m up for any suggestions on how to make this visit more pleasant :). I’m also a female so preferably something doable during the day/weekends just for safety precautions. Thank you!

I tried looking for hands-on/Elective opportunities for over a year but I couldn’t find any even though I’m still a student and I have passed step 1. I’m passionate about neurology and I found neurology department to be very strict with who they accept to do hands on even IMG friendly programs so now I have a couple of oberverships lined up. I’m afraid that being an observer won’t make me stand out as much and I want to make the most out of my months there, I have an excellent academic standing and I’m very extrovert in person. One of my observerships is with an american doctor but it’s a very IMG friendly university program, I’m afraid the doctor would be strict about not being allowed where he isn’t and in the work hours (I want to be there more not less, don’t get me wrong). Anyway, any advice on how to get a personalized letter even as an observer would be more than appreciated! how can I connect with the residents while I’m in there? one of the hospitals doesn’t have a residency program but it’s with an alumnus that already knows my academic standing so I’m promised a strong LOR, how can I make the most of that rotation with no residents to connect with? THANKS!!

I’m a visa requiring medical student and planning to apply to the next match cycle (2028 match, i’d have 0 yog). I’m very interested in neurology and I have two neurology usce waiting for ne in few months. I still haven’t sat for my step 2 exam but lets say if I scored around +260 and had 2-3 researches in neurology before match season. Am I risking it because neurology is becoming more and more competitive? should I try to find IM usce to do to dual apply? I’m really passionate about neurology above all, there’s no doubt it’s my dream career but I also don’t want to go unmatched or reach for the stars because my goal is mainly to get away from where I am right now lol. If you have any advices on how to make my application more suitable for neurology I’d really appreciate it

unfortunately i can’t pick both and they would both cost around the same amount of money so it mostly depends on this.

for A, I’d get a strong personalized LOR from an alumnus who’s an associated professor but my USCE would be in a hospital that doesn’t have a residency program in an unsafe area

for B, it would be with IMG doctor so I might get a LOR and it’s in a community hospital affiliated with a medical school and their residency program is IMG friendly

I want to add that I’m doing another usce in an img friendly program in the same state as B. would that be unfavorable when I apply to the match? that my usces are in the same state? (different regions tho)

any insight would be appreciated, Thanks!

all in neurology

A- small hospital that doesn’t have a residency program but with an alumnus doctor from my university who is also associated professor and promised strong personalized LOR if i showed up

B- big health care system with img doctor i don’t personally know and the residency program isnt img frien at all. idk about LORs

C- university hospital neuroICU with american doctor, not img friendly program and idk about lors