everybody wants to go to the States!

just got home from thyrotoxicosis discussion. discussion is definitely the part that i love and anticipate the most in a module, cuz it is the real integrated-system manifestation. i got to see things clearly in a discussion. and to make things even fun, today's discussion question starts with differential diagnosis, God I love it! haha.

I love mustard on my hotdogs, i have my wedges with cheese dipping, i love nachos and i think subway's sandwiches are LAAAAMEEE. definitely am not a big fan of subway. and here i am, with my regular weekly basis "wa7ad kibdeh wa7ad slush" menu. no wonder i get bad grades, must be the kbidah!!! -->miss blamey me talking <----

I would love to go the the States. who doesnt??? for whatsoever reason people has, education, money or technology. today is the day i wished Malaysia was colonized by the Americans instead of the British, simply cuz i think the American system is better. hahaha. ungrateful! last week, i attended this American Medical Clinical association briefing for those who're interested to do their elective in the states. the university is about to sign an MoU with the AMC to help our students for better opportunity to do their residency in the States. I didnt plan to blog this, but yesterday I bump into this girl who's planning to take USMLE and she gave me some tips, so i guess it would be worth it to share it here.

For detailed requirement please visit AMC website www.amclinicals.com . but for rough ideas, do stay with this post. For IMG (international Medical Graduates) like us, inshallah there are few specialties & states in the USA that are IMG-friendly. such as family med, internal med and surgery. in states like New York, New Jersey. if you wanna match for residency, u'll need to ace USMLE both step 1 and step 2 with single attempt. scoring 85 in your first attempt is much much better than scoring 100 at your 2nd attempt. yup, numbers of attempts matters! and you'll need recommendation from doctors in the USA and also evaluation from teaching hospitals in the States. for THIS clinical experience, you're gonna need to do your elective there. so that you make friends/connections with doctors there and this is the way you got your clinical experience as required to  match for a residency.

and the AMC will be a good help for both the elective + matching for a residency, they are providing services to help make your resume a good one. =) the average amrks of American medical graduates, as told, in USMLE is 80, the IMGs has 91, but still AMG matches more than the IMGs cuz they're well organized and knows what to do when. Arabs are born with gifted good memorizing capacity, 91 is not a big surprise, and that 80 for AMG - must be because of too much porn  unhealthy entertainment. oopsie. basically, it's because of lacking clinical experience in the States that makes IMG fails to match for residency programme.

what i learnt last night is that, it is better to take USMLE step 1 during this preclinical years cuz we still remember things. and use books like BRS and high-yield ++ question banks. for step 2 wait until your 5th or 6th years or during our internship. score these exams, go for elective in the States, apply for your residency and voila!!! you secure a good chance at matching for a residency programme.of course there'll be interview with the medical director and stuff..

anyway.. if you're interested in the elective thing, AMC will help you with it. 3300$ - 4000$ (currently) for housing, tuition fee, malpractce insurance + transportation in the states (flight tickets excluded). why on earth am i writing all this?? in case some people are interested in pursuing their American dream. and as for me, I have my american dream but considering that 4000$ and the fact that I DO plan to end up working in Malaysia as a loyal government servant, perhaps it's not that smart to do the elective in the states, except for the adventure and excitement, but still i plan to save money, in case i change my mind. by the way, if u wanna do your elective for more than 3 months (JUST students allowed for 2 months only) u're gonna need STEP 1.

and personally, I would love to go to New York, California and Florida. =) perhaps i should go there on a vacation or on a honeymoon. cuz really there's no point of doing the elective there for the "baik me" just want to finish housemanship, get married and settle down someplace near to mommy's house so I can hantar my kids to their grandma. hahah. evil grin. talked to a 2nd year resident from pathology dept (she's the one with our discussion) and she said, after the 4 years residency she'll become a speacialist and then can continue with her subspecialty. and i curse those birokrasi + seniority system in our country. in fact im not even clear about how thing goes in my beloved country. perhpas i should just pack my things and take my family with me and get a green card (berangan sangat kau!)

till then, i have an exam or should i say exams to study for. do pray for me, In God We Trust.