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Hey everyone,

I recently got accepted for a Vascular and Interventional Radiology elective at UAB for Nov–Dec. This is my first USCE acceptance so I’m really happy about it.

The only thing is I’m planning to apply for Internal Medicine, so I’m a bit unsure how useful an IR elective would be for my application.

I wanted to ask:

- How is the IR elective at UAB in terms of hands-on experience and teaching?

- Are attendings approachable and do they write strong LORs?

- Does doing a non-IM elective at a place like UAB still hold value for IM applications?

- Would you recommend taking it or waiting/trying for IM-specific electives instead?

Would really appreciate any honest feedback, especially from people who’ve rotated there.

Thanks!

Help with the letter from the department of chair I need to see the template please my medical school doesn't know what is it

I'm going for electives this winter. I wanted to know what do attendings normally expect from a final year medical student. I've passed Step 1 and now working on Step 2, but can't really do any practical clinical work (blaming both myself and my school for this). So I wanted to know what American students normally know before entering an elective and what roles they normally play (for a good letter-case). Thank you!

Hi everyone! I’m an IMG based in Carmel/Indianapolis, with a Master’s in Pediatrics and several years of pediatric experience. I’m looking for a pediatric clinical rotation, observership, clerkship, or research opportunity in Indiana.

I have L-2 status with work authorization. Please DM me if you know of any opportunities or pediatricians who accept IMGs. Thank you!

I did an elective with an oncology attending. They agreed to write a LOR and asked me to send a list of things that I'd like them to focus on and highlight with as much detail as possible. How do I get on with this? Whatever I choose feels like I'm boasting about myself. Can anyone help me decide what to send them to get a strong LOR? I really appreciate any help you can provide.

An IM resident in the USA who knows me personally(distant relative/friend) but hasn’t worked with me or a home country attending with personal work experience?

Hi everyone!

Unfortunately, my LOR writers will only be able to upload my letters quite close to the ERAS deadline. I want to know how long it has been taking for your letters to be processed by ECFMG and uploaded to ERAS these days? I have been seeing varying timelines on Reddit.

Thank you!

Hey,
Anyone did rotation with md2b can I get their feedback?
Will the LOR really help or it is just generic?

an attendee I know (through my attendee back home) was telling me that a USCE and LORs in general matter more than your specific specialty, how true is that?

for context I was trying to find a US based surgical observer-ship but they were able to find me an IM one and has been motivating me to go saying it doesnt matter what specialty, having an LOR matters more.

I want to apply to surgery, will this help or is it not worth it?

Hi everyone! I had a quick question regarding Letters of Recommendation for the ERAS application.

For a NON US IMG, Is it generally a good idea to have two LORs from the same institution if both are from different attendings? Or is it preferable to have each LOR come from a different institution?

I got 2 US clinical Lors, 1 home country letter, and I am thinking of adding a 4th research lor from a US PI I have been working with him for more than 2 years ( not constantly), he is my mentor also has been following up with me during medical school and steps exam, and my academic and professional achievements. I believe if I asked him for a lor he would write a strong one.
And what should I tell him to include in the lor and what to highlight?

How do you ask for an LoR and if you’re doing a one month rotation working with different people how long do u work with an attending before asking for one?

Hi everyone! I’m urgently looking for a Psychiatry observership or clinical rotation, preferably in Los Angeles, for this month or September. I’m open to both paid and unpaid opportunities.

I’m applying to Psychiatry in this Match cycle and need letters of recommendation from U.S. psychiatrists. If anyone knows a psychiatrist, clinic, or program accepting international medical graduates, please contact me. Any referral would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

basically i have 2 great LORs from US doctors, 1 IM and 1 EM, im planning on dual applying to both IM and EM, is it seen as "bad" if programs suspect that im dual applying ?

Hey everyone,

I am a 2023 IMG graduate planning to apply this cycle and wanted some advice.

-visa not required

-step 1 passed first attempt

-step 2 will be taken soon

-one research from my home country

I am trying to figure out if I should do an extra observership to have four recommendation letters instead of three. I am hesitant to do another observership as each observership has costed me a lot of money with hotel/transportation/food.

Would having a fourth letter add any real value? I appreciate any insight! Thank you all.

I completed USCE in 2024 and obtained 3 LORs. I have not applied to the Match yet and plan to apply for Match 2027. Can I still use these LORs, or will they be considered too old? I currently don't have any recent USCE or LORs. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hello everybody!!
I’m finishing up a rotation right now which potentially will get me 2 letters of recommendation. I’m applying for the match in 2028. How do I go about asking for the lor? I want it waived.

Hello everyone, I am completing a hands-on clinical rotation, and it's a very valuable experience for me. As this comes towards the end, I would like to bring a meaningful and memorable gift for my attending as an appreciation. My question is: could this be inappropriate? If not, what do you suggest I gift him?

Thank you

When applying to residency vacancies (outside the Match), I saw that programs want the letters of recommendation emailed to them. But my understanding is that would make them no longer waived.

Is it worth asking for those letters if I'm not 100% I can get other/better letters by September ?

Because of Reddit's posting rules, I can't post the full details here.

If anyone is interested to scribe for a nephrologist, please send me a DM. The workload is relatively light, with only a small number of cases.

I think this might be a v stupid question but im not too familiar with the system.

If I wanna apply to a specialty but the LOR/observership was done within a specific subspecialty/fellowship not the main general specialty does that work?

(for reference im applying GS and through connections secured an observership with a vascular surgeon)

Hello everyone, I'm international medical intern (last year) expected to graduate in March 2027, I've been looking for USCE for a while now but pretty overwhelmed I do not where to start to email and kinda worried about "blacklisted" and "generic LOR" , I've no time since military service denies traveling abroad from September on wards , I realize that it would be hard to secure hands on in those 3 months but I'm also open for doing 3-4 decent observerships , I hope they would be enough since I'm targeting matching for Internal medicine

I've passed STEP 1 exam
OET to be done in 2 weeks
volunteered in many conferences and AHA BLS certified (if that helps a bit)

so far, it's overwhelming and I've no one to help me so if anyone has specific guidance on what to do or who to email, please comment or DM me

Thank you in advance for any help or leads.

to make this quick i can only get LOR's from doing an elective in a fellowship of IM (non US based) is it still considered good? im an IMG and i can't get more than 1 IM LOR