Hello again,
I routinely work with hospital residents, so your question intrigued
me. After researching this for you, I can truly appreciate the
challenges you face in the application process!
In checking further after I asked for clarification, I discovered that
many of the vacancies in Internal Med were not for first year
residents. In trying to answer your question, I assumed that you were
looking at a first year placement.
You have missed the ERAS deadline, which you probably already know.
But the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates)
accepts applications on an on-going basis. My understanding is that an
international medical graduate (IMG) must be ECFMG certified in order
to be eligible for residency with an ACGME accredited program. You
didn't indicate whether you have your ECFMG credentials yet.
From what I understand of the h-1, you have to be licensed in the
appropriate state to apply. And since licensure in states seems to
require ECFMG certification, I don't see how you will be able to
bypass ERAS. I say this after reviewing the following web page:
Entry into Graduate Medical Education in the US:
Overview for International Medical Graduates
http://www.ecfmg.org/2002ib/ibgrad.html#applying
On the web page noted above, it states, "As the designated Dean's
Office for all international medical students and graduates, ECFMG
coordinates the application process for these applicants." The same
page indicates that Internal Medicine and Pathology are two of the
specialties which are required to use ERAS to submit applications to
residency programs.
The problem I had in finding the data you requested is that most of
the residency programs with vacancies require submission via ERAS or a
matching program. I discovered most of the vacancies by using the
databases on the links below. Most of these vacancies weren't
confirmed on the individual web pages of the various hospital
residency programs. Additionally, most hospital residency program web
sites don't specify if they are H-1 friendly. I can only assume that
matching services and ECFMG are used to match IMGs with programs which
assist with sponsorship.
I was able to find a lengthy list of "h-1 friendly" residency
programs (see the link below) but it's like looking for a needle in a
haystack to try to confirm if those h-1 friendly schools have
openings. I went to many web pages of residency programs on that list.
Most of them refer you back to ERAS and/or a matching program.
Additionally, the web pages for most of the programs I visited do not
confirm on their sites whether they sponsor h-1 applications at the
present time. I would guess that this is to avoid applications and
inquiries from IMGs without ECFMG credentials. But that's just a
hunch. In the one or two instances where I did find something about
the h-1 issue at the residency program site, I still couldn't bypass
ERAS for you.
As for the interviews, my understanding is that a phone interview is
fine prior to a face-to-face interview. I did not find any programs
which offer a position without the face-to-face interview after the
phone interview.
Below is some of the information I found which may be helpful to you.
If this turns out to meet your needs, please let me know and I will
post this as an answer. Otherwise it may help another researcher find
the information you seek.
List of 40 H-1 Friendly Residency Programs
http://www.imgi.org/j1andh1frien.html
Immigration Law and International Medical Graduates
http://www.acponline.org/img/jafri.htm
International Medical Graduate Institute
http://www.imgi.org/
International Medical Graduate Message Forums
http://www.imgi.org/imgmesfor1.html
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
http://www.ecfmg.org/
2002 ECFMG Information Booklet (very informative)
http://www.ecfmg.org/2002ib.pdf
ECFMG and the J1 (links on the left may be helpful)
http://www.ecfmg.org/evsp/index.html
International Medical Graduates
http://www.careermd.com/careerimg/default.shtm
Forein MD
http://www.foreign-md.com/
Another Site for Forein MDs
http://www.csa-notes.com/
Scutwork (you gotta love that name)
Resident Rankings of Residency Programs
http://www.scutwork.com
Scutwork's Unfilled Residency Programs by Specialty
(list gives phone & fax numbers & email addresses)
http://www.scutwork.com/match2002/unfilled_programs/index.htm
Internal Med Residency Database
ttp://www.acponline.org/residency/
Residency Vacancies Updated Daily
www.career-md.com
DMOZ Open Directory for Residency Education
http://dmoz.org/Health/Medicine/Education/Residency/
Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
http://www.aamc.org/programs/eras/programs/start.htm
National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)
Registration begins August, 2002
http://www.nrmp.org/
NRMP Applicant User Guide
(IMGs are eligible for the NRMP service)
http://www.nrmp.org/res_match/tables/appl.pdf
Search terms used included "h-1 pathology residency", "h-1 riendly",
"international medical graduate application", "internal med residency
vacancy." But those are just a few I used. My best sources were the
links on the IMG-specific sites I listed above.
Best wishes!
fsw |
