A Step-by-step Guide for the Journey to Medical Residency in the USA

1. ​Explore the opportunity and costs of doing residency in USA: While you are in your 2nd or 3rd year of MBBS program, you should research the opportunities as well as the costs of doing residency in the USA and compare it with the alternative of doing residency in UK or India. You can start by consulting our resource which will help you compare and contrast the alternatives of doing residency in India vs. UK vs. USA, after the completion of your MBBS.
2. Be proactive and get internship experience at a hospital in the USA : Before you complete your MBBS, ideally when  you are in your 2nd or 3rd year of MBBS program, you should strive to get an internship at a hospital in the USA. This internship experience, of at least few months, will help you succeed in getting selected into the USA medical residency program of your choice. Refer to our resource on how to succeed in getting a medical internship at a hospital in the USA.  ​​​​
3. Take USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 2 CS exams: In order to become eligible to apply for residency at a USA hospital, you need to be certified by ECFMG (Educational Commission For Foreign Medical Graduates). The ECFMG certificate is issued to a physician if he or she passes the following three exams -- Step 1, Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK), Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS), within a time period of seven years. In addition, given the competition for the limited residency seats, it is advisable to take USMLE Step 3 exam as well. Though the scores of Step 3 are not used to match with a residency program at a hospital, they may increase your probability of getting an interview and getting favorable assessment at the interview. To obtain more information about the format of the exams, sequence in which you should take it, preparing for the exams, tips and strategies to excel at the exams, and how to assess your USMLE scores for different exams with respect to your preferred speciality, please refer to our resource on how to prepare for USMLE exams and assessing your USMLE scores. We also offer a service to assess your probability of getting matched with a residency program based on your scores and other relevant characteristics.  
4. Fill and Submit ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) form to get invitation for interviews from Hospitals: ERAS is a centralized system to store CV (Curriculum Vitae), SOP (Statement of Purpose), and LOR (Letter of Recommendations) of applicants to the USA hospital residency programs. Generally, by 15th September (of the year in which you want to be join a residency program), you should create an account at the ERAS system and upload all the required documents. Refer to our resource on how to fill ERAS form for maximum impact and increase your likelihood of getting an interview. We also offer products and services to help you showcase your qualifications and achievements in best way possible by helping your improve your CV and SOP for getting interviews from USA Hospitals for Medical Residency positions. You also have to apply to the programs in your speciality through the ERAS system. You should research all the potential hospitals and identify which hospitals you would prefer and which hospitals would be likely to accept you as a resident based on your scores and other characteristics. The most common question that applicants ask is how to identify and select which programs to apply while filling the ERAS form. We offer a service that allows you identify which hospitals residency programs would be a good fit for you and will lead to greater likelihood of your getting into the best possible residency program in the USA.  
5. Prepare for Medical Residency Interview and perform your best at all the interviews that you received: Each hospital will select a list of applicants to interview and send them interview invitations, generally between 15th December to 15th February. This is your opportunity to impress the decision makers. .......We offer services to help you prepare......
6. Register at the NRMP (National Resident Matching Program) system to participate in the matching program and provide ranking of your preferred residency programs: You have to register at NRMP system so that you are able to participate in the resident-hospital matching process. Generally, between 16th -20th February, NRMP matching process is executed. NRMP gets a rank order list of all the applicants in which each hospital is interested in having as a resident. As an application, you also have to upload your ranking of the hospitals (speciality programs in each hospital) by the deadline.
7. Wait for the results: You will get an email informing that you have been matched or not matched. If you have not been matched, you will get access to a special list of programs which still have resident spots. Within a three day period, you need to go to ERAS system and apply for one or more programs from this special list of programs. You apply to these programs and wait for the interview call. Following Thursday or Friday you will get an announcement regarding which hospital did you match with.