Failing Is Not The End

Dr. Negin Nezarat

It's going to be hard but hard does not mean impossible. I am  Negin Nezarat and here I am sharing with you my USMLE success story to help you through your USMLE journey.
I did my medical school as well as residency in my home country, Iran. Then I decided to do a three years fellowship in 2011 (also from my home country)  and post doc research in the US.
2020 was the first season that I decided to apply for residency in the US. I have average scores in USMLE exams, though all in first attempt, including Step 3
Although, I did not have a gap, yet I was considered as an old graduate with more than 15 years YOG (year of graduation)- which is quite old for USMLE residency. I applied for the r for the 2020 NRMP match without any planning, which was a major mistake. It was like shooting arrows without having those set of skills to shoot an arrow. Hence I severely missed my target which was to crack USMLE and Match eventually in internal medicine.. As a result I got zero interview calls. It is worth noting that I was away from clinical practice for more than 7 years now.
But falling down is not the end of the journey. Never allow your setbacks to stop you from dreaming and also working hard for it. Mistakes are proof that you are trying. Therefore, this year I decided to plan and restart my journey to Match as I did not want to give myself an option of giving up at all. Consequently, I decided to take help for my planning from March itself this year and hence, I joined USMLE Sarthi, several months before the application deadline.

Trust me, that my decision was a game changer. With the help of the Sarthi team I improved each and every minor detail of my ERAS CV and application along with  Personal Statement> I had kind of overlooked these in my last attempt. I realized how the US clinical experience can be crucial for fetching interviews. I did one month of telerotations and a few observership to try and make up for the gap in clinical practice..  I made sure that I have enough research experience as well. I was continuing to publish all these years and I had 25+ publications at the time of my submitting my ERAS application this time around.

With the guidance of the Sarthi team I prepared for my interviews and planned step by step through all the process of USMLE. I learned how important it is to outreach to the programs and do networking, which precisely is the key to escape from the filters and get the interviews for someone like me.
At last, due to my hard work, never give up attitude and the excellent guidance of the Sarthi team I managed to get four interviews this year. I only concentrated on following the rules and I matched this year in my favorite program.
I am equally grateful that I had a chance to meet the wonderful team of USMLE Sarthi led by Pawan and team members, my mentor Dr. Garg, a cardiologist (I had joined the Platinum plan) and all the other panelists who shared their valuable  experience with me.
For the people who did not match this year, I can confidently vouch that giving up is not an option and results happen overtime and not overnight. Work hard, stay consistent and be patient.
Finally Based on my experience here are a few tips for your USMLE residency match journey
 
Start early if you can. It is definitely possible to match with an older Year of Graduation like I did, but earlier is better 

Your education is never a waste- whether it is home country residency, MPH or other relevant courses- they can all help as long as you can link them to the specialty of interest 

Hands-on experience, rotations and Step 3 is a must for older graduates 

Minimize your gaps- show them you are proactive and ready to start the residency 

Package your ERAS CV and Personal statement well. Get professional help, like I did from USMLESarthi 

Interview preparation is the key. The more experience you have or the older year of graduation, the more content you have to talk about- but the trick is to articulate the responses well and convince the programs of the fit 

Mentorship is important- in my journey, I was fortunate to have excellent mentors- both within USMLESarthi, like Dr. Garg, and outside Sarthi.