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Bottom of Form Which Documents we need to apply for electives? Which Documents should we get after electives? When to apply for electives? Where to go for electives? Is there any use of electives in fields other than field/specialty of interest? How many weeks of electives/ number of electives are enough/sufficient? How to get a sponsor for electives? Which medical school need sponsorship from Faculty members? How can I improve my chances for acceptance for electives in any medical school? How much time does it take to get malpractice coverage? What is the cost of malpractice coverage? Which malpractice coverage I should go for? My medical school is not a well-reputed one...can I get electives in US? How much TOEFL helps for electives? How much score do I need to get in TOEFL? How much USMLE Step 1 help for electives? What to write in 'Column of description of clinical activities in home school'? Can I get a acceptance after rejection? How can I improve my CV? Is there any use of doing short-term research/observership/electives? On which visa to go for electives/ which visa we need for electives? Should I go for electives on a J1 visa? Is step 1 necessary for observership/electives? Am I late for electives? back to top Which Documents we need to apply for electives? Depends upon the university you are applying to. Usually it includes the following: Completed Application Form Completed Health Form with Titers, Mantoux Test report and Immunization Certificate Health Insurance Malpractice Coverage Personal Statement CV Letter of Intent Cover Letter HIPAA certificate OSHA certificate

The first two are required by every university and few of the remaining are required by some universities in addition to first two. Thats why it is always advisable to contact Electives Co-ordinators before sending your applications. You dont want to send incomplete applications are be rejected. back to top Which Documents we get after electives? You should try to get a proof of your elective from the university. Some do give LORs and some dont... if you dont impress them. Its always better to get a LOR alongwith an Evaluation form signed....for your college...even if your college does not require it. For further details on it and regarding its sample, please visit the Electives section. back to top When to apply for electives? As soon as you can....although many good universities do not fill spots on "first come first serve basis" but even then I dont think there is any point of waiting and delaying your application when all the documents are ready. First complete your application and documents, double check them and send them. It is advisable to apply 8-10 months in advance but you can also be accepted by applying even 4-6 months before the starting date of electives. back to top Where to go for electives? First of all get electives wherever you find them and if you are lucky enough to have multiple acceptances.... it depends upon what are your priorities... which specialty you have your electives in? is it in your specialty of choice? the first thing.... is it in a top university program? the second factor... is it in a state where you want to live in with some relatives/friends? This can be the first factor for many of you.... best of luck! back to top Is there any use of electives in fields other than field/specialty of interest? Yes it is always better to have SOMEthing than NOthing but its always better to secure a elective in the specialty of your choice. A Medicine/ Medicine sub-specialty LOR would be better than an Opthalmology LOR for applying into a IM program but again Opthalmology LOR is better than no LOR for IM residency... back to top How many weeks of electives/ number of electives are enough/sufficient? 1 month- something is better than nothing 3 months- good 6 months- very very good 1 year- ideal These hold true for clinical fields like IM/FP/Surgery etc Any question you ask regarding steps, electives, research etc.......its answer would depend on one simple fact.... which specialty you want to pursue your medical career....e.g clinical electives are always considered superior to research electives for surgery/medicine fields but research electives/ research carry far more weightage than clinical electives in feilds like Pathology, Radiology etc. first finalise your specialty and then go through the residency programs of that field to see their eligibility requirements....best of luck! back to top How to get a sponsor for electives For Henry Ford: You can contact the faculty members by the emails. You cant find the email addresses of the faculty on the website, but you can find the names of faculty members on it. Go to www.henryford.com and then go to 'Find Doctors'. There is a formula for determining the email addresses from their first and second names. So, what you need to do to get the email ID of a faculty is using the FIRST LETTER OF THE FIRST NAME and FIRST SIX LETTERS OF THE 2ND NAME and THEN ADDING 1 before @hfhs.org For example, If the name of Faculty is Steven Harrison, then the email ID will be sharris1@hfhs.org (same thing: FIRST LETTER OF THE FIRST NAME and FIRST SIX LETTERS OF THE 2ND NAME and THEN ADDING 1 before @hfhs.org) You must always send your CV in the email for request of sponsor, stating your purpose and desire to

do electives in Henry Ford. You should send emails to a number of faculty members, because only a few one are going to reply you back. While emailing anyone, whether its elective coordinator or faculty member, dont start with words like madam/sir. You can always start with words like Dear Dr. Harrison. For Emory: The email IDs are available on their website, in the faculty corner of each department. Again, you should email as many faculty members as you can with your CV, because only a few one are going to answer you. You should not email without attaching your CV. back to top Which medical school need sponsorship from Faculty members? Henry Ford, Emory, Lousiana and few more like JHUSOM, UCSFfor research electives. back to top How can I improve my chances for acceptance for electives in any medical school? I believe TOEFL/ USMLE step 1 are big plus points but a good CV and good personal statement alongwith good documentation and proper filling of application forms are far more important. Its the combination of all these which counts. TOEFL is not a bad deal for 165 $. Hundreds of dollars are spent in application fees and thousands of dollars in tuition fees and if you spend mere 165 $ for TOEFL it increases your chances tremendously. Moreover it opens many new good new places for you that have no fees e.g NIH. back to top How much time does it take to get malpractice coverage? Depends upon the insurance company you are applying to. Generally it takes from 3 days till 1 month after making the payment. back to top What is the cost of malpractice coverage As far as malpractice is concerned... it depends upon the insurance company you are using...e.g some local companies offer insurance only for their local universities... so obviously you need to buy separate insurance if you are applying to multiple universities...but some do offer a combined package but they charge extra depending upon the no of universities and the duration of coverage....as far as I know academic insurance is the most cheap and suitable one and they offered insurance for one uni for around 200 $ for 8 weeks I guess but if you give them a list of about 10 uni... it is about 400 $ for 8 weeks... I might be wrong in figures...anyways there are some insurance companies who offer you insurance that holds true for all the US med schools... if you get one of this type, you dont mention the name of school while you are filling out their forms... it holds good for every university...and you just need to send a photocopy or simply a print out of the soft copy to the elective co-ordinators. back to top Which malpractice coverage I should go for? Depends upon u...If you are interested in medical assistant student insurance (which is not a 'true' medical student insurance but even then recommended by all the seniors) then go for hpso.com or proliability.com. If you are interested in genuine medical student insurance then undoubtedly www.academicins.com is the best, I like both their professionalism as well as their comparatively affordable quotes i.e about 250- 350 $ as compared to others 1050-1250 $. back to top My medical school is not a well-reputed one...can I get electives in US? The repute of your college does not matter at all for elective...college's repute has nothing to do with electives... Its only and only your documentation and other stuff like CV, personal statements, toefl etc. And yes step 1 score is a big boast but you can get electives without them as well. back to top How much TOEFL helps for electives? TOEFL is not a bad deal for 150 $. Hundreds of dollars are spent in application fees and thousands of dollars in tuition fees and if you spend mere 150 $ for TOEFL it increases your chances tremendously. Moreover it opens many new good new places for you that have no fees(see below). Following universities require or prefer toefl NIH(requires TOEFL) Wisconsin(requires TOEFL) Northwestern(requires TOEFL) Uni of Massachusettes(requires TOEFL) Uni of Cincinnati(requires TOEFL)

Vermont(requires TOEFL) TUFTS(requires TOEFL) Yales(prefers TOEFL) Harvard(prefers TOEFL) Moreover there are many more universities that prefers TOEFL. I strongly recommend giving TOEFL as soon as possible for everyone going for electives. back to top How much score do I need to get in TOEFL? The more score you get in TOEFL, the better it is....they have no cut off value, usually anything above 90 is very good and above 100 is considered exceptional....but make sure you score evenly good in all 4 aspects...rather than being at the top in 3 and at the bottom in any 1....that is try to score in late 20s out of 30 in all the 4 sections of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Best of luck! back to top How much USMLE Step 1 help for electives? USMLE Step 1 increases your chances tremendously for electives. Its always good if you have given USMLE step 1 but I wont recommend giving step 1 for electives as steps score is the primary thing and electives are the secondary factor for residency...u cant risk the primary factor for the secondary factor.... back to top What to write in 'Column of description of clinical activities in home school' "Column of description of clinical activities" means your electives/clerkships in homeschool... and it can also mean description of your activities during these electives...depends upon have they provided paragraph to fill or a list to fill... back to top Can I get a acceptance after rejection? Yes you can. Try requesting change in dates or change in specialty/field of elective to the elective coordinator after rejection. Usually they are quite helpful 'esp after rejection'...they try to accommodate you. Just play your cards well! back to top How can I improve my CV? What u can do to improve ur CV depends upon your specialty of choice. Following is the priority list for Internal Medicine: 1. Clinical Electives(or any other USCE) in IM or any subspecialty 2. Longtime Research+ Publications in IM or any subspecialty 3. Short-term Research+ Publications in IM or any subspecialty 4. Longtime Research without publication in IM or any subspecialty. 5. Short-term Research without publication in IM or any subspecialty 6. Research Elective without publication in IM or any subspecialty. 7. Clinical Electives in any other field. 8. Longtime Research+ Publications in any specialty 9. Short-term Research+ Publications in any specialty 10. Longtime Research without publication in any specialty. 11. Short-term Research without publication in any specialty 12. Research Elective without publication in any specialty. If you fulfil any of the first 3 in some good program... you have a strong chance of getting an interview call from there and then its upto you to impress them during interview and before it now....... I have set the priority list especially for IM according to the best of my knowledge. back to top Is there any use of doing short-term research/observership/electives? Always remember if there is not a disadvantage of something....there is always some advantage... SOMEthing is always better than NOthing....every achievement/ hard work does pay back sooner or later.... So whatever you can get...grab that opportunity and learn to convert half chances to complete ones....always remember....every experience in life teaches you a useful lesson for the future experiences of life....so they are not wasted...they carry the same importance as your school carried for your college and ur college carried for ur medical college... nothing is useless....never run away from any experience....grab whatever you can get and then have faith in yourself and your hard work.... always remember.....chances are not available....they are always created my dear....and if you find one...dont miss it....and if you made use of

one....never regret it... it can never be 'useless'! You would realize this later my dear friend....go for everything u can get....best of luck! back to top On which visa to go for electives/ which visa we need for electives? Depends upon the University you are applying to.......most of the Universities sponsor B1/ B2 visa but now due to some of the recent changes in the Visas many universities require you to come on J visa even for electives. You can apply for visa once you have received the acceptance letter. If you have received the acceptance letter, then you should contact the electives co-ordinator of the respective university and confirm their visa requirements and then apply for that category of visa! If you wish to come to USA for any of the following reasons, you can apply for B1 or B2 Visitor VISA. (Visiting your relatives/friends, medical treatment, Attending meeting, company sponsored training). Business related visitors can only apply for B1. Others can apply for B2. The purpose of your VISIT should be short term and you should have permanent residence in the home country (in your case Pakistan). To obtain B1/B2 VISA, the visitor should show strong evidence to prove that their intention is just to visit USA and their stay in US will only be temporary. Also, they should submit the documents to prove that they have strong base in their home country and will return from US within the permitted time. Documents for B1 Visitor Visa Letter from your sponsor. US company or organization explaining the purpose of your visit, duration etc. Supporting documents from you to explain the purpose of the visit. If your visit is for the company purpose, you need the letter from your company. Supporting documents from you. To prove that you have strong tip up with your home country (Bank statements, Family details, employment details) VISA application form. - (Form DS-156) Valid Passport 2 Photographs Visa fee I hope this will help you. back to top Should I go for electives on a J1 visa? If u dont find elective anywhere there is no harm in doing one at J1... Some places like Mount Sinai require it for electives... I would prefer a elective in mount sinai than no elective at all but keep in mind J1 is also a very big hurdle. back to top Is step 1 necessary for observership/electives? No its not at all necessary to give step 1 before observerships/electives, I myself did an observership in internal medicine in 2007 and I had not given USMLE step 1 then. Although step 1 increases chances tremendously for electives/observership but it is not compulsory in many universities. Observership/Electives may or may not require your USMLE steps. back to top Am I late for electives? You are late only if you have graduated because once you have graduated you cant do any more electives otherwise you can never be late...I would say even if there is 0.0000001% chance, dont miss it becz if you miss it....there would be no chance not even this 0.000001%, SOMEthing is better than NOthing my dear!!! Its never late. Although its better to be pro-active but dont consider yourself to be late if you had been not. Although it is recommended to start applying 8-10 months in advance but I have seen people being accepted while applying just 2-3 months in advance whereas many people are rejected applying 10 months in advance. So the thing that counts the most is your luck, so always keep praying for yourself and others. Plz go ahead! never waste time in thinking... you always have a chance... there is nothing like impossible or 0 % chance... as I mentioned I know people who even got accepted by sending applications just 2-3 months before...so never miss a chance... whenever you find one grab it.... and whenever there is a half-chance... convert it into a complete one...best of luck!!! back to top

20836 reads Visa requirement for step 1 USMLE Submitted by WasifTaufeeq (not verified) on Fri, 05/20/2011 - 10:47. Dear Umar, My cousin has done MBBS for PAK now she is preparing for USMLE part 1 and she wants to apply for US. I need to know what are the requirements or which university she should apply if she wants to come to chicago il. thankyou Wasif reply One does not need to have a Submitted by umar on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 04:44.

One does not need to have a visa to take USMLE Step 1... you can take the exam in Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi... in Pakistan... at any prometric center... as she has done MBBS, so she is already a graduate, so she cannot apply for electives but once she has taken the USMLE exams, she can apply for residency! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply about the CV Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Wed, 05/18/2011 - 12:14. hi. your forum has been a big big help for people trying to clear usmle . you wrote that in order to improve one's CV, we can submit our research work and there you mentioned the priority list according to IM. my question was regarding Longtime Research without publication in IM or any subspecialty. Short-term Research without publication in IM or any subspecialty how does this work? i mean if its not published, does it really hold any value? why would they accept it ? thanks reply Thanks for your kind Submitted by umar on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 04:41.

Thanks for your kind words... "without publication" means your name is not published in it!!! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Your effort to help us Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sat, 05/14/2011 - 14:59. Your effort to help us students out is rather commendable. An elective with the director of the Residency program who's an assistant professor or an elective with an associate professor who carries out alot of researches. Which is better? reply Thanks a lot for your kind Submitted by umar on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 04:29.

Thanks a lot for your kind words... depends upon the topic and impact of research! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best!

reply Hi,I want to know if I can Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 21:40. Hi,I want to know if I can send any letter of reccommendation to a doctor for an elective acceptance or does it have to be from a faculty member? The doctor said send me an informal recommendation letter from one of your professors. Can I send a letter given to me by a doctor i did an elective with? please help me out reply yes you can.... Submitted by umar on Sat, 05/21/2011 - 04:28.

yes you can.... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Sponsorship email Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sat, 04/30/2011 - 23:18. Hi there,the formula given for Henry Ford doctors for sponsoring does not work.Kindly help me out reply If this one does not work Submitted by umar on Sun, 05/01/2011 - 05:42.

If this one does not work then you might have to search and look for the email id as it is not a hard and fast rule! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply help ....pls... Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 15:18. student will be a---yr student in a ----yr program what should i fill in those columns if i am a final year student with one more year of internship.. i ahvent taken my final year exams.. i am planning to do electives in the vacation after exams..pls help reply 5th yr student in a 5 yr Submitted by umar on Sun, 05/01/2011 - 05:33.

5th yr student in a 5 yr program Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply elective questions Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Mon, 04/18/2011 - 15:50. Hi there everyone, wanted to thank you guys for your help and support, I just had a few questions about electives? 1. when you go for elective what are the duties during the rotation? say for example in ENT or EYE or radiology 2. what are you expected to know? for example in ENT or EYE or radiology, or medicine 3. I am student from India and is it like the doctors quiz you during rounds of ask you tough questions?

4. sometimes i worry that if i do elective I may not seem as good as an american medical student in terms of knowledge or history/ physical exam skill? because my school isnt a famous one & the teaching isnt the best there is, and because the american system may be different like SOAP notes, etc. 5. Also i have yet to give step1 and so do the doctors judge you differently if some hasnt taken it and is stilll doing electives? 5. and can you offer any books or reading/video material i can use to study for elective 6. has anyone who has done an elective faced any tough situations like this or am i too much of a worrying person Thank you for any help, sorry for asking all these questions, reply Thanks for your kind Submitted by umar on Sun, 05/01/2011 - 04:44.

Thanks for your kind words... 1. just like any rotation as a med student 2. basic medical knowledge 3. sometimes but not necessarily... 4. u should try to show ur eagerness to learn! 5. ur eagerness to learn is most important. 6. one can use kaplan notes otherwise ask your attending on first day of elective 7. it happens with almost everyone! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply hi i am an intern froom Submitted by VISITOR (not verified) on Thu, 04/14/2011 - 19:34. hi i am an intern froom india. plz can u let me know what are the chances of getting a clerkship at university of california, san diego?.they dont have a tuition fee bt their application fee is 250$ per elective....is it worth taking the risk to apply there for 8 or 12 wks... reply no one can assure u or give Submitted by umar on Sun, 05/01/2011 - 04:24.

no one can assure u or give ur estimate of chances... u can try applying there! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply hello CAN u plz tell Submitted by VISITOR (not verified) on Thu, 04/14/2011 - 19:26. hello CAN u plz tell me what is the tuition fee at NYU? reply HELLO SIR, While reading Submitted by EKTA (not verified) on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 03:30. HELLO SIR,

While reading the solutions that u have provided to a tons of students i have become pretty sure its only you who can help me.....i really have no words to appreciate the help you r providing us all. i am an intern in india . i am planning to give USMLE...so wanna go for clerkship in jan feb march next year. as mount sinai requires applications before 8 -9 months i have started with the proceeedings. i will give my toefl on 23 april and the result would be out in 2 wks. my transcripts and titres are all done. 1)fr mt sinai is it late to apply till mid of may2011? 2)can i substitute toefl score with a deans letter stating my medium of english 3)is mount sinai a good college or should i wait for application spots at other colleges who accept applications 6 months prior? 4)which are the other schools where i can apply which have a very less fee and are good? 5) wt should be my next step? visa? n which one? i have never been to any country before reply thanks for ur kind Submitted by umar on Sun, 05/01/2011 - 04:19.

thanks for ur kind words... 1. no 2. consult the university elective co-ordinator 3. yes... u can try either! 4. visit the following link 5. apply for visa Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply HELLO SIR, hw is mount Submitted by EKTA GUPTA (not verified) on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 02:39. HELLO SIR, hw is mount sinai as a hospital for doing clerkship? reply it is a good place! Submitted by umar on Sun, 05/01/2011 - 04:17.

it is a good place! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply substitute for toefl to apply at mount sinai Submitted by EKTA GUPTA (not verified) on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 02:33. Hello sir, i am doing internship in India in an English medium college. I Wish to ask if i can substitute Toefl scores with a letter from dean stating my medium of education being English as by the time i wanna apply for clerkship my scores wont be ready and then i can post the results a little later on. plz answer me as soon as u can , i am really worried. reply Hello Ms. Gupta You can try Submitted by viraatharsh on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 03:59.

Hello Ms. Gupta

You can try your luck by emailing mt. sinai people if they can waive off the toefl requirement if your dean gives a certificate that you are well adept in english however I seriously doubt if they will do it. TOEFL judges your proficiency in english at an international level so that would be necessary by most programs. You can start your application process in mt. sinai and tel them that your scores are pending and that you will email them the scores as soon as you get them. That should work. All the best -Viraat reply electives Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 11:56. hey what is difference between electives n clerkship? can i go elecctives or clerkship after my complete mbbs? reply Visit the following link. Submitted by umar on Sun, 05/01/2011 - 04:08.

Visit the following link. Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply medical malpractice insurance Submitted by Nav (not verified) on Tue, 03/29/2011 - 10:57. Hello! I am from India and applied for clerkship in Canada. From where and which company can i get malpractice insurance coverage in Canada?please send me the link at my gmail.Thanking You. reply Contact the university you Submitted by umar on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 16:47.

Contact the university you are applying to; they might be able to guide you in the best manner! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply when to go for elective Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 15:21. sir , i m 3rd year medical student from india ..what should i do for usmle please reply at he earliest i m very confused my queries i got 56% 1st year 56 % 2nd year i m very average i dont know what to write in c.v i plan to go for elective in december also should i go for elctive or research please reply at the earliest i m very conffused reply Your scores don't really Submitted by umar on Fri, 04/08/2011 - 13:46.

Your scores don't really affect your chances. For CV guidance, refer to the CV and resume post in Electives section. Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply mt sinai elective Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 22:23. hi .. umar bhai could u please recommend any one to write about there elective experience at mt . sinai. that would really be helpful . reply toefl score via ets Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 00:17. Hi people, I am writing my toefl exam in two days.So I have a choice to mark 4 universities. I wish to know if all those universities that require toefl scores ask for an ets sent copy? Also, I would like to know, I am applying for 2012 electives , so is it ok if ets sends them my scores now?? Please help.. reply hi. yep you can do that as Submitted by abr (not verified) on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 22:10. hi. yep you can do that as long as you apply for electives with in 2 years of your toefel completion. TOEFEL score is valid for two years..ie if yoU took your toefel this march..then you could use it till 2013 march..provided your still a 4rth year student to be eligible for electives. the university list that comes to my mind Kansas university Med center Rochester Mount Sinai NIH if you get score above 100 then you have a good chance of getting through reply Salam Umar Bhai Submitted by sufyan (not verified) on Sun, 02/13/2011 - 05:25. Salam Umar Bhai Umar bhai i am planning to apply for elective in UT Southwestern medical center,thy r asking for ACLS certification plz guide me how i can get this certificate,who from my University faculty can privide me this certificate. Regards Sufyan Sadiq reply acls Submitted by sudheer (not verified) on Sat, 02/19/2011 - 13:11. refer to...http://www.emri.in/content/view/118/166/ reply Consult the cardio/ emergency Submitted by umar on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 19:31.

Consult the cardio/ emergency department of your medical college if they provide a ACLS course! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply How many electives can one apply for at a time?

Submitted by Aaron (not verified) on Thu, 02/10/2011 - 19:48. Hey is it possible to send application for electives to many colleges at a time? reply Yes! Submitted by umar on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 19:25.

Yes! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply What exactly is core clerkship? Submitted by Aaron Mascarenhas (not verified) on Wed, 02/09/2011 - 22:12. Hi, Im a third year medical student, i've been comin across the term core clerkship a lot. Is this the same as our postings in final year. And do grades in core clerkship imply our grades in final yr practical exams? reply Visit the following link. Submitted by umar on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 19:24.

Visit the following link. Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Dear Umar bhai, u r doing an Submitted by Usama aman (not verified) on Sun, 02/06/2011 - 13:17. Dear Umar bhai, u r doing an excellent job and there r no words to thank u for taking out time and helping out others thats commendable really. Bhai i m final year student my classes for final year have just started.. bhai im a surgerry freak, and many people have told me or misguided me that it is very hard to get surgery residency in US. so i request u to plz guide me what is the roadmap for surgery there? how much scores, electives? complete road map. i dont know how much of it that everybody says is true so i m asking u, is it very difficult to get in sugery there even with double 99? 2nd thing is i think that i m a bit late right now for summer vacs electives in surgery, morever i've started a little prep of steps , i did all patho in usmle patern this yr and solved the mcques etc. ab scene ye ha k im planning k do the prep of step 1 sath sath seriously in final yr and give it in vacs right after my final proff, so ques no 1 is but ab us mei elective karun ya step 1? cuz i plan to do House job in minor like cardiac or plastic surgery etc jo time na lein aur mera pakistan ka backup plan bhi secure hojaye cuz aur sath steps ka exam bhi nikal jaye, cuz there are many seniors with double 99, and electives,who now are having probs in visas when they are finally getting interview calls. one of my senior, he had double 99, CS first atempt clear, 3 electives, he got interview call from orthopedic surgery but he couldnt go there cuz his visa stuck :| and question no 3 is, i havent really decided WHICH SURGERY specialization i want to do. so mje elective k liye surgery ki kis subspeciality mei apply karna chaiye? if i got electives in radio would that suffice? aur i heard the the residency director interviw in a conference, he said that dont apply to IM with surgery elective, cuz that shows ur lack of determination, and e IM people dont really like that IM is ur backup pla. so what abt it? having elective in surgery supports ur cv in IM or it does toally otherwise? Regards, Usama Aman reply

Hey Usama, thanks a lot for Submitted by umar on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 19:13.

Hey Usama, thanks a lot for your kind words! These are all rumours; dont listen to them. Get good scores in USMLEs(not necessarily 99, obviously higher the better but no deadline)... then electives in surgery and most importantly, research for a couple of years in surgery... I know many people who followed this path and matched into surgery. go for step 1 in final year and electives immediately after exams... you have to apply for electives now!!! It is better to do electives in the specialty of your interest! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply hi umar sir, thanx a ton for Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sat, 02/05/2011 - 17:53. hi umar sir, thanx a ton for all d info on this website. i m a final yr medico from india. wish 2 do my pg from d us...hence planning for mle and of course, electives too. what i wanna ask is, according 2 some of my seniors, doing ur electives in d west coast esp california, is not of much help, is it true? they say d LORs from d west r not very well accepted in d east and esp since d west coast does nt hav much concentration of IMG friendly schools, it is nt of much help getting an LOR from d west..... pls help me on this. reply Thanks for your kind words. Submitted by umar on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 19:04.

Thanks for your kind words. its nothing like that... I myself did 12 weeks electives in California and I believe they were the best. But all said, it is easier for IMGs to find residenc/electives/research at East Coast than West Coast but there is a large no. of IMGs at west coast too... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Mask fit test Submitted by Waleed (not verified) on Mon, 01/24/2011 - 22:49. Plz doctor what is mask fit test and how can apply for it or take it????? and how to do Criminal Background Check?? thanks ur reply will be highly appreciated reply I am not sure about mask fit Submitted by umar on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 18:32.

I am not sure about mask fit test... criminal background check is done by concerned authorities... you can get a certificate from a local police station that you are not involved in any criminal activities! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply do applying at canada elective help me later Submitted by Waleed (not verified) on Mon, 01/24/2011 - 21:56. do applying at canada elective program like mcgill or toronto help me later for residency in usa after completng usmle i mean i want a residency in usa not canada but applying to canada program will do anyhelp? or it is better to try usa university electives first Thanks for ur great site and help reply They do... but not as much as Submitted by umar on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 18:31.

They do... but not as much as electives in a US university would... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply aoa umar should i buy Submitted by Raza (not verified) on Tue, 01/18/2011 - 19:42. aoa umar should i buy malpractice and health insurance before applying for electives and attach a copy with the application or should i first apply for electives and when i get accepted, i buy those. i am asking keeping in mind cleveland, mayo and CWRU school of medicine. regards raza reply You can buy them Submitted by umar on Mon, 01/24/2011 - 14:46.

You can buy them afterwards.... different universities have different requirements... some require it initially... some after acceptance! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply I have applied to Harvard for Submitted by Prabhjot singh (not verified) on Sun, 01/16/2011 - 23:11. I have applied to Harvard for March 2011 but I havent received any reply from their side as yet.Can anyone let me know how much time before Harvard People let u know ur acceptance or rejection. reply It varies from department to Submitted by umar on Mon, 01/24/2011 - 14:39.

It varies from department to department and there is no fix time limit.

Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Umar sir Submitted by drkk (not verified) on Sun, 01/16/2011 - 19:37. Could you please tell me whom should my college faculty address to in the LOR? Is it Dear Elective co ordinator or who? reply "Dear Program Director," Submitted by umar on Mon, 01/24/2011 - 14:39.

"Dear Program Director," Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply need help umar bai Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sat, 12/25/2010 - 10:57. Hi I have been asked to come for electives in feb march at MSKCC newyork. ANYBODY there? What are your plans . Can anybody suggest a website to catch people who have bagged electives. reply What should I do? Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Thu, 12/23/2010 - 00:40. Hello sir, first of all a big thanks for putting up this website.. I am currently in my final year mbbs and want to ask for your advice.. what is the difference between clerkship and elective? i am interested in pursuing radiology as my PG....what steps should i take if i have no experience in research whatsoever? is it possible to get in a good university if my mbbs scores are average? thanks reply Thanks a lot for your kind Submitted by umar on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 06:54.

Thanks a lot for your kind words. Please visit the following link. Get good scores in USMLE, then spend multiple years in research with some first-author publications... and apply to many programs... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply umar bhai, i have applied to Submitted by mustafa (not verified) on Sun, 12/19/2010 - 23:10. umar bhai, i have applied to NIH, coordinator accepted and approved all my documents. she said that she would let me know about the outcome of my application soon. its been a bit more than 2 weeks, i still havent heared from the coordinator. should i email her about the outcome or wait for a few more days. is this wait a positive sign?

reply Dont worry... wait for 6-8 Submitted by umar on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 01:19.

Dont worry... wait for 6-8 weeks! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply hi umar, it has been 4 weeks Submitted by mustafa (not verified) on Tue, 12/28/2010 - 18:37. hi umar, it has been 4 weeks and still no reply, i read it somewhere that NIH relpies with 2 weeks, how far is that true? reply Its not necessary, sometime Submitted by umar on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 07:05.

Its not necessary, sometime they take upto 12-16 weeks; it depends upon the departments you applied! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply hi, m 4m mumbai...n id b Submitted by pal (not verified) on Fri, 12/17/2010 - 18:02. hi, m 4m mumbai...n id b graduating in year 2011 feb...preparing 4 my step 1...i have not yet applied for any electives...can any1 advice wat shod be next step...do i apply now ?....is it possibl 2 extend your graduation date by a year???.... reply hi... me too from mumbai.. Submitted by visitor (not verified) on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 10:44. hi... me too from mumbai.. which college r u in? we cud discuss abt r approach in mle..hav u found anybody frm mumbai whoz plannin for electives... do rep on my id its.. 11dulcerecuerdo@gmail.com reply hi... me too from mumbai.. Submitted by recuerdo (not verified) on Wed, 01/19/2011 - 17:26. hi... me too from mumbai.. which college r u in? we cud discuss abt r approach in mle..hav u found anybody frm mumbai whoz plannin for electives... do rep on my id its.. dulcerecuerdo1989@live.in reply You can consider extending Submitted by umar on Tue, 12/21/2010 - 01:22.

You can consider extending your internship and applying for electives otherwise get ur USMLEs done asap! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply any body MSKCC Accepted : need some friend to accompany

Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 12/14/2010 - 22:09. Hi I have been asked to come for electives in feb march at MSKCC newyork. ANYBODY there? What are your plans . Can anybody suggest a website to catch people who have bagged electives. reply hi umar sir,thanks for Submitted by dinesh (not verified) on Thu, 12/09/2010 - 09:44. hi umar sir,thanks for wonderfull site,i have a doubt,by how many days can we extend our date of graduation,as per my plan it turned out to be around 10-11 months.extending it by such a big time period is it manageable bcos of clerkship?if not by how many months can v maximum extend it? reply Thanks for your kind words. I Submitted by umar on Sun, 12/12/2010 - 16:47.

Thanks for your kind words. I am not sure about it. I would recommend someone with some knowledge about this issue, to comment on it! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply extension of graduation date Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 12/07/2010 - 17:20. hi umar sir,thanks for wonderfull site,i have a doubt,by how many days can we extend our date of graduation,as per my plan it turned out to be around 10-11 months.extending it by such a big time period is it manageable bcos of clerkship?if not by how many months can v maximum extend it? reply I am not sure about Submitted by umar on Sun, 12/12/2010 - 16:45.

I am not sure about internships/ graduation extension as there is nothing like this in Pakistan. I would recommend someone from India who has some knowledge about it, to comment on it! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply dear umer bhai loads of Submitted by ratan sangh (not verified) on Mon, 11/22/2010 - 11:36. dear umer bhai loads of thanks for building such a meticulous and well-conversed website. i am an intern with only three months left for my last year. i wanted to explore the options of externship in the US with US clinicle experience - n tht too hands on becoming an essential requisite for a match in residency. i also want to know how can i search for the hospitals(teaching) n universities tht provide these. please elaborate the real yield of doing an observership. i mean will it count as hands on experience or like sum say its the LOR's tht matter...... thank you. reply Thanks for your kind words. Submitted by umar on Fri, 12/03/2010 - 01:16.

Thanks for your kind words. It is totally right that it is the LOR that matters; few places do require some hands-on experience, so for those places hands-on experience comes handy but externships/ observerships are somewhat difficult to get as compared to electives. All the best for the match! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply

Electives in private clinics Submitted by Rj (not verified) on Sat, 11/20/2010 - 17:37. Hello Umar ! How are you ? You are doing a very kind job of helping others. I have a doubt regarding electives. I already have 2 months of electives n university hospitals. I also have an opportunity to do 2 month of electives in a private hospital in Boston. What is your view on these kind of electives ? should i do it ? How much can it help me wth my applications and CV ?? Thank you so much in advance reply Thanks for your kind words. Submitted by umar on Sun, 11/21/2010 - 01:12.

Thanks for your kind words. How did you apply for these rotations? Did you apply via some university? In any case, something is better than nothing... so in any case, it should be a valuable addition! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Electives in private clinics...contd Submitted by Rj (not verified) on Sun, 11/21/2010 - 02:11. Dear Umar, Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I did not have to apply for those electives. The owner of that IM clinic is my dad's friend and so he straight away offered me an opportunity to work there voluntarily. Since i already have 2 months of electives in university hospitals, would there be any advantage in just adding the number of months to my USCE by working in a private clinic setup. Will it reflect in my CV which i will submit during match process ? Please help me decide, whether or not it'd be a good move or i'l end up just wasting my time and money. Thank you once again Umar !! reply Yes it would help especially Submitted by umar on Fri, 12/03/2010 - 01:05.

Yes it would help especially if you can get a good letter but letter from a faculty member in University and experience in a teaching hospital is much better! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply regarding electives at UCSD Submitted by dr_andy on Fri, 11/19/2010 - 22:33. 3 ppl frm my coll includin me applied at UCSD.. one of my frnds did it within 2 hrs after dey started accepting applications on Aug 1, 2010.. rejected! i applied next day...rejected... another frnd applied after 23 days..REJECTED! Basically u need to call up adrianne n ask if the documents u faxed have reached her or no... mine did not!...so i had to resend d next day.. n u get rejection/approval notification usually within 2-3 days.. hope dat helps regards, dr_andy reply USCD sends application material? Submitted by Joseph (not verified) on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 01:14. When will USCD send application material ? do they send them by mail or e-mail ? Thank you,

reply thanks dr andy...if thats the Submitted by raj kundra (not verified) on Sun, 11/21/2010 - 09:34. thanks dr andy...if thats the case with u thn i m sure m not gonna get it as i applied almost 2months after they started accepting..n moreover its almost a month now so do u think i shud still call her up n ask whether she got my documnts or not?? thanks again though! reply eligibilty application at UCSD Submitted by raj kundra (not verified) on Fri, 11/19/2010 - 21:14. hello umar bhai I have applied to san diego univ. of california about a month back for the eligibilty requiremnt which is the first step after which they send us the application material.. but i have nt heard back nything from them since.. i emailed them they replied with what they have written on their site..Due to the high volume of applications, I will be unable to answer individual inquires regarding application status via email or telephone. Applications will processed as quickly as possible....i want to know if any one else has applied and got any reply or not and wat %age of students get accepted there??? so that i dont wait for them and spend that money applyng to some other college!! reply plan for 2013 residency in internal medicine Submitted by sunil bonela (not verified) on Fri, 11/19/2010 - 14:02. hello umar bhai, I am indian medical student ,presently in 4th year planning to write USMLE .what are nuts and bolts for IMG's.How much scores should we get ,to get residency in internal medicine.what are the requirements for that. please mail the hospitals which offer clerkships at low tution fees. reply It varies from place to place Submitted by umar on Sun, 11/21/2010 - 01:14.

It varies from place to place and specialty to specialty. Plz visit usmletomd.com. It has much details on it. For electives, visit the following link Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply electives at wayne state university Submitted by dr_andy on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 00:44. hi frnds.. wanted to know if any1 has applied for/done an elective at Wayne State Univ SOM (Detroit) by any chance.. I wanted to clear sum facts abt d same.. regards dr_andy reply Its very gr8 of u fr heIpin Submitted by Pravn (not verified) on Thu, 10/28/2010 - 19:58. Its very gr8 of u fr heIpin others,god bless you,I Im a indian citizen studyin MBBS in china, Im plannin to do electives n CS at a first visit to USA.MY QUERIES ARE Im plannin to apply visa at my cityshenyang,china as 3rd nation citizen heard it works., for a 4 week elective hw long do they give visa? 5 yr multiple entry do thery give? what visa n hw long do they usually give ? for CS visa hw long do they give? as im goin for both what should be prime request ?

reply Thanks for your kind words. Submitted by umar on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 19:42.

Thanks for your kind words. There is no fixed duration for the visa... they can give visa of anything from 6 months to 5 years... its pure luck... no hard and fast rule! you can use either prime requests... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply electives Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 14:26. hello sir, i am an indian attending medical college in china. i am doing internship now and i am supposed to be graduated in july 2011. i asked my dean for a break during my internship so that i can do electives, but he said he cannot give a break although he can postpone my graduation even after i finish my internship. will that work?? because i should go back to india and then apply for visa. reply I am not sure about Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 21:29.

I am not sure about it but I think it should work technically... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply request for acceptance duration Submitted by vamshi (not verified) on Wed, 10/20/2010 - 13:04. hey umar bhai... it is very nice of you in replying and helping all the people fr going to usa for academic purposes.. i recently apllied for electives to the yale and northwestern universities for january rotation. how many days it will take for acceptance? i mean, when do i get to know whether i am accepted or rejected? please let me know.. i would really appreciate your reply.. thnx reply Thanks a lot for your kind Submitted by umar on Thu, 10/21/2010 - 12:51.

Thanks a lot for your kind words. It usually varies from place to place but generally it is 1-3 months. All the best! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Hello Umar bhai May i first Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Mon, 10/18/2010 - 00:28. Hello Umar bhai May i first start off by saying that you're doing a wonderful job here and i wish for you all the good things there are...:) I just had a query...the thing is that it is very hard to finance your electives especially if you're applying to places like Harvard or Hopkins which ask for a hefty amount of tuition and application fees... Is there any way you can bypass these hefty amounts and still have a chance to do an elective at these places? Or is it all about paying before actually going through the whole process? My finances are limited...so please guide me as to what i should be doing Thank you so much.

reply Thanks for your kind Submitted by umar on Thu, 10/21/2010 - 13:00.

Thanks for your kind words. Apply to places with less fees or no fees esp NIH, Albany etc... you are not required to pay any fees in advance for hopkins. All the best! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply NY State residency eligibility Submitted by purav on Mon, 10/11/2010 - 19:35. Hi Umar and fellow friends I just came across a post in some other USMLE FORUM regarding some 12 week clinical clerkship limit by the New York State Education Department.They say that if you have done more then 12 weeks of electives outsider your home school you are ineligible to apply for residency in NY State. This could be diastrous as NY is IMG friendly .I am not sure if they mean more than 12 weeks of electives within New York State eg SUNY downstate or Mt Sinai or at any place outside your home school.If anyone has anymore information on this one it would be greatly appreciated. Best Purav reply Thanks for your comment Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/12/2010 - 07:27.

Thanks for your comment Purav... nice to hear from you! Yar I am myself not sure... I read on usmletomd.com that it is 12 weeks in NY updated by someone who spoke to NYSED personally and few other fellows told me the same but recently a couple of visitors have mentioned somewhere on this website that it is 12 weeks outside your home medical school, anywhere in US... I am still not sure... it is better if you give them a call yourself and confirm it! Do let me know the reply! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply About NIH application-urgent reply requested Submitted by Syed Aarif (not verified) on Mon, 10/11/2010 - 01:59. Dear Umar Salaam In how much time from the date of submitting the online application form for NIH CEP, do an email is sent to the Dean and the faculty member for LOR? I am asking this because I intend to submit the form soon, however my faculty member who is ready to give me an online LOR will be leaving for US in next five days. And he wont be accessing his university email there. In case the email is sent immediately, it won't be a problem for him to reply back with LOR. However if it takes longer, he may not be able to help me. Hope to hear from u soon.... Wishes Aarif reply It is sent immediately... as Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/12/2010 - 07:30.

It is sent immediately... as soon as you click on apply, so no worries! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply help Submitted by raj (not verified) on Fri, 10/08/2010 - 12:53. hi umar sir, im raj mehta doin my internship right now....my internship will get over by march 2011....i want to apply for clinical electives in us....wht should i do sir...should i apply for spring season 2011.... i know tht eleectives would be applicable only during my final clinical year.... thnk you raj reply Apply asap and you can delay Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/12/2010 - 07:19.

Apply asap and you can delay your internship/ graduation, if required! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply hi doctors. i am doin my Submitted by tejaswi (not verified) on Thu, 10/07/2010 - 08:46. hi doctors. i am doin my internship in india..i would be graduatinin march 2011..but since m applyin fro electives in the month of march, my graduation date would automatically get delayed..but wat do i mention in the column of expected graduation date & which graduation date is to b mentioned in the dean's letter?? some universities require us to send our toefl score via the ets..is it ok if we send them a copy of the score card we recieved form ets or is it a must tht we get it sent via ets..if so, how do we do it? please help. thank u reply I am not sure about it... I Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/12/2010 - 07:16.

I am not sure about it... I would request anyone from India, familiar with the internship issues, to comment on it... Different universities have different requirements... e.g NIH asks for a photocopy of result... whereas Northwestern requires ETS to send result directly... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Research Electives In Harvard Submitted by syed hasan (not verified) on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 21:28.

Salamz Umar bhy and other friends.. Does research Electives are available at Harvard ??? Anyone know ?? I have check out the site but there is nothing like research electives available at their site.. reply I think they are available Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/12/2010 - 07:10.

I think they are available but it is better if you confirm it from their elective co-ordinator first... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply electronic sending? Submitted by BADR (not verified) on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 12:37. Assalam o alaikum I m an IMG from india,would you plz tell me how do i send my form "electronically" to cleveland florida...with my SIGNATURES?? reply I am not sure. Kindly contact Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/12/2010 - 07:10.

I am not sure. Kindly contact the elective co-ordinator with your query... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply print the form, sign it and Submitted by fertile (not verified) on Sun, 10/10/2010 - 22:27. print the form, sign it and scan it. OR where it says signature, write your complete name reply hi, i got my toefl score Submitted by mustafa (not verified) on Mon, 10/04/2010 - 23:01. hi, i got my toefl score today, 28 in speaking. i am planning for a clinical elective at NIH for june. can you please tell me what medicine departments easily accept international med students? and provide good LoRs? thanks Mustafa Bhaty reply There are not any specific Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 00:32.

There are not any specific departments. It highly varies from person to person, faculty member to faculty member! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply north carolina electives Submitted by raj kundra (not verified) on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 20:29. @umar i am going to apply to north carolina univ for my electives, one of their forms which is the confirmation from college dean has specifically asked about the duration of my final year and than the expected date of graduation..i am doing my internship in india and i will be taking break from it to write my step and than go for electives in may..i have got the expected date of graduation as jul 2011 on paper from dean office but do not know what to fill in the duration of my final year in dates (though my internshio year is from jan 1- dec 31st 2010)...so how am i supposed to go about it??? reply I am not sure. I would Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 00:26.

I am not sure. I would recommend someone from India who has knowledge of internship issues to comment on it. Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply UNC has great diversity Submitted by fertile (not verified) on Fri, 10/01/2010 - 07:25. UNC has great diversity of electives. I really liked the university, i asume you have taken step1, just fill in for the graduation date as July 2011, and school dates from start to July 2011 preferrably, they can end earlier as well, but the Expected date of graduation must show your status as a student, Only the graduation date matters the most. I did not apply there because they have a huge fee and if you have step 1 result you have alot of other better options for similar quality of experience. reply Hello umar bhai, First of all Submitted by Visitor3 (not verified) on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 17:55. Hello umar bhai, First of all you are doing a wonderful job through this website...may allah help you fulfill your future pursuits... I wanted to know: 1. Are electives a prerequisite for getting a residency later in the us? is it possible for an international medical graduate for getting residency without an elective? 2. What is the significance of an elective in your native country? Can it be of much help? 3. How do you start applying for electives? Is it by writing to the co-coordinators of certain programs and sending in your cv randomly? Thank you! reply Thanks for your kind Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 00:25.

Thanks for your kind words. 1. No they are not.... yes it is possible! 2. Not much... as compared to US!

3. Please visit various posts in the electives section of this website. Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply i recently submitted my Submitted by Ahmed (not verified) on Tue, 09/28/2010 - 23:02. i recently submitted my online application for NIH, and now both my references have submitted their LORs and today i got confimation from the courier service that my package containing my TOEFL scorecard and transcript has been delivered to NIH....what do i do now? wait or ask if my application is complete and being processed....do help me....and do i need to send any more documents? reply You just wait. You send an Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 00:22.

You just wait. You send an email to Vicki requesting her to acknowledge the receipt of all your documents. Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply sir thank you for such a Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 09/28/2010 - 10:59. sir thank you for such a wonderful site.i am doing internship and i am planning to apply for clerkship.i had appeared for my toefl exam and lateron found out that the DOB on my scorescheet is incorrect.i tried contacting the officials and had sent all the necessary documents but was told that the error cannot be corrected.as i am falling short of time will it b wise enough to apply to the universities the same score(will it b verified) or do i have to take up toefl again reply Thanks for your kind words. I Submitted by umar on Tue, 10/05/2010 - 00:21.

Thanks for your kind words. I am not sure... better contact ETS and universities directly! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply thank you very much for the help u all are doing Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 09/14/2010 - 14:56. Hi sir , we are all benefitted by this website so much . I need ur help on criminal background check up . "Students are required to provide a copy of completing a criminal background check within one year of the requested start date of the rotation." Will you be able to help with some idea of what I should provide for this background check ? Any example or format that you can give me will be so helpful . Should it be from the POLICE Department or the college ? Where did u get one from and what type of document is it . A4 sheet print or letterhead or police station paper or college office paper..? Thank you . reply You can get in contact with Submitted by umar on Tue, 09/21/2010 - 00:13.

You can get in contact with your local Police department and request them to provide you with a letter/ certificate of no criminal activity... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply URGENT please help Submitted by abr (not verified) on Thu, 09/09/2010 - 00:53. hi .i am a medical student from india. my mediccal shool is having a problem in providing me with the documents for elctives as i am the first student. please i need some ones reference letter { just a xerox } copy with thier deans signature so that i can show it as a proof to my collg that electives are being done by students from other colleges. some one please help me out. i am really stuck. any ones help would be highly appreciated. my e mail is mutantaid@yahoo.com reply Take printvouts from the Submitted by Fertile (not verified) on Thu, 09/09/2010 - 13:37. Take printvouts from the university websites, that explain about electives as a course that a medical student like you can take. you can also supply your dean with the e-mail address o the elective coordinator of any institute say mayo clinic to so that they can verify it for themselves and ask aboout the elsective course. you can even give them the ph number. where they can call and ask. Explain to your dean that u r the 1st one and that it should be a big initiative on their part. And you want to do it for better and advance training. Also talk to some of your faculty who is foreign trained coz my guess is that he /she will know about the 'elective system' and request him to explain that to the dean. reply core clerkship grades Submitted by raj kundra (not verified) on Wed, 09/08/2010 - 01:48. @umar bhai n every 1 else i want to know what r v supposed to write about our grades of the core clerkships i.e. medicine paeds sugery obs/gyn as many universities ask whether v have completed these core slerkships at our colleges n have GRADES for them ??? i am doing internship in india, n r v supposed to give the passing marks that v have from our final year exams in these subjects or do v reply to them that v dont hav grading system for our core clerkships??? reply In Pakistan, we have ward Submitted by umar on Fri, 09/10/2010 - 16:42.

In Pakistan, we have ward tests at the end of each rotation. I provided both passing marks in the annual exam along with ward test results. Anyhow, if you can convince them that you dont have a grading system then its fine too. Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply Dear Umar bhai. Mount sinai Submitted by abr (not verified) on Tue, 09/07/2010 - 17:23. Dear Umar bhai. Mount sinai requires FI visa while as the forum sayd J..could u please clarify. is there any disadvantage of going on an FI visa?

reply Not to my knowledge.... Submitted by umar on Fri, 09/10/2010 - 16:43.

Not to my knowledge.... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply please help me ..umar bhai Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 16:47. i did a hipaa general privacy training in johns hopkins website ... i got 93 % by answering 14 questions .. should i do all the courses under hipaa compliance or just general privacy issues ... how do i print the certificate .. there is no link for printing any certificate , it just says view certificate .. % marks is also not ther in certifciate ..... plwease help reply u click on the main menu Submitted by umar on Mon, 09/06/2010 - 03:31.

u click on the main menu where courses are mentioned... there u are given an option of view certificate... % marks are never shown in certificate... hipaa compliance training is required if u apply in Johns Hopkins but not for others... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply thank u very much umar bai , and ... Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 09/07/2010 - 19:31. thank u very much for the guidance ,, but i am not able to se any link which says PRINT certificate , Should i just copy and paste that view certifcate page or the questions i answered , or the page that says my 93 % and put into MIcrosoft word . Actually , are people still able to use johns hopkins hipaa training and certificate for electives ... then why is it so diff. to find how to print . Thanks for obliging to find out whats wrong with UC DAVIS hipaa . Did get any lead in that ? Thank you so much . reply Well just print that Submitted by umar on Fri, 09/10/2010 - 16:45.

Well just print that webpage... there is a print icon at top... if u dont find it... just use the short key Ctrl+P... it would print that webpage... Johns Hopkins HIPAA is still used... I never used UC Davis HIPAA... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply tonnes of thanks for the people in this webpage Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 12:56. I find this webpage very very useful . I need a help from Umar bhai or anyone : ----- Hipaa link for UCDAVIS in ur webpage is not working ,, I wanna get a free hipaa certificate . Have they stopped giving that ? please give me the present link , i am not able to get it . ---- In johns hopkins webpage for HIPAA - https://secure.lwservers.net , given in ur link , which one should i do ?

Research Compliance Training Courses or HIPAA Compliance Training Courses . i wanna do only clinical electives in nw , suny , mskcc etc. reply Thanks for your kind Submitted by umar on Mon, 09/06/2010 - 03:32.

Thanks for your kind words... 1. Thanks for reporting... wud try to find and update the link 2. HIPAA Compliance- General Privacy Issues... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply mskcc Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 02:30. i want to apply to mskcc for may next year but i saw yesterday on their site that their new rules reqiure us to take step1 before applyng to them....do u know if they can wave it off n allow me to do electives there??? reply m not sure...... ask them Submitted by umar on Mon, 09/06/2010 - 03:21.

m not sure...... ask them directly..... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply hi thanks for your hard Submitted by Ahmed (not verified) on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 23:28. hi thanks for your hard effort on this website I finished my medical school in egypt from about 3 month Do I have a chance to enroll in electives? Is electives something equal to observationship? reply did you graduate? if yes, you Submitted by umar on Mon, 09/06/2010 - 01:50.

did you graduate? if yes, you cannot do electives! you can do observership after you graduate! Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply urgent Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 22:10. weill cornell has many hospitals , which should i click on for the electives code no. for int.med electives? Mskcc The Methodist Hospital - Houston,

New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens , Hospital for Special Surgery Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Cente, should i apply for mskcc separartely or is it enough if i apply thru weill cornell .. but mskcc charges no fee ., weill cornell does reply As far as I remember I Submitted by umar on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 18:30.

As far as I remember I applied separately and yes you need to mention the code.... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply help umar bai Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 08/03/2010 - 19:04. ir , i have a doubt , mayo asks for a recommendation provider to reply by mail as verification for my application and as lor. can my professor do it ,,, or only deans office clerk should do it . since its online , u can see what the college says only if u have username . " All medical students are required to submit a Medical School Verification Form, completed either by the Dean or another designated person from your medical school. Both the Recommendation Provider and the Medical School authorized person's information will need to be entered in this section" This section of the application serves two purposes: The location for entering your recommendation providers, required for all applicants (1 if domestic, 2 if international). The location for entering the dean or designated appointee for submitting your Medical School Verification Form. reply i did my elective dere, do it Submitted by Fertile (not verified) on Tue, 08/24/2010 - 02:50. i did my elective dere, do it just as they say ! There are 2 faculty lors that need to be submitted and one verification form tell your faculty to LEAVE the verification form BLANK and just fill in for the recomendation tell your registrar to SURELY fill VERIFICATION form and if possible also A deans letter in Recomendation section you shud hav your health insurance purchased, and tell your registrar to chk yes for insurance reply I think only the Dean office Submitted by umar on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 18:31.

I think only the Dean office or Registrar office should do it.... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply nih , mayo reply by dean ? Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sun, 08/01/2010 - 11:56. mayo and nih require the dean to reply by mail as verification ,,, is it absolutely necessary ,, can they waive it ,,, surely my college staff will never oblige to all this ..

anyone of u must have applied to mayo , nih.. because of this silly reason , i m not able to apply for nih , mayo reply U can get a seal of the dean Submitted by umar on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 18:18.

U can get a seal of the dean on the envelope and mail it yourself..... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply i think its got to be email Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 11:32. for mayo , nih i thought the dean has to reply by email ... everything on nih mayo is online, right ? i thought i have to scan the faculty lor and upload so , do u mean my college will receive a verification letter from US by courier after applying ? reply they receive a email... no Submitted by umar on Mon, 09/06/2010 - 03:35.

they receive a email... no courier and they have to TYPE the letter... not scan and upload... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply my friends have written step Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Fri, 07/30/2010 - 07:53. my friends have written step 1 , 2 days back ,, can they apply for electives sayung that they will recieve step score in a month ,,, or can they send itlater reply you can try.... m not Submitted by umar on Sat, 07/31/2010 - 15:42.

you can try.... m not sure..... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply lor for electives from home Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Tue, 07/27/2010 - 20:35. for each college , i m appplying for 2 electives in int.medicine cardio , gastro .. should i submit 2 totally different LORs , or same lor 2 originals signed by the same person , with same wordings will do? u havent answered to the earlier query posts in this FAQ section regarding completion of internship reply I dont have much idea about Submitted by umar on Sat, 07/31/2010 - 15:38.

I dont have much idea about completion of internship...

you can do either way..... both ways are acceptable..... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply @umar bhai and evry1 Submitted by dr_andy on Sat, 07/24/2010 - 22:07. I was damn keen to get an Elective in IM/sub-specialty in Emory...From past 1 n half months I mailed evry.... and i literally mean evry dam person in all sub-depts. of Emory medicine dept... Till now only 1% ppl hav replied (which was expected)... None hav given even a remotely positive response... Most denied saying they were already filled or that they werent in a position... I wanted to go for march 2011.. HAV I LOST THE PLOT?? was i late bhai in applying or is ther still any chance... I thot 10-11 months b4 was quite early..I do not have any contact ...neither do i know sum1 who can arrange for me... Shud i giv up or still try? what does ur experience say? reply Its a purely luck game...... Submitted by umar on Sat, 07/31/2010 - 15:31.

Its a purely luck game...... hit and try...... just keep on trying...... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply @umar bhai and any 1 who did elective at emory Submitted by dr_andy on Sat, 09/04/2010 - 22:01. bhai... dis is driving me nuts... a faculty member at Emory agreed to sponsor me for an elective (after at least 1000 mails!!)... he/she told me to contact the co-ordinator and notify her that he/she would be sponsoring under Emory guidelines. The co-ordinator said she had sent a letter to my sponsor for filling it out to start d application process.. Its been more dan two weeks and both the sponsor and co-ordinator have gone absconding! neither of them are replying to my mails. I dunno wat 2 do next... i dont have telephone number of my sponsor and cannot contact him/her in any other way.. should i talk to the co-ordinator to do sumthin?? and can d co-ordinator reject my application evn if d sponsor has agreed, on the excuse that seats are full? 'm fast beginnin to lose out on hope bhai! plz help!! regards, dr_andy reply hmmm..... I am no sure yar... Submitted by umar on Mon, 09/06/2010 - 03:27.

hmmm..... I am not sure yar... give them a call... but 2 weeks is a short duration... i wud expect a reply in 812 weeks... Join MyBuddy to communicate with others going for electives and preparing for USMLEs. All the best! reply hello. could you please tell Submitted by abr (not verified) on Sun, 09/05/2010 - 12:58. hello. could you please tell me how you got to know the email id of the faculty. because i am not able to find it on the web site .could you please send me a link regards reply 1 2

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