USMLE WORLD

 UAB Elective Interview If you are reading this blog, congratulations! Once you have reached the elective interview part of your application, it means you are 99.9% selected for the elective. UAB elective is a first come & first serve kind of elective rotation. After you fill application, they send you an email to choose specialty and date from open slots. Most people get their 1st preferred option from currently available slots, but before that is an interview process. So, in the interview, the director of the elective program or a proxy for the director interviews you. It's more like a friendly conversation than an interview. They verify the college information that you put in your application with you. They ask simple questions. Following were the questions that were asked from me: Q. Medical school details, including the name of the school, date of joining & tentative date of graduation? Q. Why this specialty? (Referring to my number one choice) Q. Do you plan to apply

  Dear Dr. ABC, Hope you are doing good. I am writing to convey to you that during my virtual interview at the  University  of XYZ Medical Center (Month DD, 202X), I was very much reassured that your Internal Medicine Residency Program would be an excellent fit for me. The UXX Internal Medicine has captivated me with its highest quality training and the values of pursuit of knowledge, humanism, collegiality, and research while supporting each individual's passions and goals. All these attributes really spoke to me, and I am confident to keep the  University  of  XYZ  Medical Center Program as my  topmost choice ! Currently, I am working with a growth mindset as a junior resident doctor, as a remote researcher with ABCD  University , and as an editor in the QRS Journal. I hope that you and everybody else also see me as a suitable fit for the program. I would be honored and happy to see in my mail that I matched at UXX! Thank you so much for your time and consideration. Hope you have

  Johns Hopkins Research Elective Two pathways to apply- 1. Already decided research faculty (Most departments accept pre-determined preceptor except radiology) 2. Official application pathway- https://main.ccghe.net/content/field-study-jhu-applying We’ll mainly talk about pathway one. It involves following steps- STEP 1- Find a preceptor. See video, following links will help to find preceptor- A. Electives Book: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine | Office of the Registrar (hopkinsmedicine.org) - https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/offices/registrars/med-students/electives.html B. My JH portal for email- https://my.jh.edu/myJH/ C. Academic Departments & Institutes at Johns Hopkins Medicine - https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/som/education-programs/academic-departments.html D. Google- type- “name @jhmi.edu” in search field, eg “Akshee batra @jhmi.edu” STEP 2- Email the preceptors- Cover letter with CV Sample emails- Dear Professor: I am  Akshee Batra , a 3rd Professional year me

EMAIL- I SENT THESE TO REQUEST FOR LoRs These are just for guidance. I would recommend to write a personalized one detailing your experience. Generalized- Dear Dr. XYZ, Hope you are doing good. It was a wonderful learning experience to rotate in (Department) at (University/ Clinic) under your able guidance in Month, 20XX. Thank you for taking time to teach me about ABC disease in an interactive way and patiently listening to my case presentations and going over my patient notes. I cherish all the memories and opportunities given to me during my elective which will surely help me to be a better clinician and resident in future. I am planning to apply for Internal Medicine residency in States this September. I was hoping if you could write me a letter of recommendation for applying to the residency programs. A strong letter from you shall go a long way in boosting my residency application. I have attached my CV, Letter request form containing my AAMC ID and a summary of all the things I

 APARTMENT HUNTING GUIDE- It can so stressful to move from one room to another in the same house (Heya! All lazy folks like me, I see you!). It can be a rollercoaster for IMGs moving from one country to another. A new city, new environment, new friends, and the list goes on! So, I’m listing the websites that I used while searching for an apartment. Before we move to the list of websites, I would like to put a disclaimer- ALWAYS CONFIRM THAT THE PLACE ISN’T A SCAM. You can ask for virtual tours, even if you’re sitting seven oceans away! I mostly used the top 5 resources but also browsed through other sites. I am also attaching the sample email that I used to send for inquiries.   Apartment Hunt Guide- FURNISHED FINDER-  Since a lot of IMGs don’t have any furniture, this website lists apartments ranging from multiple bedrooms to single room in shared apartment. The website lists the entire cost- Rent/month + Deposit (one time) + Cleaning fee (one time) along with the availabili

 TO DO LIST AFTER YOU LAND IN USA- 1. IMMIGRATION- Upon arrival to the US, you must present the J-1 visa stamp to the Immigration Officer at the airport. If everything is in order, the officer will put an admission stamp in your passport reflecting your date of admission and class of admission.  Personal experience- I landed at Chicago (ORD airport), it took me 5 minutes to go through immigration. I was asked to show my passport and ds2019. The officer also saw my immigration form (the small paper you get in-flight where you have to put how much money, goods, and other stuff you have in your bags). He asked me how much cash I have. That’s it. It took 5 minutes (max). However, every individual has their own experience. 2. Validation of Initial Arrival Form- Visit your program coordinator on day 1/ 2 to fill in your form of initial arrival. You need to fill in your current address- it can be either permanent or temporary, like a friend’s house, Airbnb or Hotel. The form is uploaded b

Heya! It can be difficult to move across one country to another. Specially, when you're selected for a graduate medical education program because of dozens of paperwork!!!!!! (Literally, I feel y'all) I always hated making a travel list. Whenever I made one, I misplaced it! The vicious cycle continued. So, here I am trying to make my and your future travel a little bit (1/1000th times) easier by making a Travel List which won't be lost and will always be a click away! I have divided the documents required into- Important Documents Medications Job Essential (Medical Residency- Specific)  Electronics Skincare and cosmetics Clothes and Undergarments Footwear Home essentials and Stationary Female Essentials Food  DISCLAIMER- I made this list for myself. Please feel free to modify according to your requirements. Kindly comment if I forgot to mention something really important that should be carried along!  IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS-   ·         Passport ·         DS2019  ·         Cre

 How to apply for National Interest Exemption for travel from India to USA during travel restriction. Send email to one of the following- U.S. Embassy New Delhi:   NewDelhiNIE@state.gov U.S. Consulate General Chennai:  ChennaiNIE@state.gov U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad:  HyderabadNIE@state.gov U.S. Consulate General Kolkata: KolkataNIE@state.gov U.S. Consulate General Mumbai:  MumbaiNIE@state.gov Cover Letter (Email)- Sub- Urgent application for  NIE  for travel from India to US on Month DD, 2021. Respected Sir/Ma'am, I am Akshee Batra, an ECFMG certified alien physician selected by XYZ  Medical Center, State, US. I’ll be working as an essential frontline health care provider in the United States. I’m travelling at the invitation of the United States Government for a purpose related to containment or mitigation of virus as outlined in the attached letter by ECFMG. My details are as follows- ·         Last name:  Batra ·         First name:  Akshee ·         Date of birth:  MM/DD