HOW TO OBTAIN THE BEST USCE?

HOW TO OBTAIN THE BEST USCE?

If you are on the verge of booking your clinical rotations, then it’s the right time to get complete knowledge of this whole process. International Medical Graduates (IMG) must have US Clinical Experience (USCE) to pursue their career in the medical field. Some residency programs do not require USCE as a compulsory requirement, but they will consider applicants with USCE on top of those who have no training in clinical rounds in the American medical system. Applicants with USCE have complete knowledge of American treatment practices and American drug trade names.

#USCE #Residency #research #rotations #USMLE #telerotations #oservership #externship #clerkship #california #EMR #hospital

WHY IS USCE IMPORTANT?

As we know, the United States is looking for experienced and trained people in their setup, so USCE or US clinical rotations will be your proof as an experienced doctor who is well aware of clinical practices carried out in the health system of the United States. It will give you exposure to the American patient population and Electronic Medical Records (EMR). You will get a chance to broaden your social circle as it will give you a chance to network with residents and attendees. USCE will provide you with hands-on and shadowing experience in the American health care system. This USCE will help you to generate the LOR (Letter of Recommendation) for any specific branch in which you will get experience. Some people can also get LOR in multiple specialties at a time, which will favor you in residency.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF USCE

1- SUB-INTERNSHIPS:

Sub-internships are only for undergraduate students. Sub-internships should be your first priority in the case of clinical experience, as the LOR generated after sub-internships is extremely beneficial. It will show your dedication towards your career in the American health system and will increase your chances of getting a residency in the United States. These are the same as medical students in their fourth year in the United States medical system are doing. A doctor is given responsibility for four patients, so this experience will polish all kinds of professional skills.

2- ELECTIVES (CLERKSHIPS):

It’s a hands-on experience to directly contact the patient and take their history, physical examination, other tests, and whole treatment in the clinical setup of the US with a team of doctors. Later on, based on your efficient performance, the doctors will write you a specific LOR. Electives are only for undergraduates but not for graduates. This is reserved for students in the final year of medical school. International medical graduates look for such opportunities during their internship year. However, these can be expensive, sometimes $3000-4000 a month, which is very expensive after conversion to home currency.

3- OBSERVERSHIP (HANDS-OFF):

This type of clinical rotation can help you to get familiar with the staff and practices being carried out in a particular hospital. This experience will not allow you to deal with the patients directly as you are not allowed to take their history, physical examination, tests, or any treatment. However, these are cheaper and relatively easier to get. For IMGs, this is a particular appealing USCE type and a lot of them use this as their gateway to residency in various specialties.

4- EXTERNSHIPS:

These kinds of clinical rotations are specifically for doctors who have already graduated medical school. This USCE is super rare in hospitals and even harder to get. These are hands-on, so you can get valuable experience by treating patients directly and generating a beneficial LOR. We at www.californiarotations.com can help you get this experience at an affordable price. If done correctly, thee are very highly rated by Program Directors (PDs) of specialties like Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, ObGyn, Psychiatry and Surgery.

5- RESEARCH ELECTIVES:

It will help you build your CV when you work in the research department of a medical school in the United States. You will learn a lot in this area as well, but clinical rotations are more highly preferred than research as they are valuable. Another reason for choosing clinical rotations over research electives is cost, as research electives sometimes become very expensive as, in most cases, they are not paid. However, you can also obtain these experiences by linking with doctors who have proven publishing record. We at California Rotations have doctors who have published hundreds of manuscripts and abstracts, and they can help you get there too. They can also help you learn the process so you don’t have to keep using the paid service. We can guarantee a submission in 6 weeks from start to end.

https://www.californiarotations.com/research-opportuinity

6- TELE-ROTATIONS:

It's again not a hands-on clinical rotation because you don’t have to go to the United States for this, but instead of staying in your country, you will be in contact with the doctor present in the hospital in the United States, and that person will be guiding you and discussing the cases with you. This won’t make your experience more productive like other USCE, but can save you a lot of travel and associated costs. In the COVID era, these were the preferred rotations but externships and observerships are opening again.

Overall, it’s preferable to go for a hands-on experience rather than hands-off clinical. A clerkship in a small hospital is better than at a big hospital which does not have IMG friendly programs. Most importantly, making contacts during your rotations is a vital piece of any US rotation.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE BEST LOR:

• It should be from a US practicing medical physician.

• The best doctor to write this should be the one who knows you and your work the most.

• Its content should say that you are better than or comparable to other medical students in the US. Something like, he/she was one of our best students this year.

• It should ensure that you can easily adapt to the medical system of the United States.

• You have sensitivity to their culture and other cultures as well.

• Great communication skills.

• Explain you research projects if you did some with the USCE faculty

HOW TO APPLY FOR CLINICAL ROTATIONS IN FOUR WAYS

1- EMAILING PLACES THAT PROVIDE CLINICAL ROTATIONS:

You can directly contact the hospitals offering clinical rotations by directly visiting their official websites on Google.

2- USING DIFFERENT TOOLS AVAILABLE ONLINE:

There are different tools available which will help you find hospitals offering clinical rotations. For example:

• Residency explorer

• FREIDA

Residency explorer: You can use this tool to investigate any specialty. Fill out your whole profile with experience and a standard examination score and, after that, it will give you a list of hospitals suitable for your experience. After selecting a hospital, it will generate quick program facts like participants in ERAS and NRMP matches. It will give you the application trends of the year. You can access it here

https://www.residencyexplorer.org/

3- PERSONAL CONTACTS AND NETWORKING

Some websites don’t mention such programs, so to get them, you should be in contact with their physician or a resident. These people can help you get experience by creating positions or observer ships that are not for the general public.

4- WEBSITES THAT PROVIDE CLINICAL ROTATIONS

www.californiarotations.com www.fmgportal.com www.usmlesarthi.com

THE PRICE OF CLINICAL ROTATIONS

Clinical rotations offered to IMGs range from $0 to $5000.

NIH is offering clinical rotations completely free, but they are so hard to get, while Harvard is charging $5000 for their clinical rotations.

We at California Rotations provide affordable rotations. Our prices are $1400 for hands on and $1200 for hands off rotations.

https://www.californiarotations.com/rotation