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The most comprehensive meeting in Internal Medicine.
Los Angeles, CA April 23-25, 2020
Internal Medicine Meeting 2020
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Program Director 1 Response I believe that interest in international rotations is partly generational, since I know that international medicine is one of the things that many young people studying medicine in the U.S. are interested in. When I was in medical school (1980's) our interest was in practicing in underserved parts of the U.S. as primary care practitioners. The reality is that program directors are looking for people that can tough out a difficult residency and perform well. Interest in international medicine, although fun to talk about, does not necessarily identify ideal residency candidates. If participation in an international rotation helps shows a resident's passion for medicine and it is part of an otherwise excellent application, then it is a good thing.
Program Director 2 Response Yes and no.
Program Director 3 Response No.
Program Director 4 Response Yes, but not over other valuable extracurricular activities.
Program Director 5 Response Yes, but similar to other extra-curricular activities.
Program Director 1 Response In some residencies being proficient in medical Spanish is a plus. Programs may value fluency in other languages based on their patient demographics.
Program Director 2 Response I have no preference.
Program Director 3 Response It is best to see something that is personally meaningful to the student and that they learned something from the experience, no matter what they were actually doing.
Program Director 1 Response A great experience adds to the application. The best experience will not get someone a residency that they do not warrant based on the rest of the application.
Program Director 2 Response An international rotation is unlikely to add to an otherwise strong application, and conversely unlikely to help a weak one.
Program Director 3 Response It demonstrates a willingness to leave one's comfort zone and try something new, and an open mind toward working with those who are different.
Program Director 4 Response It contributes a little overall but it is not a huge deciding factor one way or the other.
Ask the Program Director is a new feature that focuses on providing medical students practical advice to help them navigate the process of obtaining a residency position in internal medicine. Issues covered include: CV development, writing a personal statement, the Match process, residency program interviews, and more.
Back to April 2012 Issue of IMpact
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