Expert: JM Starkman, MD - 5/21/2009

Question
dear Sir,

first of all i would like to thank you for the effort you do trying answering questions and helping people interested in anaesthesia.

now am an IMG from Egypt Ain Shams university...i recently got 99 in step 1 and i will start my anaesthesia residency here in Egypt and at the same time studying for step 2 ck.

my questions are :

1- is anaesthesia totally impossible for IMGs?



2-Do you advice me to finish the steps very fast and apply as a fresh graduate or since anaesthesia is very competitive i should also do my residency in home country to be a boost in my cv?

3- I heard that every residency positions in us is funded so if one deeply wants a certain speciality he can pay the money and get a spot- but he must be off course ecfmg certified-..if this true how much
does it cost to pay for lets say the first year of anaesthesia residency in a us hospital cause i know that on hands USCE " usa clinical experience" helps a lot in the cv.where observerships are not counted as a USCE.
4-do IMGs that match on j1 visa get waiver jobs easily after residency and are there many programs sponsoring H1b visas?

at last i dont want to apply for anaesthesia cause of money but i really like the field and i hope it will become less competitive in the coming years so that getting into it becomes more easier.

and thanks for your time.

Answer
1-Not impossible at all.......since program directors are always looking for the best candidates(to make their program look good), BE the best and communicate that.  

2-Continue your training in your home country and work on achieving a deep understanding of the specialty.  Apply to programs of your choice that are willing to give you consideration and will thoroughly review your skills and academics.  This will boost your CV in a legitimate way while 'getting you in' to the specialty.

3 & 4-[I'm not qualified to answer these parts]