Anesthesia aspirants whether IMG fresh graduates or FMG Anesthesiologists can get into a bright career in the United States of America through earning the American board of Anesthesiology Certification either throught matching to a 4 year residency program through ERAS and NRMP or through the newly introduced Alternate Path for Entry into ABA Examinations for Primary Certification, however both tracts will need the right person with right USMLE scores and enough observerships. Before going over the general things for anesthesiology residency let us throw some light over the alternative pathway for the IMG anesthesiologists.
According to the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA):
1- Internationally trained and certified anesthesiologists interested in using the alternate entry path must complete a total of 4 years of continuous experience in one anesthesiology department that commences on or after July 1, 2007.
2-The ABA must prospectively approve the 4-year program planned for the international medical graduate. At the time the anesthesiology department enrolls the international medical graduate with the ABA, the department must have an ACGME-accredited anesthesiology residency or fellowship training program that has continued full accreditation and a review cycle of three years or more.
3-An anesthesiology department can have no more than two international medical graduates enrolled in the pilot program at one time.
4-The chair of the anesthesiology department that sponsors the internationally certified anesthesiologist must submit to the ABA a 4-year plan, co-signed by the physician, for prospective approval by the ABA Credentials Committee. The ABA must receive the 4-year plan no later than 4 months before the department enrolls the internationally certified anesthesiologist with the ABA and the 4-year period of continuous experience commences.
5-The experiences planned for the internationally certified anesthesiologist will consist of 4 years of fellowship training, research, or faculty experience, or combination thereof. During the 4-year period, these anesthesiologists shall demonstrate discovery of new knowledge in the specialty, excellence in teaching and excellence in clinical anesthesiology.
6-The 4-year experience must be in the same institution in which the anesthesiology program resides. The 4-year plan should be specifically designed and identified for the candidate, including the anticipated research activity.
So back to residency, there are many anesthesiology programs in the United States which are IMG friendly as indicated by the Residency ApplicantGuide. These programs are known to yearly take IMGs through the NRMP match via ERAS application. Although the program directors might prefer fresh graduates with high scores, however in the past few years there was an increase in the number of old graduates with average scores matching into these programs. Many factors play a role in giving advantage for some applicants on others including previous residency back home whether in anesthesiology, internal medicine or even surgery. Doing observerships and getting US LORs is of paramount importance especially for weak candidates who need their application to appear strong. The combination of observerships done for the sake of anestheiology should include, inadittion to anesthesiology, IM and surgery preferably in different states. The more US LORs you have the better your chances and those who don't need visa might have an increased luck on the match day.
Very important factor to also include is your interview performance, master these questions to be on top of it:
Anesthesia Residency Interview Questions and Answers
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