Thank you Iphi, thank you Chaning. God bless you.
Lighter:
When i came in to the US i was told that to work as a doctor I had to get a license. Pass all the boards exams. USMLE. United States Medical Licensing Examinations. Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 2 CS, then get an ECFMG certification, Edicational Commision for Foreign medical Graduates and the apply for a residency training program of generaly three years or four and then pass USMLE Step 3, then apply for license. In that order. So I started for the Step 1 USMLE. Just the exam costs almost seven hundred dollars. I was living in the projects with six dollaras an hour and a wonderdful son to support. Not even dream about buy the exam. When two years later I put the money togetehr to apply for the exam, I discovered that it was not easy. Nine hours exam, practice for intellectual endurance, resistance of stress, defeat the fear and take severak courses and special courses wich added a cost of 20,000 dollars, That is right, twuenty thousand. I borrowe moeny from friends, family and bank. Quit my job as a teacher in public school and went to school for my USMLE Step 1. I passed, then Step 2 CK and passed, then Step 2 CS adn passed. Applied for ECFMG certificaiton, got it. The applied ofr residency training rpogra,. Universal application three hundred dollars plus thirty dollars per hospital. I spent 2000 two thousand dollars in applciations, applied to 82 hospitals , youa re anot allowed to contact them just to apply and wait for a phone call. No phone calls. Zero. All wasted. Came back to teaching. Then some friends told me that because of my age I had t have something else to offer. So if I had Step three Step 3 which have to pass after residency training, many do not pass after training and everything is lost, that they would consider me more if they knew that they would not risk with me because I had the Step 3.
So, I am still teaching and studying for step three. When I get the step three then I will apply for residency training program again, given that have the money to apply. Taking into consideration that I would have to pass it with out any training, just theory from books.
At the mean time, if anybody knows a doctor who is a proram director and wants to give me a hand, I would be eternally grateful. Not any doctor, it has to be a program director who is willing to accept me in to the program training esidency.
1.- Psychiatry 2.- Pathology 3.- Family Medicine
They say you have to have some observerships in the field. I have not been able to find any psychiatry to allow me to observe his or her practice, nor psichiatry hospital to allow me either. In pathology I did six months of observership. But patology is a very competitive field and they want young and american students, students educated in american medical schools. I would love to do Psychiatry but no observerships available, plus, who is going to suport me while I do an observership? Where?
Please, Do not think that you know, I have ten years investigating, do not tell me that you are going to talk to your doctor, that does not work unless your doctor is a program director. I ean this in saving time, because everybody thinks that it is easy and I am disappointed of hearing that everybody thikns that how come I have not gotten any residency when there are so many empty spots in the residency programs and they prefer to have it empt rather than take an old woman. I do not know what I am saying. Bugt thank you ofr any help.
Lupita
