The Truth About Matching Into Competitive Specialties/Programs

Timestamps 🚀
0:00​ Intro
0:37 Introduction Dr. Malke Asaad
0:58 USMLE Scores
2:02 Is Research the secret key?
03:30 Quality of Research?
4:42 USCE?
5:25 Letters of Recommendation
5:35 Volunteering, Work Experience, Ph.D., Masters of Science?
7:55 Other vital skills
8:28 How to get into research?

By competitive specialties we mean: Plastic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Dermatology...PS: The advice given here also applies to competitive programs in not so competitive specialties

Make sure to follow: @MalkeAsaad

Check out some of his videos:
-How Did I Match at a Top PLASTIC SURGERY Program as IMG?
-How to Get into NEUROSURGERY Residency? Part 1
-How to Find a Research Position in the US For FREE?

Some of Dr Malke relevant published papers:
-Value of Research Years for International Medical Graduates Applying to General Surgery Residency
-International Medical Graduates are Comparable to American Medical Graduates as General Surgery Interns
-Outcomes of non-designated preliminary general surgery interns: A 25-year Mayo Clinic experience

Some NRMP data:

Disclaimer: Both Dr. Malke and I realize that there are some applicants whose match story will be different from what's stated in this video. This is meant to give guidance on which factors HELP the applicant to improve its chances of matching. The advice given here comes from personal experience, interviews with successful applicants, NRMP data and Dr Malke research on the topic.

Who am I?
I'm Santiago Acosta, a Medical Intern from Universidad del Rosario 🇨🇴 on its way to become an Internal Medicine Resident in the US 🇺🇸
I use this channel as a platform to share tips and tricks about studying, productivity, medicine, personal growth, tech, and fitness 📚

I also run a second YouTube channel where I teach Internal Medicine 🩺 to Spanish-speaking students and interview awesome doctors from all around the globe 🌎

If you have USMLE 🇺🇸 related questions please check out my FAQ page here:
If your questions are not addressed on the FAQ page, feel free to leave them in the comment section ⬇️ (honestly the quickest way to get a response).

[huskie]

Watching your videos make me more confident as an IMG.

[almostyourdoc]

What an epic crossover, thank you guys

[FacundoMD]

ER doc here ! Amazing video !!! and I actually had seen Assad's video too !!!! This is great motivation for all aspiring physicians !

[ernestoaranda]

You guys rock! I wish I would’ve known better, it took me 4 years to match! But happy now.

[journeyofsaul]

Thank you doctors, I was thinking of doing a masters of science, but Dr Malke make solid points that make me rethink my strategy

[AMMARALAHMAD]

Thanks for all the info and for having a Syrian guest on the channel <3

[momdalmutairi]

Santiago I have a video suggestion for you, and I hope you’ll be able to do it .
Can you please talk about Test day strategies and how to manage your time ? I often struggle to read and answer long questions in less than 90sec and it’s really affecting my performance in uworld .

[adrianrivamoscoso]

what a collab!!! you rock it Santiago!

[babyfaceseattle]

Thank you Dr. Santiago, Very Very useful!

[stewste]

Thank you, that was very informative and helpful :)

[alisaqlain]

Bro you should upload vidoes everyday ....
I really like your vidoes and also very very informative ...
Thanks for guiding us ..
Lots of Love ..
❤

[imasuperkoala]

Please make a video about how to approach ethic questions, I think that as an IMG those questions are the HARDEST
Great video Santiago, thanks!!!

[mikejank]

Thank you Doctors. Extremely useful!!!

[oviyagiri]

Could you speak a little about how to go about applications for sub internships?

[kyrie]

What specialties are you thinking of applying to Santiago? Can't wait to see your success in the US

[jose]

This video is very helpful thanks guys

[reifonxd]

Thanx for all the information, it’s very useful, I am international medical student and I want to do research in neurosurgery, however, I don’t have any contact or information, so my question is where I can find that information? And what you can recommend me?

[s.d]

Santiago
Please tell us about your sources you use for usmle
Other than first aid

[adnanaltaieb]

Thank you. This meeting was very interesting and useful. I have a question. If I worked as a teaching assistant at the university for a year after graduation, would this be useful for me in the match process?

[nextthe]

دكتور شكرا جزيلا على شرحك لك اريد معرفة كم من الوقت لكي اتممت هذه العملية؟ وماهو قصدك بعمل research خاصة لمن هو في الدول العربية؟
شكرا جزيلا يادكتور لمجهوداتك