This news is huge!! For both US and international medical students alike. What use to be the “filter” factor for residency directors is no longer the case. On the surface it sounds like IMG (international medical graduates) are essentially shafted because more emphasis will be placed on the school graduates from but there is something people aren’t telling you.....
For those of you who are familiar with the progress of obtaining a residency, you know that there are 3 main exams we need to take when we apply, STEP 1, 2 CS, 2 CK. The first two are now pass fail so there is only CK left. Many US schools do step 2 later than IMG’s so with more emphasis now placed on it, US graduates will have to focus on it months earlier than they are use to. Also, there will likely be more basic science content on the CK to compensate for the changes. This works to an IMG’s advantage because they are heavily drilled on basic sciences throughout the first 2 years while US grads have more clinical exposure.
Overall, as the emphasis shifts to Step 2 CK, it’s hard to say IMG’s are at a greater disadvantage with the change. I would say the opposite, actually. At the end of the day, both US and IMG graduates should be doing their best to learn the basic sciences to the best of their ability because it will only help develop
clinical knowledge down the road