Dear Aspirant,

Let us see how you become a doctor in the US after completing your MBBS from India. So, supposedly, you have competed MBBS in India. Now you have two options to complete residency in the US.

• Get Visa to come to US to complete USMLE 3, which is offered only in USA.
• Second option is to apply for Masters degree in USA, get student F1 visa stamping.

USMLE is United States Medical Licensing Examination. Step 3 assesses if you know the application of the medical knowledge without supervision. It is the final exam in the U.S. to obtain a license. Only after completing Step 3 will you be able to obtain the license.

Take the USMLE exams. Once you finish MBBS, try to do a month or two of elective training in one of the American universities in your intern year. Once you are there, reach out to people and try to find a research job in the department you are interested in for the next year. Once you are in research, try to publish a few good first authored papers, and as many co-authored papers as possible and attend conferences.

You will need high USMLE scores, US research experience, publications and conference presentations to get into a residency program. And above all, a very supportive and well connected mentor in the US.

Very few doctors take the second route. While studying Masters, they prepare for USMLE 3 and once they have completed USMLE Step 3, just like any other professionals, they apply for jobs in the hospitals for Residency.

Doctors are paid during Residency (minimum 3 years). After completing Residency, you have to take state board license to practice medicine in that particular state. Some of them get so tied up in their Masters programme that they are unable to focus on USMLE.

Hope this helps. All the best!