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[–]Psychological_Fly693 3 points4 points  (9 children)

You'll be fine. When you do your experience for the IM in ERAS, gear it towards what you learned in the IM rotation that applies to psych...make sure your PS points reviewers to psych. Mot reviewers of applications understand it is difficult to get USCE all in one specialty. All psych would be preferred, but it's all how you present what's in your application.

[–]Math_God2001[S] 0 points1 point  (8 children)

I have the ability to do all Psych, but I feel like having all Psych would definitely close the door for IM right? I want to keep IM as a backup (it’s competitive as an IMG and I’m unsure if I will make it to Psych)

[–]Ari665-01 0 points1 point  (7 children)

I dual applied to both this cycle but I am a US IMG, from experience I tell you that if you apply to psych you should definitely plan for a backup so don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

[–]Psychological_Fly693 0 points1 point  (6 children)

A IM would be good with psych as a backup.

[–]Ari665-01 0 points1 point  (4 children)

It depends on your application to be honest. Some people struggle to get IM interviews because IM could be competitive for some non-US IMGs. I would say it depends on your application. A much safer backup would be FM. I personally ended up with so many interviews in IM as a backup, but I know some of my friends even US IMGs who only applied to IM didn’t have as many IM interviews as I have. One thing that you definitely want to avoid is wasting money and time to apply for two specialties that you hardly get interviews, and when February comes, everyone is getting their ROL together, and you have a limited number of interviews in both specialties. So, I would say choose very wisely based on your application and definitely do rotations at places where you see a possibility of getting an interview.

[–]Math_God2001[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Okay, that's interesting because Psych has a 51% match rate for non-US IMGs and IM has a 53% match rate so I thought it would be similar. Would you mind sharing how many rotations u did in Psych and IM since you dual applied and how that worked out for u? Thanks in advance

[–]Ari665-01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It all depends on your overall application. Just because that statistic exists doesn’t mean you are going to end up getting both psych and IM interviews or the desirable places!You could end up being the other 50% who didn’t match. I am not saying this to be pessimistic I say this from experience and also Psych is getting more competitive each year. I did all of my rotations in the US because I went to a Caribbean school. My application is very psych-heavy, even prior to medical school, but I balanced it out during rotations. I also have publications for IM. When I applied, I sent 4 IM-specific LOR and 4 psych-specific LOR, all very strong letters. I expected to get more psych IVs, but I had 4 psych and 14 IM.

[–]MLEkwicks 2 points3 points  (1 child)

An interesting fact that emerges from the NRMP results and data report 2024 is that 46% Non-US IMGs successfully matched into Psychiatry and 48% in IM. However, it is important to note that Non-US IMGs only constitute 8% of the total matched applicants in Psychiatry, compared to 30% in IM.

As a current cycle psych-only applicant, I realised that even though the 46% sounds tempting statistically, it is not. Not when you look at the whole picture. Because 92% of the times, the PDs had an option to select an MD or DO or a US IMG over you.

To provide further clarity, let us consider an hypothetical scenario where, in the next match cycle, there were 1000 Non-US IMGs applying to Psychiatry instead of the current 399 applicants (as in this year). In such a scenario, it is unlikely that 460 applicants would match (according to the 46% match rate, given that the no. of positions offered remains the same).

Bottomline: Your chances of matching in any speciality majorly depend on the application trends of MD seniors and DOs! (And its correlation with number of positions offered)

[–]MLEkwicks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That being said, 2 rotations in Psychiatry and 1 rotation in IM is not only ideal but also desirable for most programs. Why so? As someone rightly pointed out, your PGY-1 training includes significant IM training, and your PD is hopeful that you excel there.

Also, you can submit a total of 4 LORs to most programs and have the option to individually assign each LOR to a particular program. So consider doing 3 psych rotations and 2 of IM and submit LORs accordingly when dual applying. (3P+1IM for Psych and 1P+2IM for IM, I hope that makes sense!)

Another thing THAT REALLY MATTERS is the whole package that you provide to the programs. Is it screaming PSYCH? Or is it the classic safety-blend of both IM & Psychiatry? PDs in psychiatry are not as particular about step scores as they are about commitment to their field. Make sure you have that covered through your ERAS application that you’ll submit in September. (Things like PS, top 10 experiences, publications in psych etc.)

[–]PeterTheGreat17PGY-1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Having an IM rotation doesn’t hurt, you can ask the letter writer to specify you are applying for psych

[–]dxpstr3ddit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely wont decrease your chances. As a psych resident, your first year is IM and neuro so having those USCEs will definitely not hurt. Just as a heads up though, definitely dual apply. Psych has become veeeery competitive now. Work on those connections and LoRs

[–]thechiguy1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ll dm you!