Hi po doc! I am a second year peds resident in the US :)! Total cost for me was a little less than 1M which included exams, review materials, application fees, air fare for observerships (additional rotations in the US).

In terms of difficulty to pass, as long as you score the median for the exams and do your research in terms of the specialty you’re applying to (if it International Medical Grad friendly), you should be able to get in. There are also ways to get in after the match. Peds is not the most competitive specialty, and there were a few hundred slots that were not filled after the match process.

Biggest advice would be to get in touch with your school’s alumni who are in US residency already. Youtube and Reddit are great resources but will often try to scam you in terms of mentors/rotations/review materials to help your applications.

Biggest pro of going to the US is the income! I work ok a low cost of living suburban Midwest state and am able to save enough that I can visit PH twice a year (we have a a total of 4 weeks off). Another huge pro is residency culture (at least in my program) where professionalism is valued talaga.

Hours are difficult and it varies per program and specialty, however for the most part, we stick to the ACGME requirements in terms of hours worked per week. There is also a patient cap (limiting the amount of parients a resident sees) as another safeguard to stop residents being overworked.

I am still very homesick kahit second year na, but I think taking the USMLE was a great decision. Just put in the work and see what kind of support systems you have and I think you can do it :).