IMMUNIZATION

  Q1. What are the immunization requirements? Am I supposed to be immunized? 

• Yes, when you enter the United States you are supposed to be immunized against certain diseases. They are very particular about such things. Each University has various requirements. I will list a few common diseases you should be immunized against.

1.       Hepatitis B

2.       Mumps

3.       Measles

4.       Rubella

5.       Varicella

6.       Diptheria

7.       Pertussis

8.       Tetanus

9.       Tuberculosis.

 
Q2. What proof do I need of these vaccinations?

•      .You will need proof that you were immunized against these diseases in childhood (Most of us don’t have these records). And we also need antibody titers showing that we have the antibodies to these diseases. So if u don’t have record of your childhood vaccination don’t worry.. Get antibody titers done , The titers are fair enough proof that u are immunized.

 Q3. Where do I get the titers done?

•         You can get the titers done in any big hospital or any big Clinical lab. ( I am from Karnataka so I know you can get it done from Apollo Hospitals in Bangalore.)

 Q4. How much is the expenditure?

•         It depends on the place u getting it done. In Bangalore it costs anywhere from 6k to 10k to get these titers done.

  Q5. How much time does it take to get these titres?

•        It takes appx 7 days to get all the results.

  Q6. I don’t know whether I was immunized in the childhood or not. What do I do?

•  You have 2 options – a) Get your titers done and if any of them are negative get urself vaccinated with that vaccine and re-do the titers for that disease.  b) Get yourself vaccinated again whether or not u were vaccinated in childhood and then get your titers done after 3 weeks.....It depends on u as the time required for antibodies to appear in blood is minimum 15 days.. I am talking about IgG not IgM.

  Q7. I got negative titers. What to do?

•         You will have to get yourself immunized again and then re do the titers after 3 weeks.

  Q8. I got the disease during childhood. Do I need to get vaccinated?

•         No if u got the disease during childhood,u are immune and u should have positive antibody titers.

  Q9.  Do I send the originals to the Universities?

•         No you will have to photocopy the reports. Get them attested by your Chief medical officer ( or any authorized person) and send.

VISA PROCEDURE AND EXPERIENCE

                         Hey Friends,
                      

I just got my Visa approved so i thought i will share my experience with u so that u get a picture. First i will describe about visa n then i will answer FAQs about it..

How to apply..
Ok Applying for a visa is very simple...
Step 1 - Go to a HDFC bank which provides a Visa receipt after taking Visa fees.. You will get 2 receipts .. keep them safely with u. they take one or 2 days to get activated.
Step 2 - Go to this site https://www.vfs-usa.co.in/USIndia/Index.html .. Fill in properly the form DL160 with proper information.. note that once u put in info here it cannot be changed.. so practice before submitting ur application.. After u successfully fill the form u will get a conformation of application.. take a print out.. u will get a bar code over it... then go to the above site and click the option ' make an appointment' .. go on filling it carefully..   u will need to enter ur HDFC receipt no ther n also ur bar code of dl 160 form.. then u have to select ur date u desire.. time u cannot select..
Thats it u get ur Appointment letter.. take a print out of ur both dl 160 form n appointment letter..
Keep these things safely 1. HDFC receipt  2. Appointment letter. 3. DL- 160 form.

Procedure Done.....  :)

Ok now let me tell about my interview...
My appointment was at 8 o clock in the morning...
I woke up at 5.30.. got ready . i was wearing a formal shirt , a tie n black polished shoes .. with a clean shaved face.. n a smile on my face :) ( this is very imp) . went to the embassy at 6.30.. they allowed us inside only at 7... but as i had been early .. i got to the interiew after just  or 6 candidates...
ok now the Interview.

my no. came.. i went and greeted the officer.. he was an American.. he greeted me back..
Q!. ok why do u wish to go to the U.S?
A. Sir i wish to go there to do my clinical electives and appear for my step 2 C.S exam.

Q2. What is electives?
A. sir it is a short course for undergraduate students done to improve their clinical knowledge.

Q3. Ok do u have a acceptance letter?
 A. Yes sir here it is.

Q4. Who is sponsoring u?
A. My father sir. Do u wish to see the financial report of our assets ?

He said no its fine..

Q5. when will u return?
A. i will return as soon as i appear for my step 2 exam sir.. most probably on the 15th may.

Q6. what is ur step 2 location?
A. Sir i hav applied now n i am yet to recieve the scheduling permit. i ha registered n made payments . Do u wish to see the print outs?

He said no... then he did smethin in the computer for few minutes.. then He sid alright .. you are all set.. ur visa is approved  and it will return to u by post..
I said thank u very much for ur time sir... :)
Done :)

TRANSCRIPT

1. What is a Transcript?

• Transcripts are records given by your college regarding you, constituting your details of core clerkships ( refer post Basic Info)  like the name of the core clerkships, no. of weeks. It also contains your marks you scored in every year of  your Mbbs and your no. of attempts.

2. How can i get it? Who provides it? 

• Your college office provides it. You will have to give a application in your college office. They may charge some amount for it. 

3. What all does it contain?

• It contains the above mention in the description.

4. My college says that they can provide with the transcript only when i have finished my graduation.What do i do?

• You will have to explain to your dean that the electives are done only when we are students. And that they require transcripts. If still they refuse then ask them to provide with details of your core clerkships . Add your marks card to it and send it.

5. My college says it can provide only one transcript what to do?

• All colleges provide only one transcript. Take it and colour photocopy it and then get it attested from any college official from the office wit a college seal on every page of your transcript.

6. How do i seal  it?

• The transcript is always sealed in a envelope with the college seal on it. Note that it has to have a college seal on the envelope.

7. Where do i find a sample?

• I am working on it. Will try to put up a sample soon.

LOR'S

FACULTY LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION (LOR)

This info is about the LORs that are needed to be submitted during the process of application from your faculty.

1. What is a LOR?

• It is a letter from your faculty stating that you are a good student and have worked under him.I should be a letter recommending you for electives.

2. Whom do I take LOR from?

• You can take them from any of your staff you have worked under during your internship or during your MBBS hospital rotations. I would suggest you to take it from the head of department (HOD) ( Eg . If you are applying for medicine electives take it from the Medicine HOD.) An HODs LOR have much value.You will have to request them to give you one.

3. What content should it contain?

• It should state that you have worked under the faculty from so and so date and your work is satisfactory and something good about you ( eg . you have good communication skills) . It should also state that he recommends you for the electie you are pplying for and that you will prove as an asset to the university u will be selected in.

4. I want to apply for medicine electives but can I take it from other departments as medicine dept people are not giving me an LOR?

• You can take the LOR from any department as such but it will have more weightage if u take it from the same dept. you are applying and more so if u take it from the HOD . 

5. Where do i get samples?

• I am working on it as to how to put up samples. Till then kindly refer www.umartariq.com. I need some time to make this blog more helpful.

6. My Faculty are busy. Can i take it from some doctors who practice outside but aren't from my university?

• No you have to take it from the faculty in your institute.

DEAN'S LETTER

Friends as i mentioned previously that you will require a certain set of documents. Now i am going to write about each requirement ie the questions related to it. Starting with the Dean's Letter.

1. What is a Dean's Letter?

• A deans letter is a letter from your Dean ( Principal in India) stating that he is giving u permission to do electives.

2. What all matter should be in the Deans letter?

•  The deans letter should state the following- 

              a) That you are a student currently studying in the college.
              b) That u bear a good moral character.
              c) That your principal( dean) recommends u n permits u to do electives.
              d) your medium of instruction was English.

3. My dean refuses to give me a letter. What should i do?

• There is nothing any1 can do if he refuses. You will have to explain him that u are doing this for academic purpose. i had to stand 3 days in front of the deans office to get his time and to explain him the following as i was the first from my college to do this. So its upto ur skills to talk to ur dean. I dont think any dean will say no if explained properly.

4. My dean is busy . Can i get it from any1 else?

• No the letter has to be from dean of your college. You will have to wait till he gets free.

5. Do i have to pay for it?

• This depends on your college. I had to pay for it. but not much they took just around 400 bucks from me.

6. Where do i get a sample of the letter?

• I will try to upload a sample on www.umartariq.com as soon as possible. please visit the site for sample.

APPLYING

1. How do i apply for it?

• You can apply by 2 ways. a) Online. b) Sending ur application by post....... Some colleges have online application system and u can apply online and some colleges you will have to check requirements, gather the documents and send ur application to the given address by post. The details of the process you will find on the university website. You can apply to many colleges to improve ur chances.

2. Where do i get the list of colleges to apply?

• The list is available on www.umartariq.com . Umar bhai has done a wonderful work by building a lovely website for all of us. This blog is like a subset of the website.

3. I have not cleared my step 1 . Can i apply?

• Yes you can. The requirements of different colleges are different. some require step 1 whereas some do not. So if u have not still appeared for step 1 , u can apply to those colleges who do not have step 1 as their requirement.

4. What documents i require to apply?

• Every university has different requirements. But i am listing here few documents which are required by most universities. The details of the documents and questions related to them i have answered in the next posts. i have created a seperate post for each document requirement and questions related to it.
• The common required documents are -

1.  Dean's Letter.
2.  Faculty Letter of recommendation ( LOR) .
3.  Transcript.
4.  Immunization records and antibody titres.
5.  Health Insurance.
6.  Malpractice Insurance.
7.  Application form
8.  C.V.
9.  SOP.

5. If i need to apply to many colleges how many sets of documents are required?

• As you will need to apply to various colleges you will need many copies of the documents. But the universities u will apply accept originals only and not zerox. So i would suggest, you first decide which all colleges you want to apply and how many copies you will require. Depending on that you can colour zerox the originals and then get them attested from a college official. If your colour zerox looks like the original then there is no need to get it attested.

BASIC INFO

 1. What are electives?

• Electives also called as Clerkships are something like internship which we do in India. We work in a hospital in America under some qualified doctor to gain clinical experience and get akin to the U.S health care system. 

2. Who all can apply for  it?

•   All medical students who have not graduated yet and are still doing their internship can apply for this. Note - Once u graduate u cant do electives.

3. Does my college consider this as a part of my internship?

•  No it dosent , this is like a extra activity u will be doing for the purpose of USMLE. You will have to complete your remaining internship after u come back after finishing your electives.

4. Is this mandatory for USMLE?

• This is not mandatory for getting residency but u will have an advantage over others if u have clinical experience.

5. What are its benefits ( advantages) ?

•  You get exposed to U.S health care system which is different from India.
•  You will have USCE ( united states clinical experience) which will be a good plus point during your residency match.
•  You get a chance to get a LOR ( more on this later) from the doctor u are working under. this is also a plus point for ur match.

6. What is the difference between electives, observersips and externships?

•  In observerships u just accompany a doctor and are not allowed to touch a patient. u learn by looking. In externships u are allowed to do some procedures but not all. But in electies u can do all procedures and also examine and touch the patient. so u learn more. Externships are difficult to get. and observerships have lost value.