How does this work?
1) You start by reading through our website thoroughly. You can also email us or use our contact form and we will send you supplementary information.
2) If you think that we are the right company for you, then you can use the online form on the Apply page to send in your application. You will see all of our required documentation on the application. There is NO application fee.
3) After you submit a complete application, we will send you a placement offer that will include the information on the affiliated hospitals only.
4) If you accept the placement offer, you sign it, scan it and send it back, indicating how you will pay your $300 deposit. When the $300 deposit is received, we send you a receipt with the name of your doctor and other important details. Depending on the doctor, a week or so before your start date we may send you a transmittal letter. In some cases, you don’t need it.
How much does it cost?
Please refer to the Fees page of our website for the costs.
When do I pay the $300 deposit?
After you apply and submit all of your required documentation, and only when we are clear on exactly what you want, we send you a placement offer describing your rotation.
If you are missing any documentation, we will contact you and let you know what we need in order to finish processing your application.
If you accept the placement offer, you sign it, scan it and send it back, indicating how you will pay your $300 deposit.
When the $300 deposit is received, we send you an invitation letter/ receipt with additional details, including the name of your doctor. Depending on the doctor, a week or so before your start date we may send you a transmittal letter. In most cases, you don’t need it.
When do I get to know the name of my doctor?
If you accept our placement offer, you sign it and scan it and send it back, indicating how you will pay your $300 deposit. When the $300 deposit is received, we send you a receipt with the name of your doctor.
What if I want to do more than 12 weeks? Can I get a discount?
Our discount applies to any 4-week rotation after the first one you do with us. If you are going to be with us for more than four months and opt for a two-payment plan, we can apply further discounts. We do this on a case-by-case basis.
It’s expensive to live in the U.S. Can I get paid for doing my externship?
Unless you have working papers (green card), you cannot work legally in the United States. We do not offer job placement.
Do these externships provide hands on experience like electives?
Yes. These are hands-on clinicals. For graduates, they are called externships because no academic credit is needed or given. For current medical students, depending on the requirements of your medical school, we can give you the necessary paperwork so that they count for academic credit toward your degree.
I will be on my final year in medical school so am I eligible for the program?
Yes, you are eligible. But you must discuss this opportunity with your own medical school to understand the requirements for receiving academic credit from a program like ours.
I want to know more, can I contact you?
Yes of course! But we would like you to read through our website and facebook page first, as virtually all of our information is there. Please visit both and read through each section, and then feel free to contact us by email, skype or phone with your questions. We are here to help!
I’m just getting started and I’m lost, where do I start?
We think that the very best way to get started on this is to read the article we have posted on our blog which will help you plan. Then read through sites such as ECFMG, the National Residency Match Program, and finally the USMLE-Forums.
Is my deposit refundable?
If you are unable to secure a visa and can show documented proof, we will refund 50% of your deposit. Otherwise, it is non-refundable.
What visa do I need for these rotations?
We recommend the B1/B2 visa. Download this brochure from the US State Department. At the bottom of the table you will see ‘Training’. That is how you qualify. Use the language they use in your application.
Do I have to be ECFMG certified to start externship?
No.
Do I have to take Step 1 or Step 2CK or Step 3CS to start externship?
No.
Will the externship be in a hospital or at a doctors office?
It depends on the specialty. For primary care specialties, you will likely work in an outpatient clinic with some exceptions. For subspecialties, most likely it will be a combined inpatient/outpatient basis. You will assist the doctor in their clinic, and then go with them on hospital rounds, sometimes at 2 or more hospitals. The experiences run the gamut from 100% outpatient (primary care, outpatient surgery, for example) to 100% inpatient (emergency medicine, for example).
Will the LOR I receive be as if I worked in the hospital or in the doctors office?
It will be from your preceptor, and the LOR will contain information about the doctor and their affiliated hospitals.
Are all the placements in hospitals?
We provide hands-on clinical externships, not hospital observerships. Several of our preceptors are affiliated with teaching hospitals but not all of them. In all cases the LOR and evaluation are absolutely appropriate for the USMLE match application.