Advice on USCE

I noticed since I did my USCE in California I got more interviews in California. (If you get one on California minus well get your California Letter.) I recommend trying to do USCE in 2 different places to spread your influence. Perhaps it would be a good idea to do it in New York as it is IMG friendly.

When you do your USCE try and seek out as many opportunities you can. Be on time and show interest. Go to didactics, do research and make contacts. Sometimes the program you do your USCE is competitive and you may not get invited for an interview. However you will get other interviews you may not have got.

Additionally get a letter of recommendation. I will elaborate more on LoRs on another blog.

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USCE List

For the ones I listed below you can find out the contact info by going on FREIDA or Google. This list is by no means complete. Please feel free to add to it.

Externships

1) Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

This is where I did mine. This in Los Angeles and is flexible and allows for a variety of experiences including research. It is a beautiful hospital located a block from Beverly Hills.


2) Long Island Jewish

I heard this is a good program and it does sound like a good experience. It is in New York.

3) St. Elizabeth's

This is in Washington D.C. It seems rigid and the program does not seem as nice as the above 2.
4) Jamaica or Brookdale (cant remember which one.)

This is in New York City. It is rigid and it is IMG friendly. They tend to prematch a lot of the externs.

5) NYMC (New York Medical College)

This is in Vallhalla in Westchester county just north of New York City. Seems better than #4 and #5. I think it is an externship.

6) Houston, Texas Veterans Affars hospital (the largest federal building after the Pentagon)

This one entails a lot of paper work. Also you could try Baylor and UT Houston.


Observerships

I believe the ones listed below are all observerhips. I dont think they are externships.

1) University of Mississippi Medical Center Program in Jackson Mississippi

2) one of the Alabama programs (not the one in Mobile)

3) i beleive one of the New Jersey programs

4) Mt. Sinai Med Center in Miami Beach

They dont have psych but they do have memory disorders. I did this one as well and enjoyed it. They call it a mini-residency.

5) Buffalo, New York


Research

I don't have much information on this. I had an offer in White Plains, NY. Heard of someone doing one in UIC or somewhere in Chicago. You can also try and do some research duing your externship. I believe the best way to find one is to email every psychiatry program and look around in the forums.

How do I get USCE?

What I did was to contact every psychiatry residency program by email. I should have also followed up by phone as well. I personalized every email and also asked for any mid-year openings for residencies. I also mentioned I am interested in applying for the program as well. Thus I hit many birds with one stone. This is a long shot but the program may remember you when you apply even if they don't have a spot or usce. Another method is by searching the many usmle forums as well (sdn forums, usmleforum, prep4usmle, etc.) Also another idea is to check out the local Veterans Affairs hospitals. However the VA route may mean a lot of paperwork and you may need a sponsor. Also you could shadow a local doc. Ideally you want to do an externship at a residency program. This applies as well to research. It is possible to even eventually get paid for research. However research will be more long term than externship as you may want to get published for it to be worth the effort.

I will make things easy for you. I have compiled a list. Yet you should still find other ones as well.

What is USCE?

Many of you must have heard this term. It stands for United States Clinical Experience. These days many applicants have USCE and it is increasingly important. There are 3 types:

1) Externship - this is often the best as it entails actually touching the patient or in the case of psychiatry - doing the history of a patient.




2) Observership - this is more like shadowing. Externship is far better but observership is better than nothing.

3) Research - there is basic sciences and clinical research