Welcome to America is a comprehensive program specifically designed for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who aspire to secure residency positions in the United States. With residency placements becoming increasingly competitive, many qualified candidates remain unmatched despite strong credentials. This program provides IMGs with the tools, guidance, and mentorship they need to strengthen their applications and stand out in the residency selection process.

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Unlike traditional pathways that require IMGs to travel abroad at great expense for rotations, housing, and letters of recommendation, Welcome to America equips participants with critical preparation before they leave their home country. This approach minimizes financial burdens while maximizing readiness.

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Through a series of five one-hour lectures, participants receive expert instruction on every essential aspect of the residency application process, including:

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• Understanding the U.S. medical education system

• Application requirements and timelines

• Securing clinical experience and strong Letters of Recommendation (LORs)

• Mastering interview skills and professional presentation

• Developing English (and Spanish) language proficiency

• Building cultural competence for success in diverse healthcare environments

• Exploring the role of research in strengthening residency applications

• Discussion of the two Visas that are available for International Students, the J-Visa and the H-Visa.

A unique feature of this program is the opportunity for a clinical, language, and cultural rotation in Peru or Costa Rica, allowing participants to refine practical skills while immersing themselves in diverse patient care settings.
 

Over the years, Welcome to America has successfully mentored numerous IMGs, guiding them step by step into residency programs across the United States. By combining academic rigor, cultural training, and personalized mentorship, this program helps international physicians transition smoothly into the American healthcare system.

 

Thousands of international medical graduates (IMGs) wish to enter the educational residency programs each year. There are not enough residency slots and there are an overwhelming number of applicants which makes the process burdensome, expensive with disappointments along the way.

 

 Most applicants, irrespective of the country of origin, receive good basic education and are fit to go through the US educational system. One in five physicians, now in the US, is an IMG.

 

This webinar is addressed to those who are NOT in the system and are trying to get into a residency. For this group there is no organization which advocates their cause, there is no spokesperson, and there is no defined curriculum to prepare them for the residency. The larger organizations like the AMA and the ACP have committees to reform the system but, in my mind, they have not advanced their cause.

 

This webinar is an attempt to prepare you to have a better chance for a successful match. I cannot promise that by attending all five lectures, you will match. However, our experience is positive and if you apply some of the suggestions, you may have a better chance. The seminars will also give you a plan B to an alternative career in the medical field.

 

Let me first introduce myself. I am an IMG from a little town in Gujarat, India and graduated from the Bangalore Medical College in 1961. I then spent 60 years in the US and reached to the level of clinical professor (Rutgers), Emeritus chair, PD and the chief academic officer and was able to work with the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh, the Society for Bedside Medicine, Hopkins school of medicine, the Robert Wood Johnson Medical school, the Drexel University School of Medicine, and the St. George's School of Medicine.

 

My path has been a series of successes and failures and all along the way I was helped by kind and generous mentors. I now wish to return the favors without which I would not be what I am.

 

I have five formal presentations which are connected in some way. There will be many overlaps and repetitions to drill some points, and I would like you to remain engaged to get the best out of them. These lectures are based on my 10 plus years of running a BIO (Bedside Integrated Observership Program in a hospital from which I retired recently)

 

You will have the opportunity to communicate with me to clarify any questions.

Roughly these are the topics I shall discuss:
 

1. The US educational system, residency programs, requirements, the application process and timeline, ECFMG, ERAS, NRMP and the matching process, LOR ,USMLE and the cost and value of Observerships.
    

2. Preparation for each which includes Plan B.
    

3. How to make your application stand out and how to prepare. Preparation must begin in the medical school even earlier. In this segment we shall discuss Communication, proficiency in English and Spanish, cultural competency (western world and Spanish).
    

4. The Interview process. Focus on speech and appearance.
    

5. Summation with a list of Dos and Don'ts.
    

Other topics that will be discussed include the role of advisors (usually your seniors), networking, Observerships and externships - their cost and value, LOR (cost and value), USMLE scores.

Plan B will include MPH, MHA, Quality and Safety curriculum and certification, a personal professional portfolio and overseas rotation in a Spanish speaking country.

 

We shall also discuss the possibility of obtaining temporary license to practice in several States without a formal residency (for internationally TRAINED graduates - ITGs)

 

Appearance and manners before, during and after the interview.

Training in clinical skills (Bedside medicine)

Research - its value and how NOT to do it.

Visa options.

 

Getting the most out of your home country will be an important discussion.

 

In summary, these webinars will prepare you to face any program requirements and compete with high quality graduates.

 

Please note that this program is offered to those candidates who are still in their home countries and are close to graduation.  Most of it must be done BEFORE you leave your home country. Such a preparation will reduce the burden of expenses, travel cost, struggle to find observerships, and confusion about research and other topics.

 

Those candidates who are already in the US would benefit from this program also.

 

I hope you shall join me to start this initiative. There is no fee at this time.

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Featured Graduates

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David Jacob MD FACC FASNC

Medical School Universidad Del Noreste

Residency at Saint Peter’s University Hospital

Fellowship at Deborah Heart and Lung

In Browns Mills NJ

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Current Positions:

Chair Department of Medicine and chief of Cardiology

Saint Peter’s University Hospital

Director of Nuclear Medicine

Echocardiography

Director of Cardiac Progressive Care Unit

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine

Rutgers- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

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Sotirios Doukas MD PhD MPH

Medical School - Pavol Josef Safaric University (Slovakia)

MPH European University Cyprus

Residency in Internal Medicine – Rutgers- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Fellowship In Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Saint Peter’s University Hospital

Advanced Fellowship (current) in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Yale Digestive Diseases

 

Board certified in IM and Obesity

Obtained PhD from University of Crete in the study of oncology and toxicology (2019-2024)

MPH- European University Cyprus

 

You can see that, unlike doing substandard observerships in non-academic hospitals, they have spent substantial amount of time and effort in major hospitals and academic centers.

 

Thank you and with best wishes.

 

Nayan K Kothari MD MACP FRCPE

Clinical Professor of Medicine

Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

 

Emeritus Chair, PD and Chief Academic Officer

Saint Peter's University Hospital

New Brunswick NJ 08901

 

Email nayankkothari@gmail.com

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