𝐌𝐘 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐒 & 𝐓𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐘:

Hi friends!

A lot of people has been asking me for my Credentials, my story, how as an IMG matched in a surgical specialty, how hard it was for me, and my recommendations.

I’m an International Medical Graduate from Argentina 🇦🇷

𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬:

•234/244, CS first pass.

•Around 5-6 publications

•A little over a year of USCE

•Clinical research in Reconstructive Surgery + Heart Transplant

•About 3-4 volunteer jobs.

•YOG: December 2015

•No hometown residency

•No contacts

•Speak 3 languages

•Got 11 interviews

•Over one year of experience as a General Practitioner in my country

What did I do in my home country after school?

After I finished medical school I started working full time, saving money and gaining experience to start my USMLE journey.

In Argentina we don't need a residency to work as a general practitioner. I was working doing ambulance service, and at the Emergency Department.

After a couple of months, the Director of the Hospital really liked how I was working, and doing everything to improve the Hospital and the department.

At that time the Chief of the ED was moving out, and he needed a new Chair and also to hire new medical staff for another Hospital. He got to see the way I work and also he knew that I know a lot of doctors (that's just because I love meeting and connecting people, and helping as much as I can).

That being said, he offered me to be the new Chair of the ED, I accepted and that was my position for over one year.

I was working crazy hours, sometimes I would do 72 shifts in one place and at the same time managing messages from the other Hospital, you can read more about it here.

What was my position as the Chair of the ED about? [ERAS CV]

• I was the Chair of the Emergency Department of the Hospital.

• I recruited and created the team of doctors to fulfill the needs and missions of the Department. Provided leadership as Chiefs of Service at affiliated hospitals.

• I coordinated the doctors and promoted excellent relationship between the medical staff, patients, and families.

• I provided education & training programs to the doctors and nurses. Maintained appropriate standards of care.

• Promoted teamwork both within the department and between/among other departments in all aspects of academic and clinical functions.

• Planned and developed departmental space for ensuring that all space is used efficiently and productively.

I also got research experience in Heart Transplant & Reconstructive Surgery, where I explain HERE what was all my research about, how did I get my positions, and my research projects/ publications that I have worked on.

I included the description of my research jobs the exact way that I wrote it in my ERAS application.

Definitely check it out if you wanna see how I wrote my ERAS CV

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐁/𝐆𝐘𝐍 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐌𝐆 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 OB/GYN 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬?

I made my own contacts in the research department, but since my experience was in plastics/heart transplant it didn’t really help for OB/GYN.

As IMGs sometimes we don’t get to choose where we can work in research, in what field, but since we worked a lot in pelvic reconstruction and transgender surgery, I thought it would be helpful also, and indeed - it was, especially because that field of plastic & reconstructive has some relation with OB/GYN.

Also, I got to publish and really good personalized LORs from doctors that I got to work with, got to know me, my passion and my story, and they really liked how worked with them, since

I was at some point studying for my steps, about to take my USMLE exam, and still giving it all at my job working almost full-time research 😃😃

I submitted 3 LORs

• One from my former heart transplant PI.

• One from my former reconstructive surgery PI.

• One from Chair of gynecology.

• Extra LOR from the Dean of my Medical School.

Note: PI means Personal Investigator

What is networking?

Now it's very common to use the word "networking", but for me it not just about making connection and meeting people for yourself.

A very important part that nobody mentions is being generous and don't keep those contacts to yourself.

The key here is also connecting people with each other! 

Every time I know someone that needs to connect with someone else, if I can make that connection possible, I would introduce them and help each other.

This is something essential, that a lot of people don't do. I can't empathize enough how important this is!

If you connect good people with each other, help others, everything will come back to you 1000 times bigger & better!!

I'll make soon a post about how I went from 8 to 11 interviews just by reaching out to some hospitals 🙂

My idea about creating www.doctorsebas.com is to put everything that you need for USMLE together in just one place, so you don't waste precious time going crazy trying to find something, and instead use that time to study, work or do more productive things :)

Take care everyone, stay safe, 6 feet apart from everyone if you go for a walk, and use your face mask

Love you all, ❤️

Sebastian Arruarana, MD

Fb: Doctor Sebas

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺: @doctor.sebas