Over the years, the number of applicants for the US residency program has continued to grow, with international competition for residency spots increasing considerably over the years.
The quest to “become a doctor” in the US has been driven by several things such as the quality of the residency program, access to better funding for research, access to better medical facilities, and the importance the US government and private organizations have placed on ensuring the US is at the forefront of medical research and development in the world.
According to an article in Business Journal in July 2013, “Data from the National Resident Matching Program shows that there has been an increase in the number of slots for the US medical residency program since 1997 but this increase hasn’t kept pace with the applicant pool. The number of slots rose from 20,209 in 1997 to 26,392 first-year resident slots in 2013. The number of applicants has grown from 26,323 in 1997 to 34,355 [in 2014]”
The growth in the number of applicants is being fueled not just by larger graduating classes at traditional medical schools but also a rising number of osteopathic medical school graduates as well as U.S. and foreign citizens that graduate from medical schools in the Caribbean and other countries.
Several students give up their quests to become doctors in the US after multiple attempts at applying for residencies, with rejection letter after another and years of hoping and waiting, and decide to pursue alternate careers in healthcare such as nursing or return home.
In order to give more Nigerians access to the advantages of the US Medical residency program, Pocket Presents, a Media events company in collaboration with BusinessDay Newspapers will be holding an event in Lagos targeted at helping Nigerian doctors and medical students gain their US Residency faster.
Holding at the prestigious Four Points Hotel in Lagos on July 4, the event will be anchored by Dr. Ngozike Orjioke a renowned, U.S.-based medical practitioner who has helped many foreign applicants become medical doctors in the US through the US medical residency program.
During her residency in Internal medicine, Dr. Orjioke was honored as chief resident. She also served as Chief Fellow during her pulmonary critical care fellowship. Dr. Orjioke is a Pulmonolgist-Intensivist at Atlanta Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia and a part time faculty in an Internal Medicine residency program in Atlanta. It was in these positions that she learned that it takes more than USMLE scores and a bag of dreams.
With this event, applicants will be exposed to the forces that affect and govern medical education and residency in the US, as well as get tools that will help them achieve success in their application.
In order to be a part of the event, potential applicants can visit the website www.onlyPocket.com to register and get all information about attending.
