# Shifa College of Medicine USMLE pass rate?



## Arthur (May 26, 2006)

Can somebody studying in Shifa College of Medicine tell me that from the graduating classes of Shifa College:

1) How many students were able to get residencies in US?
2) How many students were able to clear all the three steps of USMLE?


----------



## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

Arthur! Welcome aboard!

I hear that the first graduating class of Shifa all scored really well on their USMLE, but I'm not sure what their scores were, most of everyone keeps that stuff private. If I hear anything about the residencies though, I'll be sure to get back to you.


----------



## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

Who knows man, this kinda news becomes known after a while when many students do good and get residencies, like aga khan, no one knows exactly wat the individual scores they get are, but I'm sure most of the class takes it, gets good scores, and land good residencies. 

Shifa is too new, I'm sure out of the few students of the first graduating class, only a few took the usmle and maybe a few of those got high marks and then we hear about someone from someone else that someone got a residency somewhere else. Who knows! Some even wait a while after graduating before taking it.


----------



## Dr.Eevil (Jan 26, 2006)

yeh ,..but most of the students who graduated in the last 3 years took the exam,.... it's cuz the atmosphere is very MLE/PLAB oriented. we actually have teachers who set us questions keeping that part in mind ,....... i dont think alot of students wait anymore ,...and personally i think you shouldn't,..the more u wait, the more the competition gets tough.


----------



## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

Here's some of the USMLE Step 1 scores that have came in so far from Shifa College of Medicine.

Class of 2003:

99, 99, 99, 97, 92, 80

Class of 2004:

92

Class of 2005:

97, 95, 93, 80, 74

More information about one Shifa graduate's method of preparing for the USMLE and how well he did on it.

We're expecting a few more scores to come in within the end of this month -- I'll update as we get more information.


----------



## docsak03 (Dec 22, 2006)

2 of the '03 graduates started residency in july 06 ... one of em is doing peds in NY and the other is doing IM at UT memphis ... 1 of the '05 grads and 7 from '03 have applied for the '07 match .. out of those going for the '07 match, one of the '03 grads accepted a pre-match in IM at one of the hospitals in NY and is now back in pakistan ... the rest are going to match ...


----------



## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

Sweet! Thanks for the update docsak03 :happy:


----------



## docsak03 (Dec 22, 2006)

here are some of the scores that i know ...

step1/step2 a '-'means that they havent taken an exam yet and '?' means i dont know what they got ...

2003;

99/99 applied to IM
99/98 PGY 1 peds
99/94 applied to IM
99/? applied to IM
97/92 prematch IM
92/83 applied to IM
92/? PGY 1 IM
90/84 ?
80/? applied to IM/Neuro
76/84 applied to IM & FM
75/79 applied to FM
89/- ---------
85/- ---------

2004;
92/- ---------

2005;
95/88 applied to IM
97/- ---------
93/- ---------


----------



## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

How come when I google to find any information on Shifa graduates you never find anything. For example most hospital websites have information on their employees/internships etc and college of graduation. IE for RMC, just type in quotation marks "from rawalpindi medical" and you will find information from a ton of medical graduates. But if you type "from shifa medical" or "from shifa college" basically this site pops up only.


----------



## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

Those things take time to show up on a Google search. You can't just put something online and expect Google to find it right away.

Information on residents of a hospital isn't as widely available as the information on full-time doctors. Residents don't get their own web pages, because there's nothing to write.

I disagree that most hospitals have information for as far as even their interns. They do for the doctors who have finished their residencies.


----------



## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

hehehehe


----------



## atenolol (Jan 26, 2006)

Shifa is 3 batches old. That would explain it, yoseph.. That would explain it.#confused


----------



## Rehan (Jan 26, 2006)

atenolol said:


> Shifa is 3 batches old. That would explain it, yoseph.. That would explain it.#confused


Good point.


----------



## maik7upurz (Feb 28, 2006)

I thought it was a bit older than that, but you would assume out of the 3 batches there would be a few more doing residensies somewhere, ie uk / usa and some information about it.


----------



## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

You know what they say about people who assume things


----------



## atenolol (Jan 26, 2006)

Damn yo-boy, shifa sucks.


----------



## Reem18 (Jun 22, 2008)

*!!!!*



Jamal said:


> Damn yo-boy, shifa sucks.


R u serious?? Wait do u go to Shifa or have you just heard this from others? I am interested in applying to shifa next year after I finish highschool but Could you please tell me a little about shifa? How is the overall atmosphere? What is the school like I mean in relation to staff, students, facilities? How hard was it to get in? What is a typical day for you at Shifa?? 

Btw my name is Tehreem oh n these questions are open to everyone :happy: 

Thanks in advance!!#grin


----------



## MedGrunt (Feb 21, 2007)

That comment was a joke by a current Shifa student.

This thread is concerned mainly with the USMLE pass rate of Shifa grads. Info about Shifa can be found in it's actual thread: http://medstudentz.com/pakistan-med...-medicine-islamabad-pakistan-23.html#post9776


----------



## talib (Feb 22, 2011)

Ah, it kills me to see the 99er's doing internal med, I wish we could get better matches  I am going there with hopes to get an Ophthalmology residency one day, but it seems so hard now.


----------



## medstudent22 (Aug 13, 2011)

It is important to realize the FM and IM are the two of the most popular fields for even American/ Canadian graduates. 40+ percent of Canadian medical graduates apply to family medicine. Ophthalmology is definitely quite a reach. Hope you are willing to put in the summers and winter holidays over the next five years. 

I'm currently following a schedule and would suggest all imgs planning on entering into competitive specialities to try do something along the same line. In the first two years, try to get as much research as possible under your belt (1/2 publications would be nice). In the last three years, really try to do as many electives (while studying for exams) as possible. Not many imgs take the time to do this during their studies and it can really set you apart. If you have a different schedule in mind, please feel free to improve upon this one.


----------



## talib (Feb 22, 2011)

Thanks for the reply medstudent22! May I ask, what medical school do you attend?

And yes of course! I am leaving my comfort, home and loved ones behind to study medicine for 5 years, I think it won't kill me to give up breaks.

Is there any more advice you can give me on getting the ophthalmology residency? ..wow off topic, but now that you mentioned it in your post  I tried PM'ing you, but it doesn't let me, so my only chance was on here. I just want to do ophthalmology though, I volunteered a few years at a hospital, and I stayed in many departments, but nothing drew me like ophthalmology. It's my passion now


----------



## thecalccobra (Jul 3, 2007)

Go to medschool in the U.S. if you want Opthalmology. Period.





talib said:


> Thanks for the reply medstudent22! May I ask, what medical school do you attend?
> 
> And yes of course! I am leaving my comfort, home and loved ones behind to study medicine for 5 years, I think it won't kill me to give up breaks.
> 
> Is there any more advice you can give me on getting the ophthalmology residency? ..wow off topic, but now that you mentioned it in your post  I tried PM'ing you, but it doesn't let me, so my only chance was on here. I just want to do ophthalmology though, I volunteered a few years at a hospital, and I stayed in many departments, but nothing drew me like ophthalmology. It's my passion now


----------



## ZoyaZ (Sep 7, 2009)

^ Sorry, again, that was me. My computer seems to log into this account automatically.

It's really great that you have a passion for ophthalmology. If you look at the NRMP stats, however, the chances for an IMG are very grim in this field. With that being said, the fact that you have decided so early is advantageous in quite a few ways.
1) I am not sure what your hometown/closest university hospital is but look for funding and grants for summer students. If there are no grants, then e-mail various professors in opthalmology asking if you can do research with them. (Start with the prof who is the chair of the dept and work your way down according to whoever has the most publications.) Ideally, try to have one or two publications. I would not say this is important for many fields, but with ophthalmology, you are really looking at the creme de la creme of specialities (in terms of competitiveness)
2) After the first year of research, continue doing some research but ask the researcher if he can recommend you to any clinicians for an observership.
3) Order USMLE books and start reading along as you do the units. I will talk about way this is important for me later.
4) In summer of third year take Step 1 and try to do an elective on the side. Many schools will not let you until summer of fourth year but there are a couple of schools in Canada that will allow me to do an elective summer of third year. 
5) Year four is a time for electives. Do as many as possible. Try to have one (or two) at the place you really want to practice. If I were you, I would go online and look at the NRMP stats for different states. I would find out which state gave the greatest number of ophthalmology positions to IMGS. I would then proceed to try to get a couple of electives in that state. It doesn't matter if its in the middle of South Dakota....it is a necessary sacrifice. 
6) Get involved in your local medical school. Join clubs, try to work your way up to a reputable position, start clubs (if your school doesn't have an opthalomology club, why not start one?)



You wanted me to share some details on what I am doing and where I am studying. I did a year of university in Canada and then received admission to Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia (in England). I will be entering my second year this fall. I have decided I am interested in Obs/Gyn, EM, Anaesthesiology, and Radiology. As you can see, I am not as focused as many other med students lol. 

In Oct 2010, I began e-mailing professors for research for summer 2011. I wanted to apply for a certain type of funding available from the province. If you are looking for a template I will post the e-mail I sent out to various professors. 

"Dear Dr. X,

My name is Zoya and I am a first year medical student at the
University of East Anglia in the U.K. I am interested in applying for
the summer research grant offered by AHFMR and would like to work with
you. I have read that your research involves X. Currently, I am
considering a career in Obstetrics/Gynecology and would like to gain
more insight into this field through research. Although my knowledge
in the field is limited, I'll do the necessary background reading.
I attended the University of Alberta for two years, during
which I received the Rutherford and Academic Excellence scholarships.
Prior to these awards, I received a grant from the WISEST program for a
summer research position. In Alberta, I secured a position on the Dean?s
List and can request the school to send you my original transcripts.
I can come in for an interview and I have attached my CV. I look forward to
your response.

Sincerely,

Zoya Zaeem"



Oh also, if you do research try to present at a couple of conferences (this looks good on your resume and you can also add the abstract that got accepted to your resume). 

Bottom line is that you have chosen a field which is very competitive and some would argue almost impossible to get coming from Pakistan (seeing as how students from Caribbean rotate in U.S. schools). It may even take you more than a couple of cycles (of NRMP). I think that if you really, really want to do it and are willing to sacrifice the free time you have in the coming 6-7 years, there is definitely a chance you could get it.


----------



## ZoyaZ (Sep 7, 2009)

Oh, and I got alot of rejections when I sent out that e-mail. Some professors did not even get back to me. As luck would have it though, the PI from the Olson Laboratory got back to me and applied with me for the AIHS grant. When I came back for a month in April and all throughout my summer holidays, I was working at the lab. I took off a week for holidays but that is it.


----------



## talib (Feb 22, 2011)

Thanks for the great reply ZoyaZ! And that's a great plan, and yes, I decided very early, so I feel a little assured now because it's my full focus.

Also, I am starting my first year of MBBS this year, so should I start sending out emails now ? I haven't gotten acceptances yet to the college's but I am 99% I should get into at least one. And if I do electives both research and clinical on only ophthalmology, if god forbid, I don't get the residency, even with perfect scores, would that belittle my chances of getting another residency, even with only ophthalmology work under my belt? And I completely understand how hard it is, but I will put my whole life into this if I have to, I just can't afford medical school here, even with a loan, (and it's too hard to get loans these days) and pay for undergrad, so Pakistan isn't such a bad idea. Please give more advice as to how I would proceed in getting this residency, much appreciated!


----------



## ZoyaZ (Sep 7, 2009)

You are not the first person to wonder whether concentrating all your efforts in one area will limit your opportunities at another residency. I am not a PD so I cannot make a solid statement on this. I have read that it should not matter which field you put your effort into as lots of people change their mind during clinical years. You could always say that you recently developed an interest in let's say, EM, and despite not having research in that field, your previous work shows that you dedicate time/effort into the field that you are passionate about.

Alternatively, I have read that even PD directors want to see some variation. So let's say you want to enter into opthalmology so you do 2 electives in this field but the third in general surgery. You could always draw a connection back to opthalmology if needed and really, you are just interested in getting exposure at the hospital and within the program. You can do that by doing an elective in one area and attending ophthalmology grand rounds in the morning. 

Sorry, I don't know much about the field specifically so cannot comment on it too much. I think the moderator of this forum would know more about attaining opthalmology residencies. Also, I know Pakistan would be cheaper but if you were to go to Caribbean or go to a D.O. school in the U.S. and take a loan....your chances at this field would increase exponentially and you could always pay back the loan once you are working. I never suggest D.O. route but that is because many IMGs are willing to come back and pursue FM, IM, Paeds, Gen Surg, etc so it is usually not an issue.


----------



## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

thecalccobra said:


> Go to medschool in the U.S. if you want Opthalmology. Period.


Around 25 IMG's match into Ophtho every year.


----------



## Sam212 (Apr 3, 2006)

Ophtho should ease up a bit in the future. Will still be very competitive numbers wise but will attract less applicants. It's already started to happen IMO. You'll need a ton of research along with top board scores for ophtho. That means spending a few research years at an ophtho program. That's the only was to do it.


----------



## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

Sam212 said:


> Ophtho should ease up a bit in the future. Will still be very competitive numbers wise but will attract less applicants. It's already started to happen IMO. You'll need a ton of research along with top board scores for ophtho. That means spending a few research years at an ophtho program. *That's the only was to do it.*


My entire point was that there are always exceptions. Out of those twenty-some odd applicants that matched last year, there are plenty who didn't do research years.


----------



## ZoyaZ (Sep 7, 2009)

Yeah, I don't think you HAVE to take time off after medical school and dedicate years to research in an Opthalmology program. Many students just do the odd summer research internship and that suffices. Of course, if you want to be more confident about your application...research/clinical electives can only help pad it up.


----------



## talib (Feb 22, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the great advice! It really helped.


----------

