Clinical Fellowship instead of Residency? Learn how Memory Disorder Pre-Clinical Fellow Dr. Siegried Chin followed this unique pathway! (IMG Roadmap Series #102)
What will you do when you become a resident physician? Mentor others? Give back to your home town? Sponsor your family? Whatever it is, this is your time to make this dream come true!
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A Clinical Fellow is defined as “a doctoral level health professional whose interest focusses on biomedical research”. In the IMG roadmap program, this has never been seen as an alternative path to residency since most international doctors choose residency as their first option.
Let’s explore how this young doctor has achieved this feat by choosing an alternative route!
Dr. Siegried Chin, a Philippines’ native, migrated to the United States in 2020 and became a permanent citizen in 2021 after her graduation from the De la Falle Medical and Health Science Institute in 2017.
Like many of her fellow IMG colleagues, Dr. Chin admittedly encountered many challenges during the match season. She applied to 120 programs and scored 5 interviews, none of which were successful.
Cognizant of her own weaknesses by attaining a low step one score, Dr. Chin, though devastated for not being matched, did not wallow in self-pity, but decided to utilize the available online resources for the sole purpose of networking on several social media platforms to boost her future chances.
It was then that she was introduced to a doctor who had migrated from the Philippines and had graduated from the fellow program of which she ultimately became part.
Dr. Chin is currently working as a Memory Disorder Pre-Clinical Fellow at the Augusta University in Georgia. She was fortunate to have received a five-year NIH grant for studies at this extraordinary program. She states that she is getting hands on knowledge when dealing with patients who have Alzheimers or Parkinson’s Disease along with other related disorders.
As a fellow, which is a paid position, she performs similar functions as a PGY1, can see patients under the supervision of an attending, can prescribe medication and has a temporary license to practice.
Dr. Chin acclaims her success to her tenacity and shares the following tips with future IMGs:
Have a strong support system of family and friends
Be steadfast in your capabilities, and be realistic
Network, foster academic friendships by joining support groups on social media like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and others
Remember to give back to the community and to others who were once in your position.
You can reach out to Dr. Chin through her Instagram @theresieggoes.
You can also listen to all full episodes of the podcast on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts and Spotify.