IMGRoadmap Series #82 Dr. Sherley Chhibber (Internal Medicine)

Can IMGs without any connections or clinical experience in the United States still land the residency position of their dreams? Dr. Sherley Chhibber joins us today to show how she achieved the impossible and cemented her opportunity as an incoming PGY-1 in Internal Medicine at the Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Philadelphia.

Dr. Chhibber, while completing the final years of her medical education at the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College in Jaipur India, made the decision to start preparing for the USMLE exams with the goal of applying for residency in the US. Though the first time she applied she was not successful, Dr. Chhibber only used this perceived setback to motivate her to improve her application and apply again. The second time she applied, she got through to one of her top programs, and she attributes this success to her having taken ownership of the weakness of her first application, and her willingness to upgrade it.

Here are some of the highlights of Dr. Chhibber’s interview where she dropped countless inspirational gems coming from her unique perspective:

  • The timeline of her residency application into the 2020 match cycle with regard to how she prepared for the USMLE exams.

  • Why her first application was not successful - pinpointing the weak points and areas for improvement.

  • How Dr. Chhibber sought to improve her application through the maximization of free resources such as social media and YouTube.

  • The impact of the IMGRoadmap podcast on her journey.

  • Creating connections and networking through social media.

  • Customizing her personal statement based on every goal program’s requirements when applying.

  • The importance of perfecting one’s CV and how it contributed to her successful match the second time around.

  • The challenge of preparing for USMLE during her mandatory internship year in India and achieving average scores.

  • Why exam strategy is important - understanding the format of the exam is almost as important as the knowledge required to pass it .

  • Advice to Indian IMGs on how to time their USMLE exams and entire application process.

  • Dr. Chhibber’s challenges as a visa applicant and how she overcame them.

And after having shared her interesting success story, Dr. Chhibber leaves the following inspirational tidbits:

  • Make the most of the virtual interview - you are in your comfort-zone, so use this to your advantage. Put all of your energy into it and make it count!

  • Always make use of all of your resources, especially those which are free.

  • Believe in yourself - if she could do it with no US connections so can you!

You can reach out to Dr. Chhibber through her Instagram @drchibs and you can read more about her journey on her blog at https://sherleychhibber.wixsite.com/website

Listen to the full episode at:

Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/74-imgroadmap-series-82-dr-sherley-chhibber-internal/id1490731292?i=1000526939466
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wdhp2qUdH7tgNwuSlTxUI
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz/episode/ZTQwMWMxMzktMWE5MC00MjgwLWJjZGMtMmEyYmIzMTcyNmUy?sa=X&ved=0CA0QkfYCahcKEwiYjOu9w4vyAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ



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