IMGRoadmap Series #89 Dr. Marc Katz (Cardiology)

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As a new year begins, IMGs all over the US continue to excel in their fields, inspiring thousands to do the same. Our guest today, 3rd year Cardiology fellow Dr. Marc Katz is no exception! Keep listening to find out more about his challenging yet rewarding journey.

Dr. Katz attended Ross University and completed most of his rotations in Brooklyn, New York. He then underwent Internal Medicine (IM) training at the Hahnemann University Hospital.

He is currently a PGY6 in Cardiovascular Diseases, a subspecialty of IM.

Here are some highlights of Dr. Katz’ Cardiology fellowship:

He chose IM because of its wide range of subspecialty opportunities when compared to family medicine, for instance.
He completed 4 years of medical school, 3 years of IM training, and 3 years of General Cardiology fellowship.
While he is qualified as a general cardiologist, he appreciates the fact that he can still specialize in more specific fields such as cardiac oncology, and electrophysiology.

Dr. Katz’ background also helped shape his medical success story:

He attended SUNY Binghamton for his undergraduate degree, as a first generation American born to South African immigrant parents.
Initially, he didn’t know that he wanted to go into medicine, and so he earned a GPA of 3.4 and a just below average MCAT score.
He didn’t immediately get into any of the US medical schools to which he applied, until he gained admission at Ross University.
After medical school, he felt like he was fighting an uphill battle to match into residency as an IMG.
While he found that Ivy League schools mainly only take people from “prestigious” schools, He advises IMGs not to be discouraged–you could be the first!
However, he also advises people considering becoming IMGs to be aware of the potential challenges they may face with qualifying for residency.

As such, his goals were to:

Crush Step 1.
Get great letters of recommendation.
Become an author on as many research publications as possible.
Get into a prestigious program in the North East.

Here are Dr. Katz’ thoughts on the future of IMGs:

Step 1 going pass/ fail is estimated to be another hurdle since program directors will likely find another metric by which to filter out applicants. So, it is important to build a strong application otherwise.
Networking is essential–Dr; Katz attributes some of his opportunities to his mentor having put in a good word for him with program directors.
In day to day life, the stigma against IMGs isn’t as prevalent as we may think–many of his colleagues are also IMGs, and where someone attended medical school doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things.
Every year, while there are enough US grads to take up all of the available residency spots, they continue to take IMGs. Be encouraged by that fact!
IMGs often fill underserved specialties and are invaluable in the US medical system. IMGs are here to stay!

He states the following as requirements of an application into Cardiology:

You need to prioritize training as an internist.
Do research and interact with the departments with the fellowships you are interested in.
In preparation, publish as many case reports, series, presentations as you can.
Play the game: strategize and network! Dr. Katz himself SOAPed into fellowship and landed an interview due to a call made by his mentor.

And finally, here is Dr. Katz’ mantra for success:

Enjoy the process, have fun, and value the supportive people around you.
Peace comes from within. You will meet people with different personalities and encounter difficulties, but try your best not to internalize your negative experiences.

Listen to the full episode on Apple, Spotify & Google Podcasts.

You can reach out to Dr. Katz on:

Instagram: @kittykatzmd

Tik Tok: @kittykatzmd

Youtube: @kittykatzmd

Twitter: @kittykatzmd

And his website: mykittykatz.com

And you can also follow his cat, Pepperoni @pepperoni.cat!