Interview Information

Application is made through Eras to both our Family Medicine and combined Family Medicine/Psychiatry programs. We require your application, personal statement, dean's letter, transcripts, USMLE scores, and 3 letters of recommendation (2 of these letters should be from Family Physicians). A letter of invitation to interview is sent upon review of these materials.
 
We interview from November 1 through January 31 on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. For those who are interested in interviewing on Monday, we offer a casual dinner the Sunday evening before with other candidates and current residents. For those interviewing on Thursday or Friday, this dinner is offered on Thursday evening. We are happy to provide one night's lodging.
 
Once your application is accepted, a letter will be sent to you. You should then contact Sharon Mullen, Administrative Assistant, at 513-721-2221 ext. 10, to set up an interview date. Also let her know if you have a particular interest in an area of Family Medicine such as Geriatrics, International Health, Obstetrics, etc. Sharon will set up an interview with faculty and/or residents in our program whose interests parallel yours.

International Medical Graduates

The following is our criteria for a residency position in our program.

1. All applications are processed electronically through ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service); we do not accept paper applications. All candidates are selected through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP).

2. The deadline for receipt of applications for the next academic year is officially December 31 of the preceding year.  However, we are often unable to consider applications received after November 30 because of the large volume of highly qualified applicants. Candidates being seriously considered will be invited to come for an interview between November 1 and February 1; invitations will be sent by email. Final decisions regarding the suitability of the candidate for a position, as well as the ranking in the NRMP are made by a committee composed of those physicians who participate in the interview process.

3. The criteria we use to determine which applicants to consider are:
     The candidate must have had direct ("hands on") clinical experience for at least one year
          in a hospital in the United States, United Kingdom or Canada.
     Proficiency in written and spoken English is essential.
     USMLE (Parts 1 and 2-CK) scores are an important evaluation tool.  Preference is given to
          applicants with first pass attempts; the higher your board scores the better to remain   
          competitive with other candidates.  We cannot evaluate an applicant until we have
          received these scores. We do not require you to have taken USMLE 2-CS by the time
          you submit your application, but a passing score will have to be available by the end of
          January of the rank year for consideration in our ranking. USMLE 3 scores are not used
          to evaluate applicants, since most applicants have not taken this examination when
          interviewing.

4. The number of international medical graduates in our program varies from year to year.

5. Applicants with a J-1 visa are considered; these visas are sponsored by the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).

6. At the present time we are able to sponsor an H-1b visa but  there is considerable expense involved.  The expense is the responsibility of the applicant. The visa application cannot be initiated until after you have a job commitment (i.e. until after the NRMP results are announced in mid-March). You must also be ECFMG certified and have passed USMLE 3; in order to begin an internship at the end of June, you should have your visa application in process by April 15. The Christ Hospital is a non-profit university-affiliated institution and therefore has not been subject to the quotas established for H-1b visas in 2003.

7. Please note that this information is provided as a guideline for you to determine how much your background matches what we are looking for in a resident as well as how likely our program is to meet your needs. We are unable to tell you how likely it is that you will be invited for an interview or your chances of being selected for NRMP ranking.   That is dependent on reviewing your ERAS application and comparing you with other applicants.

For questions, you may contact us at:
    Mail: Family Medicine Residency Program
    The Christ Hospital/University of Cincinnati
    2123 Auburn Avenue, Suite 340
    Cincinnati, OH 45219

    Phone:  513 721 2221 x 21
 
Click here to visit the ERAS website.