Introduction
You probably know me as sga430 on several forums. I an IMG and psychiatry resident. I have gained a little notoriety for having been to a total 49 psychiatry residency interviews. Although it was excessive and may be evidence for neurosis, I did match. My strategy worked. Along with the notoriety, I received many messages asking for advice on how to get a residency, specifically a psychiatry residency. The main focus of this site may appear to be to get a psychiatry residency for IMGs. However I feel it will help those applying to other fields and also perhaps AMGs. In the future I may develop info for the other fields.
Other Sources of Information
There many other sources of information on this. I recommend First Aid for the Match and Isserson's Guide to Getting A Residency. I also recommend various forums such as Prep4Umsle Student Doctor Network, USMLEin and usmleforum.
Deciding on Psychiatry
Too often, especially in other countries, psychiatry is overlooked as legitimate medical field. Some of this attitude still exists in the US but it is much less. The trend is psychiatry is gaining the respect it deserves. I will write more elsewhere regarding this. I feel the best way to see is if psychiatry is right for you is to shadow a doctor. Try to experience different settings such as consultant/liasion, inpatient, child, outpatient. They all differ. Also you can read "How to Choose a Medical Speciality" by Brian Freeman. I also liked the Medical Speciality Aptitude Test. This takes less than half hour and will give you a good idea on which field is right for you. However the most important indicator is your gut feeling.
Psychiatry is ideal for those who like to think rather than do (surgery is ideal for doers.) Also one should enjoy talking and listening to the patient. It also involves interest in psychosocial factors as well. However it is a medical field and you will be prescribing medicines and may even in certain settings do physical exams and other medical tasks.
Many people don't have the same respect for psychiatrists as other doctors. However these people are mistaken. Psychiatrists do affect the health of people. One example is a psychiatrist can cure an alcoholic and prevent a liver transplantation. A surgeon can not cure alcoholism with a liver transplant. In anycase if psychiatry makes you happy and you feel you are helping others, there is no reason not to join this rapidly growing field.
