plz help me

[smiley_moon80]

hi all i'm new to this forum.lots of confusion going on in my mind.i completed my mbbs with internship in feb 2009 (with an aggregate of 65.3%).due some reasons i'm unable to apply for step 1 till now.1)when should i apply for steps,time of completion of steps inorder to match for 2011.2)my field of interest is dermatology but i know being img it would be very tough to match for derma,but i want to try from my side.what all should i do to get derma residency like -usmle scores,type of externships/observerships,lor's or any other academic means etc 3)if i take GRE and apply for any fellowship prog in dermatology and try for 2011match if not atleast for 2012.will i be able to get into fellowship in derma.plz suggest img friendly derma fellowships 4)will doing an MPH help me in getting into derma res.what should be my strategy to get into it.plz giv ur valuable suggestions.

[NaeemMajeed]

Excellent scores with relevant USCE (preferably clinical electives) and US LoRs are the most important things to apply in a specialty like dermatology. Being IMGs, we won't be preferred here so easily... so one may have to spend a year or so doing research in the relevant area, bringing out one or two publications ... and making contacts within the department who can help when applying for residency at the same place.

People get rare specialties but it takes time - not easy if you don't have resident status in the US and strong monetary support as research would be voluntary most of the times.

[smiley_moon80]

thank u very much sir,i'll put my effort to succeed.