To: Licenciado Ricardo del Castillo Ruano, Dean of International Student Affairs

Change 5th year to optional year of US clinical training

To the administration of the Universidad Autonoma de Gudalajara,

With deep respect and gratitude for all of your support in providing us a way to become doctors in our home countries, we the students of the UAG present this petition to change the 5th year program to an "optional year of US clinical training."

The fifth year pre-internship for decades has provided an excellent way for our students to obtain US clinical experience and letters of recommendation for residency programs. Today, thanks to the efforts of the administration of the UAG, there are a growing number of students who are completing their 3rd and 4th year rotations in the US. For these students, the pre-internship has become a repetition of core rotations completed during their third and fourth year of education, and proves to be a serious financial burden.

We, the students of the UAG, sincerely request that the administration of the UAG change the current fifth year program to an optional year of US clinical training. This will provide the needed US clinical training and letters of recommendation for the students who complete their third and fourth years in Mexico. It will also provide an opportunity for students who have pursued their clinical training in the US to match into residency one year earlier, without being required to repeat rotations that they have previously completed.

We also request expediency in this matter, so that all current students can benefit from these changes.

Sincerely,

The students of the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara

Why is this important?

By making the 5th year program an optional year of US clinical training;
1) Students will be able to continue participating in an additional year of US clinical training where they can procure needed US experience and letters of recommendation.
2) Students who do not need additional US clinical training or letters of recommendation can enter their respective residencies a year earlier.