Canadian IMG hoping to match back to US

Hi everyone! I’m a Canadian who will be starting medical school in the UK this September, with the goal of eventually returning to USA or Canada for residency.

I applied to medical school in Canada twice and unfortunately wasn’t successful, despite having pretty strong stats. I’ve now decided to pursue medicine in the UK, and I want to be very intentional about making myself as competitive as possible for the US IMG pathway.

I’ll be graduating in 2031, so I have several years to prepare. I’m wondering what I can realistically do throughout medical school to give myself the strongest possible application.

For those who have successfully matched back to US as IMGs or those currently going through the process: (sorry lots of questions)

1. What would you prioritize from Year 1?
2. When should I start preparing for Step 1 / step 2. (what else is required for match?)
3. How important are research, publications, volunteering, etc.?
4. I know having clinical electives are important to match back, but do observorships hold weight? What is the best way to arrange and what summer should I start doing them?
5. Is there anything you wish you had started doing earlier?
6. How would you balance doing well academically in medical school with preparing for licensing exams?
7. 8. If your goal was Family Medicine or psychiatry, would you approach your preparation differently?
8. 9. Are there any common mistakes that I can avoid?

I’m not looking for guarantees or a “what are my chances?” answer. I’m more interested in hearing from people who have actually gone through the process and to have it all in one discussion post that I can look back on.

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from US IMGs who studied in the UK specifically and successfully matched back home. Thank you in advance!!

I also posted this in the MCCQE forum for the Canadian answers.