American Externship/ Observership
Somerset Family Medicine



2024
I hope this email finds you well. As we approach the end of 2024, I wanted to take a moment to reflect and express my gratitude to everyone who has supported and uplifted me throughout the year.
Working with you as an extern was an incredibly rewarding experience and has brought me one step closer to my goal of becoming a resident in the U.S. by 2026. In 2025, I plan to apply for the Match, and I look forward to receiving a Letter of Recommendation from our time together in August.
Thank you once again for the invaluable opportunity. I hope you enjoyed the holiday season and wish you a prosperous and fulfilling new year.
Warm Regards,
AE (Past Extern)
5/29/2020
Dear Dr.Jaddou,
I want to thank you for all the support and mentorship you have shown me over the past couple of months. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all faced near-unimaginable upheaval in our personal and professional lives over the last few months. You have been incredibly generous with your time and energy to me, your staff, and your patients throughout this pandemic in terms of keeping us safe by offering us KN95 masks, gowns, and shields. In this new medicine landscape, mixing live and telehealth was an amazing experience for me in this new medicine norm. I am sure it will help me in the residency interviews.
Not only have you been a fantastic mentor to me, but you have also taught me and given me the opportunity to mentor others.
I am intrigued by your energy, and the way you addressed patient concerns and coordinated with all the other externs and staff showed me the best management skills.
As a result of your expertise and guidance, I have a much deeper understanding of practice-based learning and course of treatment.
I truly appreciate the confidence you showed in me. My gratitude for your contribution to my future success is immeasurable.
I hope that after this externship, I might be in
contact with you at greater length and need your guidance in pursuing my residency.
Last but not least, your “sense of humor” made this journey memorable. Thank you so much.
Yours Sincerely, YV
I am about to finish an externship under Dr. Jaddou, and I have to say, I have learned more in the past three weeks than I did in my last two years of medical school. He is very good with all the students and gives weekly quizzes on different topics, too. I feel so prepared for residency as he has already taught us the dosing of different medications. I would recommend this externship to anyone who doesn't have any USCE because he will teach you from scratch and you will be a pro with the Allscripts EMR by the end of it. A great experience overall!
Priyal Patel, M.D., Ross Medical School, 2014
For all those who are scared of Detroit, I may say that this place is lovely and peaceful. Both clinics that I had my rotation at are up-to-date in terms of technologies. A friendly atmosphere is the main reason I never felt intimidated by others. During my one-month stay, I managed to find good friends. We were 5 days a week at clinic, but we also had our share of fun.
Do not hesitate to contact the program. Application is easy! I may also share my experience via email if you still have questions!
Iryna Liauchonak, M.D., 2014

(2012 Review)
"Excellent rotation. The best one I have had "Just graduated from medical school. Highly recommended.
-Parth Dave Ross University
"This externship has been a terrific experience. Also, patients who come to the office are respectful to the externs. Finally, I have enjoyed a lot this rotation and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who needs US clinical experience. "
Carlos Zanabria, M.D., (2007), from Peru


"I recently did an externship with Dr. Jaddou. It was the best externship experience I've had in the U.S.. He is a faculty at two medical schools. He is a staff member at many hospitals and a professor." I am sure a letter of recommendation from him will add a lot of value.
" -Vineet Pillai M.D. India
Summer 2005
"You get to work in an environment that is truly conducive to learning." The knowledge I have gained during this rotation are truly priceless. "In my opinion, Dr. Jaddou is not only an amazing clinician but also a caring human being."
Siddique Khatri, M.D. (2011), University of Saint Eustathius

Hello Dr, Jaddou,
I just wanted to thank you for everything again. I appreciate all your help and advice. I learned many things and gained much from the experience. Thank you again for the LOR. I hope to keep in touch, and please don’t hesitate if you ever need anything from Canada.
Sincerely, Milud
From usmle-forum.com
From usmle-forum.com
Well, I am nearing the end of my externship with Dr. Jaddou, and I can say these four weeks have been simply amazing!
Dr. Jaddou is very knowledgeable and also very approachable; this externship added a lot to my knowledge.
He also used to give us handouts on guidelines for management of common cases like hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, and infectious diseases. I would say this was the most beneficial part of the externship.
Besides, we also learned to perform EKGs, urine tests and strep tests.
The offices are very systematic and disciplined.
So overall, it was a great experience that will certainly help me a lot in my career.
This is my first post ever on this site. I decided to comment since I used other people’s comments to make my decision to sign up for this externship.

One word to describe my experience is "amazing!" Dr. Jaddou was super friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. He was always trying to teach and point out things that were on the board and things you would use in daily practice. The biggest thing is that even if you were wrong, he wouldn’t make you feel worthless or degrade you; he would kindly correct you and make sure you understood what your mistake was. I was never afraid to ask questions. To reinforce important concepts, he provided handouts on common topics such as HTN, HLD, diabetes, and antibiotics that are relevant to family medicine and the boards. I absolutely loved these handouts and the tests that came with them.
Out of all the doctors I’ve met, he was literally the only one that made me feel like I should be a doctor.
I am about to finish an externship under Dr. Jaddou, and I have to say, I have learned more in the past three weeks than I did in my last two years of medical school. He is very good with all the students and gives weekly quizzes on different topics, too. I feel so prepared for residency as he has already taught us the dosing of different medications. I would recommend this externship to anyone who doesn't have any experience in EMR because he will teach you from scratch and you will be a pro with the EMR by the end of it. The . A great experience overall!
Somerset Family Medicine #837790 newshiii1503 - 02/25/17 21:50 Hi everyone. This is my first post on the USMEL website, and I want to share some experience with you regarding the rotation that I just finished this week.
I am a Chinese medical graduate who just passed Step 2 CS last year and desperately need some hands-on USCE to help with my residency match this year. I had some experience applying for rotations through commercial groups when I was still in medical school four years ago. However, that experience still gave me nightmare today because I ended up seeing no patient and learn nothing at all. Hence, this time I am very cautious about choosing the programs.
During the searching, I accidentally found something on the AMA website (you can google "AMA externship" and click the first link; sorry that the forum does not allow me to put any link here). There are several programs listed here with "AMA certification." I think, well, these programs have AMA certification, so maybe they are worth a shot. I applied the Somerset Family medicine listed on the top of the web page and that's how I finally met with Dr. Neil Jaddou.
Now I am very glad that I made the right choice by rotating with Dr. Jaddou.
Dr. Jaddou is a very nice person. He does spend time educating students with great patience. He is very kind and provides a free clinic in St. Joseph's Church every week. He invited me to visit the Beaumont hospital and go to dinner with him and his wife in one of the best steakhouses in Detroit. I really enjoyed the time with Dr. Jaddou and all the staff in the office.
I understand everyone wants to know about the LoR. And yes, if you work hard, it is very likely that you will obtain a good LOR from Dr. Jaddou. He has a lot of connections in the Detroit area, and the letter can be very helpful if you are going to apply for family medicine or internal medicine. Moreover, if you work even harder, you may get a certification as "Student of the Month," which will make your CV look good.
I'd like to recommend this rotation to everyone, especially those IMG who have just started preparing for the match. I guarantee that you will learn a lot through this rotation. For my Chinses friends who have never been to the USA before, I strongly recommend you to take a rotation here.



I am writing to request your recommendation for my ERAS (Internal Medicine, Preliminary/Transitional Year) and SF Match Ophthalmology applications.
I appreciate the opportunity I had to complete an externship at your clinics in May 2024. This first US clinical experience prepared me well for subsequent ophthalmology and internal medicine rotations. Again, I am very grateful for your guidance throughout the externship and the welcoming collegial atmosphere at the clinics.
Thank you for considering the request to support my applications. I am available to chat at your convenience if you have any questions or anything you would like to discuss.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Why is your externship more affordable than other companies?
A:Because you deal directly with us.
- Q: What is the advantage of joining your Externship as opposed to joining other big companie's programs?
A: You get a clear idea about the office as opposed to other companies where you are randomly placed and you have minimal information about the office you are placed.
- Q: If I am interested in other specialties other than Family Medicine, such as Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Pathology or any other field, will I be able to do rotation with you to learn about the American Health System and get LOR?
A:Yes, about 90% of our program graduates apply to different fields other than or in addition to family medicine. Based on our data, about 40-60% get accepted into residency either Internal Medicine or Family Medicine.
- Q:How early do i apply to your program?
A: The earlier the better, the more you wait the higher the chances that you will pay the late fee mentioned in the application/price section. To be fair to others late fee will not be waived.
- Q: Will I need transportation to get to your offices?
A: It is ok if you do not want to drive. You can use private transportation mentioned in our transportation section or you can use Uber or Lyft. We will transfer you from office to office during lunch hour. If you like to drive, Either rent a car or bring your own car. Driving is very easy, there are no highways.
- Q: Where will I live?
A: Majority of our externs lives in the houses recommended on our website, Extended Stay America in Madison Heights Michigan or lately many been looking at airbnb since it is more affordable.
- Q: Do you sponsor externs for a work/student visa?
A:No. Also we do not sponsor or write visa acceptance letters to show to the embassy for anyone. Apply to us only if you have a valid visa and you are physically present in USA. You will not be considered if you do not have a visa or live in USA. Do not use our office or our website information in order for you to get a visa.
- Q: Do you go to the hospital?
A:No, I am only in outpatient settings, going between the Troy and Sterling Heights offices. Half day in each office 5 days a week.
- Q: What will my responsibilities be in the office?
A: After several days of shadowing senior extern, you will see the patient by yourself or work as a pair with another team member. You will do vitals, EKG and UA. Then you will shadow Dr. Jaddou during the examination and diagnosis of the patient. You are not allowed to examine the patient, give any medical advice or make a diagnosis. It is mainly shadowing and doing vitals, EKG, and UA.
- Q: How many days or hours a week will i be doing externship?
A: Exact hours will be determined based on how many students/externs we have. If we have many students then you will have less hours. We do not know have many students we will have because we have a rolling admission.
- Q: How many externs do you have each month?
A:It varies, month to month.
- Q: Do you write a letter of recommendation (LOR)?
A: Yes. If you perform well, you will get a letter of recommendation only after completing your rotation.
- Q: When I go through your externship will I improve my scores on the USMLE?
A:Yes. We get many externs who take our rotation to just improve on CK or step 3. You will be more confident in USMLE, ck or step 3 exam studying here.
- Q:Do I have to pass all of my exams in order to do an externship?
A:No, USMLE exams are not required. Some externs do rotation with us to improve their score on USMLE.
- Q: If I have to study of my boards, can you be more flexible with the schedule?
A: Sure we can work with you.

A weekly visit to the free church clinic