From Immigrant to Practitioner: A Perspective

Abstract

Physicians who either emigrate from the country where they were born and educated to another, or who have obtained medical school education in a country other than where they permanently reside, are referred to in the receiving country as international medical graduate (IMG) physicians. This chapter will address the process in which IMG physicians who obtained their medical degrees outside of the United States and who are not citizens become physicians in the United States. The view of the United States as a land of opportunity and wealth is spread around the world through American movies, culture, inventions, and the stories of earlier migrants, including current-day migrants. The US company Apple has now replaced Coca Cola, another US company, as the best-known company or brand in the world. Medical students in less economically developed countries frequently believe that their knowledge and skills will enable them to become successful physicians in the United States after graduating from medical school. By coming to the United States they believe that they will be able to participate and share in the American Dream. And yet to accomplish these goals IMG physicians must first traverse the initial steps of immigrating to the United States. As they take these initial steps, potential medical immigrants should be aware that the organization and funding of health care in all areas—including the education of medical students, how many physicians the country needs, the education of residents and fellows, the funding of medical research, and the structure of clinical practice of medicine—is currently in a state of flux in the United States. There is no universal agreement in any of these areas as to what actions need to be taken to ensure quality health care for all Americans. Any real or perceived reduction in the need for physicians or inadequate funding support for resident positions in the United States will likely mean fewer residency positions available for IMGs, (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)