Identity Issues Specific to Women and US Citizens Graduating from International Medical Schools: A Perspective

Abstract

International medical graduate (IMG) physicians are a diverse group, haling from many different cultures and countries. The diversity of IMG physicians can be understood in terms of gender, country of origin, ethnicity, and citizenship, among a range of other factors. Two subgroups of IMG physicians warrant special attention, both because of the unique challenges they face and because they are rapidly growing groups: women and US citizens who graduate from international medical schools (USIMG physicians). Women IMG physicians and USIMG physicians are two very different subgroups of a large IMG physician population in the USA. Both these groups face substantially different challenges in obtaining and succeeding during residency and in their careers in practice and on faculty. Women IMG physicians have the double burden of sharing the acculturation challenges of IMG physicians and gender bias facing women physicians. USIMG physicians do not have many of the acculturation or visa issues but face the stigma of not obtaining an education spot in medical schools within the USA. Despite these barriers, both women IMG physicians and USIMG physicians, like other IMG physicians, succeed in both residency training and postresidency careers/ (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)