Journeys in Medicine

Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Clinical Training Experience, My Story, Words of WisdomTags , , , , ,

Always More Road Ahead

By Dr. Walaa Hasan

There are certain emails you never forget opening:

“Congratulations! You have matched.”

I had read words like these back when I matched into Internal Medicine residency after years of examinations, applications, uncertainty, and sacrifice. This time, the words carried a different meaning: I had matched into a Hematology and Oncology fellowship, the specialty that had been at the heart of my career long before I came to the United States to train.

For a few moments, I simply stared at the screen.

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Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Clinical Training Experience, Cross-cultural Experience, Host Institution, Well-being GrantsTags , , , ,

Growing ROOTS: A Story About the Space Between Shifts

By Dr. Nayanika Tummala

Recipient of the 2025 Intealth Well-being Grant Opportunity: Projects Supporting IMG Physician Wellness

A crescent moon over the trees in Yosemite.

I want to begin with a photograph.

It was taken one night in Yosemite: a crescent moon, the silhouettes of trees, a deep blue sky. Nothing dramatic. But when I show it to a room of residents, every single person sees something different. Some see a quiet calm. Some see loneliness. Some see that sliver of moon and feel hope. Some see the trees and think of home, wherever home is for them. I have come to believe that is the truest thing anyone can say about well-being. It is not a program or a checklist. It is personal, shaped by where you came from, what you carry, and how you happen to see the world at three in the morning when the pager goes off again.

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Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Clinical Training Experience, Cross-cultural Experience, Host Institution, Well-being GrantsTags , , , ,

Building the Map We Wanted to Leave Behind

By Dr. Youmna Faheem

Recipient of the 2025 Intealth Well-being Grant Opportunity: Projects Supporting IMG Physician Wellness

I still remember landing at JFK for the first time: contract signed, residency starting in days. No idea how to get a Social Security number or what a DS-2019 renewal even looked like. I had trained in the United Arab Emirates and matched into a pediatric residency program in the Bronx, a place as far from anything familiar as I could have imagined. I was excited. I was also, quietly, terrified.

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Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Clinical Training Experience, Cross-cultural Experience, Host Institution, Well-being GrantsTags , , , ,

The Wellness Passport: Where Cultures Meet and Hearts Connect

By Dr. Arushee Bhatnagar

Recipient of the 2025 Intealth Well-being Grant Opportunity: Projects Supporting IMG Physician Wellness

When I boarded a flight from India to pursue residency training in the United States, I carried the hopes and aspirations shared by countless other international medical graduates (IMGs). I saw myself growing as a physician within a new healthcare system, while continuing to serve patients with compassion and purpose. I knew the road ahead would not be easy. What I did not fully anticipate was the emotional and practical transition that followed.

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Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Clinical Training Experience, Cross-cultural Experience, Host InstitutionTags , , , ,

Celebrating IMG Well-being Day: Building Belonging in Residency

By Dr. Belinda Kwartemaa Nti

Being an international medical graduate (IMG) is both an honor and a challenge. We carry the richness of our home countries—our languages, traditions, and training—while simultaneously learning to thrive in a completely new environment. Moving to the United States from Ghana for residency was my very first time traveling abroad. The excitement of beginning this new chapter was accompanied by deep uncertainty concerning the new systems, new expectations, and a healthcare structure vastly different from what I had known that I was about to encounter. Beyond the professional transition, there was the emotional weight of leaving family, friends, and everything familiar. Like many IMGs, I arrived with determination and gratitude, but also with moments of quiet self-doubt and homesickness that are rarely spoken about.

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