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Journeys in Medicine: An ECFMG Blog

Category: Cross-cultural Experience

Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Cross-cultural Experience, My Story, Words of WisdomTags , , ,

Overcoming First-year Fear

By Dr. Chayanin (Jing) Foongsathaporn

Have you ever done something for the first time and had great anxiety about doing it? If your answer is yes, we are in the same boat.

When I started my residency training as a first-year psychiatry resident, I had many fears and worries. Imagine a doctor who has to work in another country, use English as her second language, and see patients in a diverse population. I had fear that my patients wouldn’t be able to understand my accent; fear of judgment from my colleagues; and fear of making mistakes. The working environment in the United States is far different from Thailand. I used to write paper chart back in my country, but now I have to type everything to the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). In Thailand we have Universal Health Care Coverage, unlike the healthcare system in the United States, where everyone has insurance.

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

All Hail West Texas!

By Dr. Orlando Garner

In 2002, the Mountain Goats, an American folk band led by John Darnielle, released an album titled All Hail West Texas. The first thing that struck me about the early years of the Mountain Goat’s records were how sparse they were, if this was stylistic choice or a means to an end, I do not know. It is well known that those early records produced by John Darnielle were recorded on a Panasonic RX-FT500 cassette tape recorder. The very last album he recorded in this way was about my current home, West Texas. In a lot of ways, the album resembles its namesake with its subdued melodies juxtaposed in a very plain, drawn out canvas the same way the West Texas sky colors, with its unique reddish hue and dispersed cotton candy clouds, the endless roads seasoned with scattered oil pumps throughout. This place is not for everyone, the same way the record is not. But when you see the beauty of infinity with an unraveling clear starlit sky and a sprawling desert that suddenly turns into mountains, it’s easy to understand why Darnielle sang about wanting these highways to be a Mobius strip that he could ride forever.

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Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Cross-cultural Experience, My StoryTags , , , 1 Comment on Morning Meditation: An Indian Exchange Visitor Physician Reflects on his J1 Experience

Morning Meditation: An Indian Exchange Visitor Physician Reflects on his J1 Experience

By Dr. Abdul Kareem Khan

A beautiful Floridian morning is peeping through my window, when sunlight seems to be at her cheerful best, before it resigns to the daily routine. It makes a glittering appearance every day, warming up the beaches and boats, for the rain and the famous Orlando lightning would be due by noon. The shades of weather shall favor me today, as I reflect on a delightful journey, celebrating a lovely concoction of flavors.

It is interesting how we change shoe sizes. The leap into a second year resident’s shoes has been remarkable. As a PGY-2 in internal medicine at Florida hospital Orlando, I must admit that the second year of residency has been the best of both worlds so far. The worlds I refer to are two amazing phases of learning medicine. The first part is the relentless responsibility to learn at every step, and the second is sharing the knowledge and learning through supervision. It is challenging, yet very enjoyable, to extend my abilities and further the skills learned in the first year, to apply and practice medicine with a new sense of maturity. Expectations are higher, and it is the time for me to be prepared for added responsibility. It is time to make decisions for the team, be the second in command after the attending physician, and guide, supervise and organize with the interns.

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Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Clinical Training Experience, Cross-cultural Experience, Post J-1 ExperienceTags , , ,

From Canada to Ohio, and Back Again!

Mathieu Bergeron, BPharm, MD, FRCSCBy Dr. Mathieu Bergeron

Having completed a residency in otolaryngology in Quebec City, Canada, I was ready for my next journey. But where would I go? Knowing I earned a position as an associate professor in one of the top pediatric hospital in Canada, Ste-Justine in Montreal, I had to find the perfect fellowship to learn from the best and bring back this knowledge with me. Who knew this journey would lead me in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I had the honor to complete a 2-year fellowship in Pediatric Otolaryngology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical. This hospital is not only the 2nd highest ranked pediatric hospital in the United States, but is the worldwide leader in performing pediatric airway reconstructions, including procedures involving the area from the top of the voice box to the trachea.

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Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Cross-cultural Experience, From EVSP, My Story

Volunteering with Exchange Visitors at the 2018 NYC Marathon

By Katie Powell
Exchange Visitor Cultural and Educational Affairs Program Manager, ECFMG

It was a beautiful fall day, 55 degrees and sunny, in our nation’s “Big Apple.” The sound of spectators and volunteers cheering rose from the sidewalks as more than 50,000 runners persevered along the city streets. It was a perfect setting to introduce exchange visitor physicians to the New York City (NYC) Marathon, an American tradition 48 years strong. We were gathered for a day of volunteerism and cross-cultural sharing with the aim of fostering international understanding in line with the spirit and intent of the J-1 visa program we represent.

ECFMG serves as the sole sponsor for nearly 11,000 foreign national physicians participating in the U.S. Department of State’s Exchange Visitor (J-1 Visa) Program to train in U.S. programs of graduate medical education. Each year, the U.S. Department of State (DoS) reaches out to program sponsors to plan an exchange-visitor volunteering event at the NYC Marathon. The idea is to bring exchange visitors from all different sponsorship categories—of which there are scholars, trainees, physicians, and more—together for a cross-cultural activity. It also gives exchange visitors the opportunity to connect with each other and engage in an exciting volunteer event supporting marathon runners from around the world.

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