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Journeys in Medicine: An ECFMG Blog

Category: My Story

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

Growth is Best When Shared

By Dr. Muhammad Ismail Khalid Yousaf

“Serve well and learn more—they’ve given you a place in their country, and it takes a big heart to do that,” my paternal grandmother, Jamila Begum, told me during our family’s ritual prayers before I left for the airport to begin my training in the United States. This 7,500-mile journey from Pakistan to Kentucky came with its own uncertainties and challenges, but the belief that “there is a blessing when you migrate to study abroad” was deeply rooted in my cultural and religious values. I was determined to carry forward these virtues with pride and dignity, as my parents had sacrificed everything to ensure I received the best training, and my wife’s support to get me to the United States to train was monumental. Thanks to the BridgeUSA J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, I was fortunate to match and start my training at the University of Louisville (“UofL”) School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology.

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

A Land of Opportunities

By Dr. Paramvijay Singh Dhalla

I was born and raised in Punjab, India. My father, a veterinary doctor, always dreamt that his son would be a compassionate and humane physician, one who would serve society to the best of his abilities. This dream of his stayed with me, and I made it my purpose. First, I went to medical school in India. Then, in 2021, I fortunately matched into a family medicine residency at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. This year, I moved from Nebraska to New York to begin my fellowship in geriatric medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

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

How to Succeed in Your “Rookie” Year

By Dr. Sushania Pryce

In U.S. sports, the “rookie” is the newest member of the team. In basketball, the rookie often doesn’t get to begin the game with the “starting five”—the group of skillful players who start the game—but they are always eager to play. When I left my home country to begin my journey as a resident in the United States, my initial thought was that I would be just like the rookie. To some extent the analogy is true, but in the case of being a medical intern, you are both a rookie and part of the starting five: even though you’re new to the team, you have to play every game.

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Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories Clinical Training Experience, My StoryTags , , , ,

A Second Chance at Life

By Dr. Ram Prakash Thirugnanasambandam

“Is it true that my entire immune system will be gone?” the patient asked.

“Yes, it is true,” the attending said. “But we will be there throughout the process with you and make sure we fight off every possible infection we find.”

I was on an adult bone marrow (stem cell) transplant elective at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), and yet again, I was witnessing the sort of conversation most of the MSK patients had with the team every single day.

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

March Madness

By Dr. Emilio Jose Fabian Corona

“March Madness” is upon us, but I must clarify that it is probably not the one you are thinking about, especially if you are a sports enthusiast. I am alluding of course to the Match season, that time of the year when thousands of medical students from across the country and around the world wait patiently for that long-anticipated email in mid-March: the correspondence that will dictate if your dreams of becoming a trainee at your desired program and institution are to be fulfilled.

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