Journeys in Medicine

Author Journeys User4Posted on Categories My Story, Post J-1 ExperienceTags , , ,

The Nigeria Pediatric ICU (PICU) Project

By Dr. Odiraa Nwankwor

I am a pediatric intensivist, and I am from Nigeria. As an intensivist in the US, I offer multi-disciplinary care to children who are critically ill, in an ICU environment. Our team offers various forms of support for any organ-system failure ranging from tracheal intubation/mechanical ventilation to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). However, in Nigeria and most other low and middle-income (LMIC) countries, children who are critically ill are not cared for in an ICU environment. Most of the hospitals in these resource-limited settings lack the capacity and resources to intubate and mechanically ventilate children who are in respiratory failure from varied causes. As you read this blog, if a child goes to any of the major tertiary pediatric institutions in these regions, in respiratory failure, or has any major organ-systems dysfunction, the fate of that child is grim. There are millions of such children, even at this moment.

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

Diary of a Sindhi Surgeon

By Dr. Vishal Kumar

“Surgery in the USA, huh? Do you know what are you doing with your life?” That was a quote from one of my friends.

Surgery is the most precious thing that happened to me. It was my dream to be a surgeon, but things got complicated when training in the USA came into play. I, like most of my friends during my medical school, thought surgery residency in the USA was an impossible task to accomplish, given the visa, high test scores, and research required to be competitive with US medical graduates. I dreamt of being a surgeon, day and night since childhood. So to me it was like a vision that only I was able to see, the passion only I was able to feel, the road only I had to walk, so that when I eventually make it come true it will become a hope for the people around me.

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

Of New Beginnings and Second Chances

Dr. Oluwatobi OdetolaBy Dr. Oluwatobi Odetola

As I sit in a dear friend’s apartment in New York, basking in the nothingness of vacation, I realize that the time left in the intern year of my Internal Medicine training can no longer be measured in months. It has been quite the year and I am part trepid, part excited to transition into a senior role in the next academic year.

This is not the first of such transitions for me, and neither was Match Day 2018 my first dance with the NRMP. I first moved to the United States in 2016 to begin an Anatomic Pathology/Clinical Pathology (AP/CP) residency. I remember putting all I owned into two travel bags – more like haphazardly stuffing the bags – and getting on the long-haul flight to Chicago, to begin the next phase of my seemingly never-ending medical training. I was excited and grateful to be part of the next group of exchange visitor physicians.

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

We Dare to Call You Home, El Paso

By Dr. Terngu Ibilah

The arduous winding journey for international medical graduates seeking to continue medical education in the United States is one only for the brave at heart. From the grueling USMLE exams to the apprehension of Visa interviews at the US embassies, with a melange of sweetness whenever that FedEx envelope arrives with your ECFMG certification, culminating on Match Day where you finally get to know if you have been accepted into a program— is a summary of years of hard work, dedication and huge financial commitment. For those who make the mistake of thinking the process of getting in is the hardest, they soon learn that staying in is probably harder, confronted with an entirely new system of medical practice, far away from loved ones and the comfort of a familiar environment. What has kept many international graduates going is finding your purpose, understanding why you put in so much of your life to get to this point.

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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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