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Journeys User4July 25, 2025July 25, 2025Clinical Training Experience, Cross-cultural Experience, Host Institution, Well-being GrantsEcuador, Internal Medicine, PGY2, Texas, Well-being

IMG Connect: Welcomed, Understood, and Empowered

By Dr. Frans Serpa

Recipient of the 2024 Grant Opportunity for J-1 Physicians: Well-being Projects Supporting Foreign National Physicians

I still clearly remember my first day of residency training in the United States. This new chapter was the result of years of hard work, sacrifice, and determination finally taking shape. After studying, waiting, and planning for so long, I had made it. I was here. I was ready—or at least I thought I was.

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Journeys User4July 11, 2025Clinical Training Experience, Cross-cultural Experience, Host Institution, Well-being GrantsEcuador, New Jersey, Pediatrics, PGY3, Well-being

Just Ask—The Answer Might Amaze You

By Dr. Diana Carolina Largo Luna

Recipient of the 2024 Grant Opportunity for J-1 Physicians: Well-being Projects Supporting Foreign National Physicians

“Just ask. The worst people can say is ‘no’; the best might amaze you.”

This is what my dad used to tell me, again and again, when I was growing up in “the country at the center of the world” —Ecuador. This simple yet powerful advice became my guiding mantra as I embarked on my journey to pursue medical training in the United States. In moments of doubt, I recalled his words: “Just ask; the answer might amaze you.” Whenever I was thinking about another step in my career, whether it was requesting clinical experience in an unfamiliar city, applying for the Match, or deciding to submit a proposal for the Intealth 2024 Well-being Grant Opportunity, my father reminded me that asking for things is a strength, not a weakness.

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Journeys User4December 15, 2022December 14, 2022Cross-cultural Experience, From EVSP, My StoryBridgeUSA, Ecuador, Egypt, New York, Nigeria, U.S. Department of State

BridgeUSA Volunteers Give Their All at 2022 New York City Marathon

By Amanda Bintz
Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, ECFMG

“Keep the cups stacked three levels high, and fill them a third of the way,” the volunteer coordinator told us as she handed us bright green ponchos branded with the TCS New York City Marathon logo and featuring the Statue of Liberty.

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Journeys User4February 15, 2022February 2, 2022Clinical Training Experience, My StoryCOVID-19, Ecuador, Georgia, Pediatric Rheumatology, PGY6

Discovering a Passion for Pediatric Rheumatology

By Dr. D. Sofía Villacís Núñez

Following graduation from medical school in Ecuador, I was determined to pursue pediatric training in the United States. After two hard years of study, while practicing medicine in an underserved community in my home country, I matched in a large pediatric residency program in Miami.

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