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Journeys in Medicine: An ECFMG Blog

Tag: Internal 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 , , , ,

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

Caring for Underserved Populations in Jamaica and the United States

By Dr. Karecia Byfield

I have cared for underserved populations in both Jamaica, my home country, and in the United States as part of my graduate medical education training. In Jamaica, I practiced medicine in resource-limited settings. In the United States, the environments in which I have practiced medicine have been more well-equipped. Yet, many of the patients I have cared for still come from communities facing significant barriers such as poverty, high crime rates, and limited healthcare access.

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

Redefining the Path Forward

By Dr. Walaa Hasan

“Mom, you will pass—I believe in you.”

Those words from my seven-year-old son, Selim, still echo. Diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of three, Selim has faced life with resilience and strength that inspire me daily. If he could adapt and thrive despite his challenges, I knew I could, too.

My journey from Egypt to the United States has been one of starting over—not as a setback, but as an opportunity to grow, redefine myself, and chase my dreams. In 2019, my family and I relocated to the United States to create a better future. While my husband, also a physician, began his residency, I focused on rebuilding my medical career in a new country. Balancing rigorous preparation for residency with motherhood, I found strength in my family’s unwavering support and the lessons I learned along the way.

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