ECFMG Logo
 
Blog HomeAbout
Journeys in Medicine: An ECFMG Blog

Tag: PGY2

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

Celebrating IMG Well-being Day: Building Belonging in Residency

By Dr. Belinda Kwartemaa Nti

Being an international medical graduate (IMG) is both an honor and a challenge. We carry the richness of our home countries—our languages, traditions, and training—while simultaneously learning to thrive in a completely new environment. Moving to the United States from Ghana for residency was my very first time traveling abroad. The excitement of beginning this new chapter was accompanied by deep uncertainty concerning the new systems, new expectations, and a healthcare structure vastly different from what I had known that I was about to encounter. Beyond the professional transition, there was the emotional weight of leaving family, friends, and everything familiar. Like many IMGs, I arrived with determination and gratitude, but also with moments of quiet self-doubt and homesickness that are rarely spoken about.

Continue reading “Celebrating IMG Well-being Day: Building Belonging in Residency”

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

From Boardrooms to Bedside: An IMG’s Unconventional Path to Emergency Medicine in D.C.

By Dr. Bonaventure Ahaisibwe

If anyone had told me fifteen years ago—fresh out of medical school in Uganda—that I’d one day be starting a U.S. emergency medicine (EM) residency at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., I would have laughed and gone back to revising for my MPH course work. Yet, here I am, rounding on trauma patients, deciphering EKGs, and juggling IV pumps like a seasoned pro (on a good day). My journey here has been anything but linear—and that, perhaps, is its richest blessing.

You see, I didn’t take the traditional highway into U.S. residency. Instead, I came in via the scenic route: a fifteen-year detour through public health, where I built a fulfilling career in global health administration, rising to a senior executive position at an international nonprofit. I navigated policies, programs, partnerships, and plenty of PowerPoint. But life, as it often does, had a few plot twists in store.

Continue reading “From Boardrooms to Bedside: An IMG’s Unconventional Path to Emergency Medicine in D.C.”

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.

Continue reading “IMG Connect: Welcomed, Understood, and Empowered”

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.

Continue reading “Caring for Underserved Populations in Jamaica and the United States”

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.

Continue reading “Redefining the Path Forward”