US IMG

[BlackLomein]

Why is being an IMG looked so down upon/places you at such a disadvantage for a specialty such as Uro or something alike?

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[cpants]

I don't really think it is that looked down upon. It's just a supply and demand issue. Few spots and many qualified applicants.

 

[Dave1980]

Why is being an IMG looked so down upon/places you at such a disadvantage for a specialty such as Uro or something alike?

For US IMG it is because you weren't qualified to get into a US med school and the quality of the medical education you received is suspect.

 

[BlackLomein]

Honestly, I got in because I thought it was good option because I would graduate younger. I had no idea it would be this type of game changer

 

[Dave1980]

Honestly, I got in because I thought it was good option because I would graduate younger. I had no idea it would be this type of game changer

well you seem to have made a major life decision without doing your due diligence. that sucks. if you really could have gone to a US med school you should have

 

[michfried]

Why is being an IMG looked so down upon/places you at such a disadvantage for a specialty such as Uro or something alike?

As a fellow IMG: They are skeptical of anything foreign or unfamiliar, pronunciation / language/ accent variations! We are at their doorstep and we have to learn to fit right in. There exists a well functioning system where our responsibilities are mainly to follow protocol for any given condition, it is standard throughout the US based on American guidelines with little variability between hospitals. Learn the system quickly and start following protocol, Unlike South Asian country practice, in the US there is no limitations on resources and there is little requirement to use your judgement wisely case by case, it is more important to just follow the protocol.
Also, co-residents generally just dislike IMG's beacuse they think we do not have loans, are walking textbooks and start younger (I had more issues from South Asian origin American students than others). Its easy for programs to fire IMG's because we are on a visa and will end up right back in our home country and are less likely to go attorney because we did not graduate from an American school and our education can be questioned. As an IMG you will always be targeted esp. if your program is not filled with other IMGs, so do not give them an opportunity to find faults, one really has to be extra careful.. till you have proven yourself.
Well I was technically kicked out of my program. The remediation procedure was a farce, it was decided early on to let go of me(1 month of starting residency). I wish they had not ranked me if such was the dislike. I barely knew what was happening and was called in to to sign multiple documents (those were the only times I actually met my program director in person.) and was out in a few months..

Some issues I faced as an IMG and advice to others, so that after greuling years of hardwork and effort you do not end up like me...
well I am an IMG from South Asian country
1. Be on time: Initially I would come in early but as I got a hang of it, I was always 5-10 minutes late to sign out (never beyond 20 minutes) though, I was well within the hospital on time. I was told that I was 3/4/5 minutes late. For some reason it is extremely important you come in earlier than not only regular duty hours but ahead of what the decided duty hour by your seniors are. This cost me my residency!

2. Please wear antiperspirant /deodorant and watch for curried breath, do not give them an opportunity to prove their preconceived notions about you.

2. Be confident, clear and slow: at least those with accents, it takes awhile to be understood. My English is not terrible (I had to memorize all of Julius Cesar in school) but if you do not pronounce K+/Ca+ as K-sium, Ca- sium and pronounce it as K-shium instead .. their world falls apart
(I realise Americans do not understand phrases like this that we use, so omit from language) and then one gets the derogatory foreigner/ IMG tag.

3. Choose a diverse program in larger cities, its surprising how discriminatory educated attending (let alone nurses, staff) can be
towards foreigners. There are occasional trumpists everywhere including healthcare. Go where you will be happier and save both your peace of mind and the progam's by choosing where you would fit in the best, are appreciated, cherished and where you feel positive!

4. Presentation is everything in this country. Look good and groomed at all times. Learn the American accent. I honestly thought South Asians faking an American accent was unneccessary and an overkill but Oh Boy! it sure works. Though this is something I doubt I will ever implement unless I pick it up naturally.

5. A big blunder I made was trusting co-residents as friends and over sharing personal details (again the ones of South Asian origin).
For some stupid reason everyone is super competitive trying to outdo one another and it is best not to trust other co-residents. I do not see a sense of camaraderie among co-residents, like what I have been used to. They treat it like a rat race instead. Probably because it is extremely competitive.

6. We are already at a disadvantage starting out when it comes to presentation style/ manner and EMR use. We also lack speed in typing but it can be learnt with practice andits helpful to use tools like Dragon technology. Schedule to come in early and start an Sub-Internship for 2 months in the hospital you match after you match.

7. Be proactive and volunteer to do more work, everyone will love you! No one assigns work over here, you get to do stuff only when you volunteer, so do not wait to be told what to do. Always search for some task or the other to do.

Anyhow Goodluck! Tread intern year carefully and hopefully it will get easy and you will enjoy your experience!

 

[cpants]

As a fellow IMG: They are skeptical of anything foreign or unfamiliar, pronunciation / language/ accent variations! We are at their doorstep and we have to learn to fit right in. There exists a well functioning system where our responsibilities are mainly to follow protocol for any given condition, it is standard throughout the US based on American guidelines with little variability between hospitals. Learn the system quickly and start following protocol, Unlike South Asian country practice, in the US there is no limitations on resources and there is little requirement to use your judgement wisely case by case, it is more important to just follow the protocol.
Also, co-residents generally just dislike IMG's beacuse they think we do not have loans, are walking textbooks and start younger (I had more issues from South Asian origin American students than others). Its easy for programs to fire IMG's because we are on a visa and will end up right back in our home country and are less likely to go attorney because we did not graduate from an American school and our education can be questioned. As an IMG you will always be targeted esp. if your program is not filled with other IMGs, so do not give them an opportunity to find faults, one really has to be extra careful.. till you have proven yourself.
Well I was technically kicked out of my program. The remediation procedure was a farce, it was decided early on to let go of me(1 month of starting residency). I wish they had not ranked me if such was the dislike. I barely knew what was happening and was called in to to sign multiple documents (those were the only times I actually met my program director in person.) and was out in a few months..

Some issues I faced as an IMG and advice to others, so that after greuling years of hardwork and effort you do not end up like me...
well I am an IMG from South Asian country
1. Be on time: Initially I would come in early but as I got a hang of it, I was always 5-10 minutes late to sign out (never beyond 20 minutes) though, I was well within the hospital on time. I was told that I was 3/4/5 minutes late. For some reason it is extremely important you come in earlier than not only regular duty hours but ahead of what the decided duty hour by your seniors are. This cost me my residency!

2. Please wear antiperspirant /deodorant and watch for curried breath, do not give them an opportunity to prove their preconceived notions about you.

2. Be confident, clear and slow: at least those with accents, it takes awhile to be understood. My English is not terrible (I had to memorize all of Julius Cesar in school) but if you do not pronounce K+/Ca+ as K-sium, Ca- sium and pronounce it as K-shium instead .. their world falls apart
(I realise Americans do not understand phrases like this that we use, so omit from language) and then one gets the derogatory foreigner/ IMG tag.

3. Choose a diverse program in larger cities, its surprising how discriminatory educated attending (let alone nurses, staff) can be
towards foreigners. There are occasional trumpists everywhere including healthcare. Go where you will be happier and save both your peace of mind and the progam's by choosing where you would fit in the best, are appreciated, cherished and where you feel positive!

4. Presentation is everything in this country. Look good and groomed at all times. Learn the American accent. I honestly thought South Asians faking an American accent was unneccessary and an overkill but Oh Boy! it sure works. Though this is something I doubt I will ever implement unless I pick it up naturally.

5. A big blunder I made was trusting co-residents as friends and over sharing personal details (again the ones of South Asian origin).
For some stupid reason everyone is super competitive trying to outdo one another and it is best not to trust other co-residents. I do not see a sense of camaraderie among co-residents, like what I have been used to. They treat it like a rat race instead. Probably because it is extremely competitive.

6. We are already at a disadvantage starting out when it comes to presentation style/ manner and EMR use. We also lack speed in typing but it can be learnt with practice andits helpful to use tools like Dragon technology. Schedule to come in early and start an Sub-Internship for 2 months in the hospital you match after you match.

7. Be proactive and volunteer to do more work, everyone will love you! No one assigns work over here, you get to do stuff only when you volunteer, so do not wait to be told what to do. Always search for some task or the other to do.

Anyhow Goodluck! Tread intern year carefully and hopefully it will get easy and you will enjoy your experience!

Nothing more annoying than an intern showing up 5-10 minutes late to sign out on a regular basis. Rude and disrespectful of everyone else's time. I would have fired you too, and that would have nothing to do with IMG status.

 

[michfried]

Nothing more annoying than an intern showing up 5-10 minutes late to sign out on a regular basis. Rude and disrespectful of everyone else's time. I would have fired you too, and that would have nothing to do with IMG status.

Nothing more annoying than an intern showing up 5-10 minutes late to sign out on a regular basis. Rude and disrespectful of everyone else's time. I would have fired you too, and that would have nothing to do with IMG status.

Feedback appreciated

 

[michfried]

Feedback appreciated

The starting time of the shift was 6am, the seniors expected us to come in at 4.30-5 am depending on what they said the previous day. Given the amount of work it was neccessary to come in then. As I got more comfortable and learned the system and was confident that I could finish my work before when the attending comes in for morning rounds I started coming in at 5-5.30. This did not go down well with some seniors who wanted me in at 5 or 4.30 as they decided. I also took the liberty to come in later as one senior had given me the assurance that as long as I can finish the work coming in before 6 is fine. But I am also a late lateef by habit, my standard time is always 5 min. behind the clock everywhere even if I am on the premise, so I see how I have to work on this.
More feedback please

 

[cpants]

Medicine is very hierarchical and the expectation is that you will do, within reason, what the senior members of your team instruct. So in addition to being routinely late, declining to comply with the expectations of your senior residents is also a problem.

 

[michfried]

Thanks, being early is supeeeeerrrrr important
Also obeying seniors

 

[deleted314957]

Anybody who was 3, 4 or 5 minutes to my lectures when I taught was locked out for the past 3, 4 or 5 minutes.

 

[DarkHorizon]

The starting time of the shift was 6am, the seniors expected us to come in at 4.30-5 am depending on what they said the previous day. Given the amount of work it was neccessary to come in then. As I got more comfortable and learned the system and was confident that I could finish my work before when the attending comes in for morning rounds I started coming in at 5-5.30. This did not go down well with some seniors who wanted me in at 5 or 4.30 as they decided. I also took the liberty to come in later as one senior had given me the assurance that as long as I can finish the work coming in before 6 is fine. But I am also a late lateef by habit, my standard time is always 5 min. behind the clock everywhere even if I am on the premise, so I see how I have to work on this.
More feedback please

This is a critical mistake as a first month intern. If you were my intern, I would have nipped it in the bud. And if you still kept showing up late, you’d be done.

 

[Todlee]

Why is being an IMG looked so down upon/places you at such a disadvantage for a specialty such as Uro or something alike?

It's also a communications barrier with your coworkers and especially your patients. For example, the way you wrote your sentence "something alike" is not a way a native US English speaker would phrase it.

 

[BlackLomein]

I am a native