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FEATURE

his fellowship in Cardiology at the University of
Virginia this summer. “Most of the IMGs are very
motivated. They live more than 4,000 miles away
from their families, with limited resources. They are
tough, and they cherish the opportunity of being
here. They are very hard-working and collaborative,
which makes them stand out.”
Saad is from Lahore, Pakistan, and he completed
a 5-year medical program at Shifa College of Med-
icine in Islamabad. During his last year of medical
school, he did four months of clinical electives in
the U.S. During that time, Saad discovered how
much he liked the U.S. healthcare system, the resi-
dents, the way they cared for their patients, and af-
firmed his passion for clinical research. After
graduating from medical school in 2012, Saad spent
most of 2013 studying for and taking the USMLE
board exams, all while working in his medical
school and doing research. At the end of 2013, he
took an unpaid research assistant position at Thomas Jefferson Col- Impact on patient care:
lege of Medicine in Philadelphia, were he remained until he matched Drs. Badawy and Ghumman are examples of IMGs, hard-work-
here in March, 2015. Like many immigrants, “I came here to be the ing physicians who provide excellent patient care and are crucial to
best version of myself professionally,” Saad says. Saad cites the im- the survival of the U.S. healthcare system. In fact, 25 percent of the
mense support in clinical research and superb quality of education current U.S. physician workforce is comprised of physicians who
to be among the main factors behind wanting to train and practice completed their medical education overseas. Furthermore, they con-
in the U.S. “The quality of medical education here is excellent. The stitute 35 percent of the primary care physicians, supplying a dire
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attendings focus on educating medical students and residents, and need for such services. Additionally, IMGs are more likely than
they make everyone feel like they’re an integral part of the team.” their American Medical Graduates (AMGs) to practice in under-
That opinion is shared by Dr. Jack Badawy, MD, a hospitalist at served areas. They do that because they believe the opportunity
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the University Hospital in San Antonio who also completed his res- given to them in this country is priceless.
idency training in Internal Medicine at UTHSA. “Medical education According to Norcini et al, an analysis of nearly 250,000 conges-
and residency training here are well-organized, up-to-date, and res- tive heart failure and acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations
idents do feel supported throughout their training.” Born in New revealed an interesting finding: the mortality rate was lower among
York City to an Egyptian-American father and an American mother, patients cared for by IMGs and AMGs who were non-U.S. citizens
Jack left for Egypt at age 7. While there, he would visit the U.S. dur- at the time of entering medical school than among patients whose
ing the summer. Jack obtained his medical degree at the University doctors were U.S.-medical school graduates or U.S. citizens who re-
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of Alexandria-Faculty of Medicine in Alexandria, Egypt, after com- ceived their degrees overseas. This study was not a fluke. Indeed,
pleting a 6-year in-class medical curriculum and a 1-year inpatient a more recent observational study published in the British Medical
internship in 2011. He then studied for the USMLE board exams Journal last year found that patients treated by IMGs, despite having
while working as a general practitioner for more than a year. Dr. more chronic conditions on average, had a lower 30-day mortality
Badawy also did a medical observership in Bethlehem, Pa. Upon rate than patients treated by AMGs. 4
finishing his residency training in internal medicine at UTHSA in Furthermore, Drs. Ghumman and Badawy believe that IMGs con-
2016, he attended a 1-year fellowship in academic medicine at The tribute in unique ways to patient care. “In addition to contributing to
University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center. In 2017, the diversity of the resident body, one other advantage IMGs bring
Dr. Badawy joined the faculty of internists at University Hospital is their open-mindedness and their tolerance of patients of all back-
in San Antonio. grounds,” says Dr. Badawy. “Also, by practicing medicine in a devel-
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