International Medical Graduates (IMG) toolkit: Academic opportunities & scope of practice

Nearly one-fourth of the active U.S. physician workforce are foreign graduates and international medical graduates (IMGs). Their proportion is higher in primary care and specialties like pediatrics, nephrology, geriatric medicine, and psychiatry. IMGs tend to practice in designated rural and underserved areas serving the disadvantaged population with chronic disease burdens, lack of insurance, poverty and lack of access to health care. AMA offers information on the types of visas available to IMGs.

Scope of practice and barriers

Over one-fourth of the active U.S. physician workforce are foreign medical graduates and IMG. Non-immigrant or immigrant visas are needed for IMG physicians to legally practice in the U.S. when they are not U.S. citizens.

IMG physicians face several barriers in their goals and aspirations towards a career in academic medicine. Some of the significant barriers are:

• As J-1 waiver and H-1B employment opportunities are in specific settings and geographical locations, it is often difficult for IMG physicians to nurture their academic and scholarly aspirations.
• IMG physicians are usually trained in hospital-based programs. Mentorship and preparation for an academic career are often not a part of the training.
• A lack of a systems model for an academic career is another reason that might discourage IMG physicians from seeking out academic employment.
• Systematic exclusion is also a reason leading to discrepancies in leadership positions and promotions among IMG physicians.