Many resident physicians who are international medical school graduates (IMGs)—have already climbed bureaucratic mountains and tackled paperwork from the frustrating to the mundane. That is especially true for those who aren’t U.S. citizens. Those feeling overwhelmed in residency training can take heart in the knowledge that IMG physicians who were there before you say you are already uniquely prepared to take on the challenge of practicing medicine in the U.S.
“It was also a very steep learning curve, which occurs very early in our career, even starting from day one as a resident,” said Roopa Naik, MD, a hospitalist with Danville, Pennsylvania-based Geisinger. “One of the things that I feel as an IMG, we really have this resilience. I think it helps us develop this professional resilience, adapt and work under pressure.”
Dr. Naik graduated from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Medical College in Bengaluru, India, and completed her U.S. residency training in New York. She later joined Geisinger, which is part of the AMA Health System Member Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
IMG residents “have to be open to: OK, changes are going to happen and sometimes we like it, sometimes we don't like it, but we have to adapt,” said Dr. Naik, who is also the immediate past chair of the AMA International Medical Graduates Section (AMA-IMGS) Governing Council.
More than 25% of licensed U.S. doctors are IMGs, a group that includes both U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens who graduated from medical schools outside the U.S. And IMGs accounted for 9,682 matched applicants, roughly 23.6% of all matched positions, in the 2026 Main Residency Match. Of the IMGs who matched, roughly 30% were U.S. citizens.
Deepu Sudhakaran, MD, MBA, a bariatric surgeon in Chesterfield, Missouri, is the chair of the AMA IMG Section Governing Council.
Dr. Sudhakaran graduated from Medical College Thiruvananthapuram at the University of Kerala in India, completed surgical residency training in Louisiana, then did his fellowship training in South Carolina for minimally invasive and bariatric surgery.
The multitude of experiences gained by being an IMG physician helped Dr. Sudhakaran, he said, as well as his patients and employers.
“We actually have a broader experience, knowing a different system,” Dr. Sudhakaran said. “That’s actually a positive more than a negative, bringing a greater, wider experience to the American health system so that it gets better.”
As we mark AMA IMG Recognition Week, which runs Oct. 19–23, experienced IMG physicians took the time to share their hard-won advice on how to not only make it through residency training as an IMG but how to come out the other side more prepared, more confident and better-positioned to enter into a long career in medicine.
Read on to find out:
- How IMG residents can use their skills to their advantage during training.
- Why early planning for immigration pathways can shape career options.
- What to expect when adjusting to culture, team dynamics and patient communication.
- Whether to prepare for likely moves and job changes as an IMG physician.
- How the AMA advocates on behalf of IMGs.
- Why community, mentorship and AMA resources can help IMGs jumpstart their careers.
