PLEASE READ IT FULLY and COMMENT IT and SHARE IT! In the US there are hundreds and thousands of American citizens, who have dared to travel a long, suffering and excessively expensive road. They have dreamed sometime in their lives to serve the American people as doctors in different specialties. Sadly, after more than 8 years of studying without rest, without truce, days and nights, sacrificing not only their hours of sleep and rest, but even quality time with their children, wives / husbands and their family leaving everything behind; they leave to international medical schools in the Caribbean Islands or other Countries, because their Academic trajectory did not reach high numbers (GPA-MCAT) which is the first thing that the US medical schools look at instead of looking at their passion, their personal history and their desire to be a true physician, dedicated to his profession for the care of people. They submerge in the odious and frightening field of indebtedness that is irresponsibly granted by the U.S department of Education, with debts over $400,000 dollars; they arrive at the "glorious" moment of receiving their much-desired MD (Medical Doctor) diploma, known in the US as MD Graduate; since Americans who have gone abroad to suffer even further from home, obtain medical degrees that have to be certified by an entity known as ECFMG who makes them credentials to be recognized in U.S not as MD's but as IMG's (International Medical Graduates). And this is not all, they must present the cumbersome process of licensing with the USMLE for its acronym in English UNITED STATES MEDICAL LICENSING EXAMINATION, and the NBME acronym for NATIONAL BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINATION, tests that, to be honest, should also be evaluated. Since first, they test the ability of memorization and of taking a test (STEP 1) before a true clinical and objective knowledge that a just Graduate must have after his experience as a student who has hardly had the opportunity to follow their medical tutors, without being able to have any contact with the patient, and that in many occasions their tutors do not even had the humbleness to teach or explain well to their "victims" because they are too busy. This is a harsh reality for many Graduates, so they feel the need to look for a way to achieve the knowledge they want; then comes the other "monster": The Independent Educational companies (KAPLAN, UWORLD, FIRST AID) among many others, or better said The Private Medical Education industry of millions of dollars created at the expense of the student who has spent more than eight years of his short life, in expensive universities and Med Schools that bleed their pockets and the family economy, but that The Schools could not or did not have the ability to teach the minuscule and subjective details that are asked in these National exams of the Board of Medicine. In those exams no matter if you are going to be a Psychiatrist, or an Ophthalmologist, you have to learn by heart lots of stuff that you won't use ever again such as the Krebs’s cycle, to give a small example. So in addition to being indebted to the U.S Department of Education, you must get into debt with your credit cards to pay expensive "review" courses, Q-banks, NBME practice exams, and finally the expensive STEPS 1, 2CK, 2 CS , 3, which cost about US$5000 dollars. Now, did you pass the STEPS? You are a lucky one, now you enter into another process that is a pain in the neck, overwhelming, and guess what? Expensive! Apply to tens or hundreds of hospitals to get a place for your Residency in the specialty you want, or rather I say that you "have" even if you do not like it, or it is not the one you have dreamed of, (This explains the high level of suicides of doctors with money but empty souls) to receive for 3 or 4 years a salary that even a lawn-keeper could earn without having High School Diploma (my profound respect to those hard workers). After 4 years of been a Hospital "Slave" Resident, I've been told that they begin to stabilize at least financially. But wait, what happens with those MD graduates, or the IMGs that for some compelling reason have not been able to pass all their exams? Or with those who, although they passed their exams, did not have the happiness of obtaining a spot for a specialty? Answer: THEY CAN NOT PRACTICE IN ANY MEDICINE FIELD, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE BETTER PREPARED THAN A PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT (PA), A NURSE PRACTITIONER (NP), AND THE MOST SORRY NOR A MEDICAL ASSISTANT CAN BE. WHY? The Health system does not allow a person without a license to work or be hired. Let me be clear, an MD Graduate or an IMG has been prepared for at least 8 years to receive your diploma as a Physician, but can not hold a Physician Assistant (PA) position who was prepared for 2-3 years, a nurse practitioner (NP) who has been instructed for maybe 4-6 years and they did not have to learn the Krebs’s cycle (Sarcasm), or a Medical Assistant (MA) that received her certification or License in less than 6 months, because thy are not Certified or Licensed as them. This puts me out of my box, so how one of these MD Graduates or IMGs can survive financially while they get their License and a residency spot for a specialty and start practice and pay their huge loans? Answer: Sad but true there are many possible options: UBER, LIFT, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, Target, Valet Parking, etc. I humbly ask you to support this petition to the Healthcare authorities, to allow Medical Graduates to work in clinical areas that they demonstrate to be capable of, without more obstacles and requirements of licenses that they overpass just for the fact, they obtained their MD Diploma, and work under supervision so they can be in the clinical field working and learning, making some decent money to support their families in the mean while they continue pursuing the MD license and their specialties. Otherwise, everybody is going to lose; Graduates can get disappointed and change careers, families will be in jeopardy, due to their failure and financial debts, and the Country because there is a big shortage of physicians according to the U.S population, which later is going to cost more to the Country bringing Foreign Doctors, as its already happening. American doctors first, so money stays in America, and shortage problem can be easily solve, inviting doctors from other nationalities. I hope this open heart true story letter can open some authorities' eyes and move some hearts toward this population, that silently suffers the struggle of the impotence and frustration that they can't practice, the anxiety of being in debt, and the responsibility to support their families. I would like to continue telling you more about this hidden real scenario, but unfortunately I have to go; I need to continue with my IMG/MD candidate process, while I’m still looking for a job, and call the banks to hold my credit card payments. If you like to sign a petition to the health authorities please click the following link, https://www.change.org/p/united-sta...m_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition Sincerely, An U.S IMG Read more at: https://forum.facmedicine.com/conve...t-https-forum-facmedicine-com-conversat.8936/
