1 out of 4 doctors in the United States graduated from international medical schools, yet according to a study presented at ASCO24, these doctors remain victims of discrimination at frequent rates.
So the going back home study is led by my mentee, Doctor Coral Lanza Gaste from the University of Miami. The study um is a reflection of our experiences as international medical graduates. So what is the international medical graduate is a physician that completed medical school outside of the United States. We come to this country. We have to learn medicine in a different language, different cultures and different uh behaviors. So the study explore the experience of international medical graduates and oncology and it was done by an anonymous survey that was uh distribute online and publicized in social media and through channels unique to international medical graduates. We found that one of the number one reasons to move to the United States was to seek better education opportunities for research and additionally financial uh stability. We also had a group of international medical graduates that moved to the United States to do political reasons and personal safety at their home country. Something was very striking is that irregardless of the training. A lot of the international medical graduates face significant discrimination and biases. And it's important to mention that 25% of the doctors in the United States are international medical graduates. So we are not a little small cohort but 1/4 of the practicing doctors. So the discrimination comes secondary to our accent difference in traditions, difference how medicine is practiced. And most importantly, because we don't fit the box of what a doctor is supposed to look in the United States. So this is a burden that many of us carry daily. And this is the study that for the first time is exploring this in hematology and oncology. We all train the same when it comes to medicine. When it comes to residency and fellowship. Many of us have trained in the United States at high level institutions. So this brings attention to our daily experience or live experiences and how just coming from a different medical school can put you in a different box regardless of your accomplishment, regardless of where you practice, how much you have published and how much funding you have.
