The IMG Roadmap Podcast

Serving as a family medicine physician with a sports medicine specialty, and as a successful entrepreneur, Cameroonian-American Dr. George Tabi proves that IMGs can do it all!

Born and raised in New York City to Cameroonian parents, Dr. Tabi grew up seeing the challenges that the people in his area faced. After his father moved back to Cameroon because of work, he witnessed his mother working hard to support their family which eventually led her to become a nurse.

While he was always encouraged to become a doctor, Dr. Tabi had a keen interest in sports which led to his obtaining a basketball scholarship to attend Reinhardt University. After sustaining a leg injury, Dr. Tabi’s focus pivoted into medicine and eventually to Poland where he enrolled in a six year medical program.

He noted that while there were drawbacks to studying outside of the US, the training he received in Europe was highly beneficial, especially due to the fact that his professors were highly passionate  practicing physicians with lots of clinical experience. Additionally, the assessment methods used there were sometimes oral-based and overall very different from the methods he was used to in the US. As a result, during residency, his perspective and approach to issues faced within the medical field differed significantly from that of his US-trained colleagues.

In the final year of his medical program, Dr. Tabi started applying for US residencies all over the country and scored 15 interviews. However, he only ended up attending 3 of them because the third offered him a pre-match residency position on the spot!

When asked how he did it, he admitted that he did not go into that interview with the best of mindsets at first, but pulled it together keeping the following tips in mind:

Some key takeaways and inspirational nuggets that Dr. Tabi leaves us with are:

You can get in touch with Dr. Tabi on his Instagram @AskTabs and on his website asktabswellness.com.

Listen to the full podcast episode here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/45NNJ7ewtqynqyssbwm1xz

Google Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1490731292/the-img-roadmap-podcast

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-img-roadmap-GE0MMg

Dr. Ima Ebong is a native of the Bahamas who is practicing on a J-1 visa.  Though she went to medical school in the US, that process wasn't straightforward as she was still considered an IMG. Listen to her perspective on getting into US medical training as an international student. You can read more about her here.

Dr. Ima Ebong forms part of the expert team at the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute where she assesses and cares for patients who have epilepsy and neuromuscular disorders.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a master’s in bioengineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.  After having completed her studies, she served within the Ministry of Health in the Bahamas which inspired her to start medical school. 

The journey to becoming a physician was far from an easy one. However, Dr. Ebong, despite several setbacks, persevered and was finally offered a place at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of medicine, and later at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami where she completed her residency and a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology. 

Currently, she is appointed as an assistant professor of neurology and clinical neurophysiology at UK College of Medicine. 

Dr. Ebong is also passionate about diversity and the representation of ethnic minorities in the medical field.  As such, for many years she has founded or been involved in various programs geared at increasing inclusivity of underrepresented minorities in the medical field. 

Her clinical interests include general neurology, focal epilepsy, generalized epilepsy, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, neuropathy, myopathy, motor neuron disease and electrodiagnostics.

Dr. Ebong's advises prospective international medical students and IMGs alike to:

You can reach out to Dr. Ebong on twitter @ImaEbongMD or at the University of Kentucky's website. 

Listen to the full episode here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/45NNJ7ewtqynqyssbwm1xz

Google Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1490731292/the-img-roadmap-podcast

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-img-roadmap-GE0MMg

Though is well known that it can be especially challenging for an IMG to land a residency position in orthopedic surgery, Dr. Adrian Huang defied the odds which seemed to be stacked against him, and still manages to serve with a smile today. He joins us on this episode to tell us exactly how he did it!

His journey was far from traditional. In fact, he attributes his interest in orthopedic surgery to an instance where he had applied for a general surgery elective and instead was offered one in orthopedic surgery, since all of the general surgery spots were taken.  From there, he tailored his electives to suit that goal, built networks, worked diligently and used his free time over the summer holidays to organize informal electives where he got hands-on experience and made himself known within the field. 

Even as an attending surgeon, Dr. Adrian still maintains a thriving social media presence where he not only documents his journey and gives a unique perspective into the behind the scenes of being a doctor, but is also known for his positivity, and ability to inspire others. 

Some important pieces of advice that he swears by are:

Some key takeaways from Dr. Adrian include:

You can learn more or contact Dr. Adrian via:

And on his website www.scrubbedout.com

Listen to the full episode at the links below:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-img-roadmap-podcast/id1490731292

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/45NNJ7ewtqynqyssbwm1xz

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1490731292/the-img-roadmap-podcast

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-img-roadmap-podcast-GE0MMg

Interested in landing the residency of your dreams despite being a non-traditional IMG? Dr. Eva Beaulieu is not only dedicated to saving lives, but is also determined to inspire, lead and guide prospective doctors all over the world to achieve their goals. 

Tune in this week to hear more about her unique journey and to nab some of her priceless inspirational gems, some of which were published in her instructional novel, "Paging Doctor You."

Dr. Eva Beaulieu was born in Haiti and moved to the US at the age of 15 where she attended high-school and pursued her undergraduate degree at Florida Atlantic University. Both of her parents are doctors, with her late father being a radiologist and her mother being a dermatologist who eventually transitioned into family medicine after moving the US. 

Due to her background, she was always interested in becoming a physician, and so aligned herself with students of similar backgrounds and aspirations while at college. Partially due to their inspiration, she decided to pursue her medical degree in England for two years before transferring to the Ross University. She completed her clinical rotations in the US and qualified for residency in the state of Georgia where she currently resides and serves as in internal medicine hospitalist. 

As an IMG, especially one of Afro-Caribbean descent, she also noted the different perspectives of US medical graduates during residency. Though their journeys were not the same, she couldn't help but notice the similarities in the challenges they faced. 

As such, some of her inspirational nuggets include:

Some key takeaways include:

You can learn more about Dr. Eva Beaulieu on her:

Are you eager to get yourself a copy of Dr. Beaulieu's novel, "Paging Doctor You"? We're having a giveaway! To qualify, simply leave a review of this episode wherever you listen to your podcasts and get a chance to win a copy of this book along with Dr. Lum's book "Beyond Challenges."

Listen to the full episode at the links below:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-img-roadmap/id1490731292 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/45NNJ7ewtqynqyssbwm1xz

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz 

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1490731292/the-img-roadmap-podcast

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-img-roadmap-GE0MMg

Have you ever considered becoming an ENT resident? 

In this week’s episode, Dr. Noor Sajjadi, a newly minted intern in the highly competitive field of otolaryngology and a non-traditional US-IMG, inspires us with her story of resilience, dedication and most importantly, intentionality.

Having been born and raised in the United States, Dr. Noor, despite being three months into her undergraduate degree program at UC Berkeley, made the difficult decision of enrolling into a five year medical program at the Aga Khan University in Pakistan. 

Throughout her medical education, Dr. Noor always operated under the principles of hard work, determination and intentionality. As soon as she discovered her interest in the field of otolaryngology, and with her goal of practicing in the US in mind, every decision she made thenceforth was geared towards achieving that dream. 

While in medical school, she pursued US clinical rotations and after having graduated in 2016, engaged in several research opportunities both clinical and basic science oriented. 

One of her research fellowships was in the auditory lab at Stanford University in the basic science capacity, and despite it not being heavily clinical, it gave her the opportunity to have a comparatively holistic understanding of the field. 

Her first time applying for residency in the ENT field was in 2019, which at first did not yield results. However, Dr. Noor used this as a learning experience and sought valuable feedback, which eventually led to her landing the match in 2020. 

As such, this episode focuses offers these priceless takeaways: 

You can contact Dr. Noor to find out more about her inspiring story via Instagram @thestrugglingdoc

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-img-roadmap/id1490731292

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/45NNJ7ewtqynqyssbwm1xz

Google Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1490731292/the-img-roadmap-podcast

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-img-roadmap-GE0MMg

This week’s show features the dynamic Dr. Sarpoma Sefa-Boakye, a family medicine physician from the US, with Ghanian roots.

Dr. Sarpoma attended the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana,Cuba. Contrary to popular belief, it was always her dream to attend an international medical school, despite her being a US citizen. From a young age, she was passionate about international art and culture which contributed to her having been awarded a partial scholarship for her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).There, she studied pre-medicine along with international development studies, which served to broaden her world view by affording her the opportunity to travel to Ghana, the land of her heritage, where she had the pleasure of meeting Cuban trained doctors who served there. It was from that moment that she became interested in studying medicine in Cuba which later became a reality when she received a full scholarship to do so. 

Dr. Sarpoma always knew she wanted to practice in the US after her education, and with that goal in mind, she persevered until she achieved a residency match in family medicine in the state of California. She faced several challenges including the fact that in her final two years, she became a mother, which coupled with the adjustments necessary to assimilate back into a completely different medical academic system, were obstacles that she overcame that shaped her personal journey. 

Today, she is a board certified family physician who works both independently and with community clinics in her fields of interest, namely adolescent health care and women’s reproductive rights. Though challenging, she sees the fact that she studied in a foreign country in a foreign language as an asset, as it served as a tool to make her resilient, mature and compassionate when dealing with patients of all backgrounds. 

This Episode focuses on:

Some key takeaways include:

You can reach out to Dr. Sarpoma via:

Instagram @dr.sarpoma

Youtube @Dr. Sarpoma MD

Listen to the full episode at the links below:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-img-roadmap-podcast/id1490731292

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/45NNJ7ewtqynqyssbwm1xz

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1490731292/the-img-roadmap-podcast

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-img-roadmap-podcast-GE0MMg

This week’s show is an interview with Dr. Ash Soni, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon from the UK.

Dr. Soni attended Imperial Medical School in London. While in school he began electives in the US to get a feel for whether he would pursue residency in the US. He started with a match into a research fellowship at Cornel leading to a match into general surgery at Johns Hopkins. His time in the US was rounded out with a match in plastic and reconstructive surgery in Seattle at University of Washington, followed by a year long fellowship back in the UK. After all his training, Dr. Soni started his own private clinic, The Soni Clinic.

Along with his story of determination and growth, Dr. Soni gives us a few pieces of advice to carry along our own journeys.

In this episode you will learn:

The importance of doing the early background work and research to prepare before coming to the US

The importance of setting standards for yourself as an IMG

The advantage of being as published as possible before applying for residency

The benefit of applying broadly for general surgery residency positions versus specialties

Dr. Soni also gives us some important takeaways:

It’s important to know what you’re worth

You shouldn’t settle when you have the opportunity for something better

Take the time to find institutions that respect and invest in the success of IMGs

Be realistic and know what is attainable for you

Nothing is impossible - it just depends on how hard you’re willing to work

You can read his full interview from 2019 on my blog  by clicking HERE

If you would like to reach out to Dr. Soni, you can connect with him on Instagram @thesoniclinic

You can still do the things you did not get done in 2020.

But in order to do those, you need a plan, a roadmap and a vision.

In this episode, I help you make this your best year yet with vision planning. 

The 4 components of vision planning :

- With vision planning, begin by reassessing failed plans from the last year

- Ask introspective questions to determine root causes

- Writing helps create clarity

- Visual representation helps reinforce priorities on an ongoing basis

You will also hear me share about the calendar I have created to help you map out a plan for the year. 

This calendar is perfect with tips for each month for the IMG looking to apply into the match for 2022! 

You can download this FREE calendar at drninalum.com/calendar

Cheers to a new year!

P.S. If you need any help with your vision board, take my free course on "How To Manifest Your Vision"  by clicking HERE.

This week’s podcast is an interview with Dr. Wafa Qulikhan. Dr. Qulikhan is an IMG from Saudi Arabia who attended medical school in China. After graduation in 2016, she came to the United States with the intentions of applying to residency. Instead she found herself in an observership in family medicine doing standard tasks and documentation. This led her into the world of clinical research as a research coordinator at University of Texas.

Along with hearing Dr. Qulikhan’s unique perspective and journey, you will also learn:

The value of research experience

The importance of networking

The responsibilities of a research coordinator

How to find and prepare for research positions

Here are just a few key takeaways from Dr. Qulikhan:

There is a place for IMGs outside of a clinical setting

You aren’t limited by the statistics for IMGs

Be aware of the differences in the experiences of those you ask for advice

You can pursue what you desire

You can create your own path

If you want to get in touch with Dr. Qulikhan, you can reach out through Instagram @doc.wj

To learn about clinical trials happening near you, visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/

Listen to the full episode at the links below:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-img-roadmap-podcast/id1490731292

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/45NNJ7ewtqynqyssbwm1xz

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1490731292/the-img-roadmap-podcast

RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/the-img-roadmap-podcast-GE0MMg

What if you could sign into a portal and be immediately redirected to browse clinicians and hospitals willing to have you rotate with them?

Well, there is another IMG out there who has created a platform like this to help other international medical students find rotations. Oh, do not be alarmed, even graduates can find observerships here too!

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from IMG’s evolve around the topic of USCE (United States Clinical Experience) and how to find and fund clinical rotations.

As a result of that, on this episode I invited Dr. Umair Elahi, a hospital medicine physician and previous graduate of Windsor University School Of Medicine, St. Kitts who is  now board certified in Internal Medicine. As a student, Dr. Elahi rotated through the Chicago area and personally experienced the pain of seeking out high quality rotations. His mother, also a practicing ER and primary care physician and preceptor for medical students also battled with the opportunistic nature of the foreign medical education "system" and how they unfairly treated attending physicians and  IMG's alike.

So, what did Dr. Elahi do?

He partnered up with 2 other colleagues to create what I call, "the UBER for clinical rotations".  I invited them to sponsor this episode so you can learn how they are outing the old and ushering in a new way of obtaining rotations that favors the student.  USDoctor.co is a one-stop solution for healthcare professionals. The network holds top-tiered talent from around the globe; while providing you accessibility, streamlined solutions, speedy processes all on one platform. They provide you the technology to bring all healthcare professionals together so IMG's can pick and choose with whom to work with based on their preferences. 

Listen to this episode to learn how Dr. Elahi is helping IMG’s find US Clinical Experience by redefining healthcare for international medical students.

Dr. Umair Elahi, MD, is a trained Internal Medicine physician, and a physician executive in healthcare management. Over the past 11 years, Dr. Elahi has taken care of tens of thousands of patients and their families. He has connected with each one on a personal level by gaining their trust, admiration, and respect by providing them the care and treatment, and most importantly providing them the knowledge, education, resources, and tools to better their health.

You can sign up today by using this link: https://usdoctors.co/

USDOCTORS.CO does just that and they are sponsoring this episode to share this great resource with you.