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This episode puts the spotlight on some of our IMG guests who serve in a surgeon capacity at their respective hospitals, namely Dr. Stanley Ogu, Dr. Amara Okoye, Dr. Ash Soni and Dr. Brett Johnson.
Dr. Stanley Ogu
DR. STANLEY OGU is a Nigerian born, international medical graduate turned board certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Stanley Ogu is a cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon with Lexington Plastic Surgeons in Sugar Land, Texas. He is a candidate member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery and an associate fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Ogu is well liked by his patients for his warm and caring personality, as well as his attention to detail. He is committed to helping patients achieve their unique desired results and become the best version of themselves, through both surgical and non-surgical techniques.
Listen to Dr. Ogu’s full episode here!
Dr. Amara Okoye
Do you ever feel like becoming a surgeon is impossible just because you went to a Caribbean medical school? Or maybe that your need for visa sponsorship for residency makes it unheard of? If you have any desire to become a surgeon, then listen on.
Dr. Okoye is à Canadian- American who graduated from Ross University. She categorizes herself as a student who struggled through undergraduate education. Yet, she vowed that she wasn’t going to allow herself to struggle through medical school. So what did she do?
Listen to Dr. Okoye’s full episode here!
Dr. Ash Soni
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 Cornell 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.
Listen to Dr. Soni’s full episode here!
Dr. Brett Johnson
Can an IMG have a competitive enough application to land a surgery-based residency? The short answer is yes - but not without hard work and determination!
Coming to share his story of persistence, grit and consistent effort, Guyanese-born PGY2 general surgery resident Dr. Brett Johnson joins us on this episode hoping to inspire IMGs all over the world.
Dr. Johnson's path to residency was not without obstacles. He faced several challenges including adjusting to the American system when it came to USMLE exams.
This episode is based on a webinar which was held to help intentional, hard-working, self-starting IMGs to write personal statements that yield results.
Keep listening to find out how to use your personal statement to make your ERAS application stand out!
Here are a few of the most important tips worth using when drafting your personal statement:
What is the importance of understanding your audience?
Therefore, as an IMG, you should consider:
What role does story-telling play in writing an excellent personal statement?
As such, a good story must be:
It must also encompass:
Red flags to avoid:
Finally, the three step process to write an outstanding personal statement is as follows:
To learn more about personal statement writing, you can sign up for the IMGRoadmap Course, or access free resources on drninalum.com.
How can you as an IMG overcome your inevitable challenges and land residency in a specialty as competitive as internal medicine? Pakistani-born Dr. Fareeha Nasir approached the residency application process with determination and confidence, which ultimately led to her gaining success. Keep listening to find out her advice to help you do the same!
Dr. Nasir graduated from the Islamabad medical and dental college, Islamabad, Pakistan in 2019. She recently joined her medical residency in New York as of July 1st 2021.
When asked about the challenges she had to overcome along her US medical residency journey, Dr. Nasir highlighted the following:
As such, Dr. Nasir advises IMGs who share similar challenges to:
With regard to residency applications in particular, Dr. Nasir gives the following advice:
As such, throughout her application story, Dr. Nasir:
Dr. Nasir did all this under her mantra for success which reads:
She is eager to help other IMGs along their own journeys. You can reach out to her via:
Listen to the full episode using:
Apple, Spotify & Google Podcasts.
Are you curious as to how you can combine your Family Medicine residency with your other passions? Family Medicine attending Dr. Esther Nkem Ufot who also specializes in Obesity and Lifestyle Medicine is here to show you that it is possible!
Currently serving in Atlanta, Dr. Ufot attended medical school at the University of Benin, Nigeria, where she graduated in 2011, before migrating to the US that same year.
Dr. Ufot was always passionate about preventative medicine. As such, she elected to focus on Obesity Medicine. She also stated the following as some of the possible Family Medicine pathways and opportunities:
Dr. Ufot also discussed the following challenges that she experienced when transitioning to working in the US:
When asked how she was able to achieve success, Dr. Ufot stressed the importance of networking and mentorship. Here are a few of the highlights of her story which exemplified this:
As such, here are a few of the highlights of Dr. Ufot’s match story:
With her journey in mind, Dr. Ufot states the following inspirational key points to share with IMGs:
You can reach out to Dr. Ufot to find out more about her extraordinary journey via her Instagram @drnkemufot.
Listen to the full episode using:
Apple, Spotify & Google Podcasts.
Calling in from Las Vegas, Nevada, Dr. Chase DiMarco joins us today to talk about his new platform called FindARotation.
As an IMG himself, Dr. DiMarco experienced the struggle that many students face when trying to find clinical rotations in the United States. He knows first hand the hassle of contacting physicians personally, reaching out to program coordinators and even going through rotation agencies to no avail.
With these challenges in mind, it is Dr. DiMarco’s goal to provide a viable, efficient and overall better alternative to help students find clinical rotations in the US.
Thus, in 2019, FindARotation was born. In that year, Dr. DiMarco had found himself guiding other students through the harrowing process of finding rotations and thought that they would all benefit from something more automated and effective.
The platform is currently in development, where Dr. DiMarco is working tirelessly along with software engineers to ensure that the platform meets his personal standards and those of the physicians that it is to serve in the future.
The platform’s official release date is estimated to be in July of 2021 and even in its Beta stages has approximately 60 physicians and 160 students ready to participate!
Dr. DiMarco hopes to emulate the infamous AirBnB platform, in that the key points of FindARotation will be as follows:
What specialties can IMGs expect to see on FindARotation?
Dr. DiMarco remarked that every type of specialty has shown interest thus far.
There are particularly many family and internal medicine opportunities due to the constant need for primary care providers.
There are also telemedicine and lesser known specialties such as preventative and sports medicine.
Dr. DiMarco outlines the following as the goal of FindARotation:
You can reach out to Dr. DiMarco to learn more about how you can be a part of the future of medical education via:
Listen to the full episode using:
Apple, Spotify & Google Podcasts.
Making the decision to pursue residency in the United States can indeed seem daunting and challenging, especially if you are not used to the US medical and educational system. Though it is true that it takes quite a bit of adjusting, IMGs like Dr. Isabelle Mulango are here to tell you that it is possible!
When asked to share her match story, Dr. Mulango outlined the following challenges she faced and how she overcame them:
Throughout the entire process from medical school to landing residency, Dr. Mulango has maintained a positive outlook and attitude. To inspire IMGs to do the same, she dropped the following gems of advice:
You can also find out more information about the revolutionary IMGRoadmap course here, or visit drninalum.com for a variety of free resources. Take charge and create your own medical success story today!
Listen to the full episode here:
Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/76-imgroadmap-series-84-dr-isabelle-mulango-internal/id1490731292?i=1000528445970
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/episode/7JqdLP8U1ixb7nxZokkOPq
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz/episode/MDM0ZDJmNTQtMGI0OS00Y2YxLTkxZTQtZTA0M2E2ZmUyNDRl?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiYjOu9w4vyAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQYg
Can an IMG have a competitive enough application to land a surgery-based residency? The short answer is yes - but not without hard work and determination! Coming to share his story of persistence, grit and consistent effort, PGY2 general surgery resident Dr. Brett Johnson joins us on this episode hoping to inspire IMGs all over the world.
During his time as a house officer in Trinidad, Dr. Johnson decided to move to the United States and apply into Orthopedic Surgery residency programs. Unfortunately, he did not land a position in that field, but decided to take that perceived failure as an opportunity for introspection and sought to reapply the following year with an improved application package for a preliminary residency position.
Dr. Johnson's path to residency was not without obstacles. He faced several challenges including adjusting to the American system when it came to USMLE exams, EMRs, timing and the entire residency application process. Therefore, he advises IMGs from similar backgrounds to:
Here are Dr. Johnson's success mantras:
You can reach out to Dr. Johnson via his Instagram: @iamdrjohnson.
Can IMGs without any connections or clinical experience in the United States still land the residency position of their dreams? Dr. Sherley Chhibber joins us today to show how she achieved the impossible and cemented her opportunity as an incoming PGY-1 in Internal Medicine at the Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Philadelphia.
Dr. Chhibber, while completing the final years of her medical education at the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College in Jaipur India, made the decision to start preparing for the USMLE exams with the goal of applying for residency in the US. Though the first time she applied she was not successful, Dr. Chhibber only used this perceived setback to motivate her to improve her application and apply again. The second time she applied, she got through to one of her top programs!
Here are some of the highlights of Dr. Chhibber’s interview where she dropped countless inspirational gems coming from her unique perspective:
And after having shared her interesting success story, Dr. Chhibber leaves the following inspirational tidbits:
You can reach out to Dr. Chhibber through her Instagram @drchibs and you can read more about her journey on her blog.
Listen to the full episode:
Have you been convinced that anesthesiology is too competitive for IMGs to get into? Incoming anesthesiology resident Dr. Cynthia Tan joins us on this episode to share her amazing story of overcoming self-doubt and pursuing her dreams, despite the many challenges she faced. Keep listening to find out how you can do the same!
Malaysian-born Dr. Tan, who migrated to Australia at an early age, completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences and then decided she wanted to pursue a career in medicine. She attended her first two years of medical school in Malaysia, followed by her clinical years at the University of Warwick in England. After completing one year of internship in England, she opted to apply for US residency, and she was classified as a Non-US IMG.
Here are a few of the highlights of her interview:
Today, Dr. Tan is passionate about cooking, mental health and mentorship. The IMG journey is tough, but so are you! Work hard, but please look after yourself along the way. If she can do it, so can you!
Listen to the full episode at:
Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/73-imgroadmap-series-81-dr-cynthia-tan-anesthesiology/id1490731292?i=1000526095225
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1moYj7kvExEi36Lul8FPxh
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz/episode/MjdjOGU3MGEtNTBiNy00ZjY4LTlmYWYtMmI0MThmMDkyNzRj?sa=X&ved=0CA0QkfYCahcKEwj4_p2UrLTxAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ
At one point or another we all experience unforeseen circumstances which may lead to delays or changes throughout our journeys; but what matters is how we overcome these obstacles and use them to propel us. In this episode, soon to be Internal Medicine Resident Dr. Mishaal Zia shows us how she used her delays and challenges to her advantage and successfully landed her residency position!
Unfortunately, the first time she applied for residency, she received two interviews but did not match into either program. With renewed motivation, she applied a second time after having improved her application package, and this time landed nine interviews eventually leading to her matching at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
When asked what she did differently during her second match cycle to achieve such a level of success, Dr. Mishaal cited the following:
Now that she has landed her residency position, Dr. Mishaal shared the following as her personal mantras for success:
You can reach out to Dr. Mishaal at [email protected]
Listen to the full episode using the following links:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/72-imgroadmap-series-80-dr-mishaal-zia-internal-medicine/id1490731292?i=1000525233863
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1J9ssLvy9Pns8naogWooFX
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9mOGMzY2EwL3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz/episode/ZmNjNDY2YzMtZTk3OC00NjIzLTkwMjktNDU0NTE4NGIwZWNk?sa=X&ved=0CAYQkfYCahcKEwjo25nlp7TxAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQTg
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