UCLA IMG Program
Encyclopedia
The UCLA International Medical Graduate (IMG) Program is a non-profit educational program for International Medical Graduates who are fluent in both Spanish and English. Located in the Les Kelley UCLA Health Center in Santa Monica, California the IMG Program was created to address health care disparities in California's underserved Hispanic areas.
The term international medical graduate
, or IMG, is used to describe a physician who has graduated from a medical school outside of the country in which he or she intends to practice. One in every four practicing physicians in the United States is an IMG. Generally, the medical school of graduation is one listed in the International Medical Education Directory
(IMED) as accredited by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research or the World Health Organization
. This has been the subject of many medical articles because many of these doctors come from developing countries, and as such, some consider this a "brain drain
".
(DFM) developed the IMG program to address the state's changing demographics and impending physician shortage.
The program seeks to provide bilingual English/Spanish IMGs, who are committed to the care of underserved populations, with a comprehensive program to pass the U.S. Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE) and compete for Family Medicine Residency program positions in California. The paramount objective of the UCLA IMG Program is to place well-trained family physicians in rural and urban underserved communities.
.
Entails a time commitment of at least 50 hours per week.
Consists of the Kaplan
Deluxe Program of videos, live lectures and question banks; with the expectation that the USMLE-1 examination will be completed within 6 months of starting the program.
Time commitment of at least 50 hours per week.
Applicants with competitive scores on the USMLE-1 and USMLE-2 CK and CS will be invited to participate in a two-month observership at the UCLA DFM clinics, as UCLA Les Kelley Family Health Center, the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center & Orthopedic Hospital, the Mid Valley Comprehensive Health Center (Van Nuys, California) and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
(Sylmar, California).
Observership participants help UCLA physicians with providing same-day healthcare services for patients. Time commitment of 6 days per week with some overnight calls.
Priority will be given to candidates who have attained both ECFMG certification and the PTAL.
A letter of recommendation, in support of the applicant to a Family Medicine Residency Program in California, will be provided to those who receive outstanding evaluations during Program C.
The program also oriented the participants for the ERAS application, a computer application that transmits supporting credentials from a residency applicant to residency program directors electronically ( Electronic Residency Application service ) and the NRMP (Match).
The sponsors of the program are:
International medical graduate
An International Medical Graduate or "IMGs", earlier known as a Foreign Medical Graduate or "FMGs", is a term used to describe a physician who has graduated from a medical school outside of the country in which he or she intends to practice...
, or IMG, is used to describe a physician who has graduated from a medical school outside of the country in which he or she intends to practice. One in every four practicing physicians in the United States is an IMG. Generally, the medical school of graduation is one listed in the International Medical Education Directory
International Medical Education Directory
The International Medical Education Directory is a public database of worldwide medical schools. The IMED is published as a joint collaboration of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research...
(IMED) as accredited by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research or the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
. This has been the subject of many medical articles because many of these doctors come from developing countries, and as such, some consider this a "brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
".
Program Objective
In California, Hispanics represent 32% of the population yet only 4% of the physician workforce. Further, almost 35% of California's Hispanics reside in medically underserved areas (MUAs) compared to 20% of the total population. To supplement the outreach and pipeline efforts by UCLA and the other California medical schools to train more Hispanic and English/Spanish bilingual physicians, the UCLA Department of Family MedicineFamily medicine
Family medicine is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages. It is a division of primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, sexes, diseases, and parts of the body...
(DFM) developed the IMG program to address the state's changing demographics and impending physician shortage.
The program seeks to provide bilingual English/Spanish IMGs, who are committed to the care of underserved populations, with a comprehensive program to pass the U.S. Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE) and compete for Family Medicine Residency program positions in California. The paramount objective of the UCLA IMG Program is to place well-trained family physicians in rural and urban underserved communities.
Program Participants
Today the program has participants from Argentina, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Spain, Mexico and Peru.Program Directors
The program was implemented in 2006 by Patrick Dowling MD, MPH, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and by Michelle Bholat MD, MPH, Vice Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLADavid Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
UCLA School of Medicine or David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is an accredited medical school located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
.
Parts of the Program
- Program A - USMLE Step 1USMLE Step 1The USMLE Step 1 is the first part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. It assesses whether medical school students or graduates can apply important concepts of the sciences fundamental to the practice of medicine. US medical students typically take Step 1 at the end of the second...
Preparation - Pasadena, CA
Entails a time commitment of at least 50 hours per week.
Consists of the Kaplan
Kaplan
Kapłań is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Klukowo, within Wysokie Mazowieckie County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland.-References:...
Deluxe Program of videos, live lectures and question banks; with the expectation that the USMLE-1 examination will be completed within 6 months of starting the program.
- Program B - USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge and Clinical Skils Preparation - Santa Monica/UCLA Medical Center & Orthopedic Hospital & UCLA Les Kelley Family Health Center (LKFHC)
Time commitment of at least 50 hours per week.
- Program C - Observership
Applicants with competitive scores on the USMLE-1 and USMLE-2 CK and CS will be invited to participate in a two-month observership at the UCLA DFM clinics, as UCLA Les Kelley Family Health Center, the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center & Orthopedic Hospital, the Mid Valley Comprehensive Health Center (Van Nuys, California) and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
Olive View-UCLA Medical Center is a hospital, funded by Los Angeles County, located in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It is one of the primary healthcare delivery systems in the north San Fernando Valley, especially the area's large indigent population...
(Sylmar, California).
Observership participants help UCLA physicians with providing same-day healthcare services for patients. Time commitment of 6 days per week with some overnight calls.
Priority will be given to candidates who have attained both ECFMG certification and the PTAL.
- Post observership participation: Continued participation at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center on a volunteer basis.
A letter of recommendation, in support of the applicant to a Family Medicine Residency Program in California, will be provided to those who receive outstanding evaluations during Program C.
The program also oriented the participants for the ERAS application, a computer application that transmits supporting credentials from a residency applicant to residency program directors electronically ( Electronic Residency Application service ) and the NRMP (Match).
Results
The program helped 2 Spanish speaking IMGs match in 2007. In 2011, the program helped 13 IMGs match in Family Medicine Residency Programs.Sponsorship
The UCLA IMG Program is funded solely by private sources. The financial support the program has received has supported the continuation of the IMG program.The sponsors of the program are: