International medical graduates in psychiatry in the United States : challenges and opportunities

Since the days of Benjamin Rush, international medical graduates have made an important contribution to American psychiatry as teachers, researchers, and clinicians. However, they routinely face a number of obstacles throughout their careers, including discriminatory licensing requirements, few opportunities to enter good training programs, and inequitable representation in professional societies. Although some excellent scholarly books devoted to psychiatric training in psychiatry exist, most do not mention the specific issues encountered in the training of international medical graduates.Written and edited by psychiatrists who are international medical graduates themselves, "International Medical Graduates in Psychiatry in the United States: Challenges and Opportunities" presents an overview of important issues pertinent to the career development and training of this group and makes important suggestions for removing the obstacles they face. This text will be useful to international medical graduates, residency training directors, and hospital administrators. The book is divided into three subject areas. The first section discusses general adjustment issues, including the difficulties encountered during the process of integration into American society, communication and language problems, and immigration requirements. The second section focuses on training issues and outlines the myths surrounding the postgraduate education of international medical graduates, the sometimes difficult relationship between the ABPN and international medical graduates, and the future of psychiatrists and their relationship to international medical graduates. The third section reviews careerplanning, including advice on careers in academic and administrative psychiatry, a discussion on how to start a private practice, and an exploration of the relationship among international medical graduates, the American Psychiatric Association, other minorities, and organized medicine.