International Medical Graduate Health System Acculturation

Recognizing that International Medical Graduates (IMGs) face challenges above and beyond those of their American peers in acculturating to the US health care system, the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) called upon the Capstone team to assist them with the creation of a training curriculum intended to address the needs of IMGs arriving in a medical system that is foreign to them. In preparation for a 2006 program launch date, the Capstone team provided feedback to GNYHA from field research conducted on current IMG needs as well as information garnered through intensive research on program evaluation, best practices from programs around the country, program-specific topic areas and a general literature review on IMG issues. This research and analysis informed the content of a one-day training program as well as the means for evaluating its success. Available to the class of IMGs arriving in Brooklyn this June, the program will focus on topics vital to IMG acculturation – essentially acting to bridge the gap between American and International Medical Graduates’ familiarity with the US health system.