Introduction to “Life in America as a Doctor”: IMG Experiential Series

“Life in the USA / Part one of IMG Experiential Series”   We dedicate this podcast to the nuances of what it is like to live in America! – My example is just one of many, but the experiential series is here to uncover the “Bumps that you will find on this Road” as a physician immigrant into the US. After 21 years in the USA, I can speak by personal experience that it has been an ever-evolving process of immersing in a new culture and adapting to a contemporary society that carries an entirely different modus operandi. From the professional etiquette and dress code, the financial aspect of saving and putting money away for a 401k, a child college fund. Essential items like disability, malpractice, life insurance, and even what is like to deal with obtaining credit, and many other situations you will confront as you learn your new way of life in a different country. We will be touching on simple but at the same time complex issues, like purchasing a house, leasing an apartment, buying a car, and even dealing with the fact that we have left our extended family behind and moved into a new neighborhood, city, state, and country. My advice from day number one is to create files and folders, along with a computer cloud back up record of every essential document generated under your name and your family members (if any) during the immigration process. As an example, I will refer to files from INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), IRS (Internal Revenue Service), to include ID cards, Drivers License, Social Security documents for you and family, passports, VISAs, State Medical Licenses, DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), Opiate Dispensing permits, ACLS / BLS / PALS, Diplomas, and also, essential, all CME (Continuous Medical Education) credits in one place. As complex as it sounds, having excellent organizational skills will help you very much along the way and will save you time and money when receiving inquiries to retrieve a copy of these files. Welcome to the Journey, and I wish you the best of luck obtaining many residency interview spots during the 2020-2021 cycle of the ERAS match process. I hope you enjoy it, Alonso Osorio, M.D. FACEP, FAAEM, FAAFP. alonsojosorio@FMG-IMGcast.com