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Exploring the Challenges for International Medical Graduates Pursuing Minimally Invasive Surgery Training in the United States and Canada: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

BACKGROUND: International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are an important component of the US healthcare workforce. Prior studies have investigated bias against IMGs during the general surgery residency application in the United States. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a growing field; The MIS fellowsh...

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Autores principales: Romero-Velez, Gustavo, Rodriguez-Quintero, Jorge Humberto, Moran-Atkin, Erin, Lima, Diego L., Malcher, Flavio, Camacho, Diego R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8993460/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35444402
http://dx.doi.org/10.4293/JSLS.2021.00084
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author Romero-Velez, Gustavo
Rodriguez-Quintero, Jorge Humberto
Moran-Atkin, Erin
Lima, Diego L.
Malcher, Flavio
Camacho, Diego R.
author_facet Romero-Velez, Gustavo
Rodriguez-Quintero, Jorge Humberto
Moran-Atkin, Erin
Lima, Diego L.
Malcher, Flavio
Camacho, Diego R.
author_sort Romero-Velez, Gustavo
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are an important component of the US healthcare workforce. Prior studies have investigated bias against IMGs during the general surgery residency application in the United States. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a growing field; The MIS fellowship match was established in 2004 and is a competitive process with a match rate of 47%. Opportunities for applicants who are non-US citizens are limited by a series of factors that are not related to their professional qualifications. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to explore the challenges faced by IMG in the MIS fellowship match. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study analyzing the minimally invasive surgery application requirements of all the programs listed in the Fellowship Council. Individual program requirements were collected into a database and a descriptive analysis was performed comparing programs who accept IMGs versus those that do not. Further statistical analysis was performed to explore those differences and associated factors. RESULTS: There were 148 MIS fellowship programs and 187 positions offered during the 2021 match year in the US. Ninety-seven programs (65.5%) were found to accept graduates of foreign medical schools if they were US-citizens, whereas only 49 programs (33.1%) were found to accept IMG and sponsor a visa for their training. University affiliated programs (88.9% vs 75.0%, p = 0.04), programs with a general surgery residency (94.4% vs 75.0%, p = 0.003), and older programs (63.0% vs 45.5%, p = 0.04) were more likely to accept IMGs requiring visa sponsorship. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant bias against IMGs in the MIS fellowship match, with a reduced number of positions available based on factors not related to their professional performance or qualifications. Well established programs, university, and residency affiliated programs are more likely to consider these physicians for training.
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spelling pubmed-89934602022-04-19 Exploring the Challenges for International Medical Graduates Pursuing Minimally Invasive Surgery Training in the United States and Canada: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Romero-Velez, Gustavo Rodriguez-Quintero, Jorge Humberto Moran-Atkin, Erin Lima, Diego L. Malcher, Flavio Camacho, Diego R. JSLS Research Article BACKGROUND: International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are an important component of the US healthcare workforce. Prior studies have investigated bias against IMGs during the general surgery residency application in the United States. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is a growing field; The MIS fellowship match was established in 2004 and is a competitive process with a match rate of 47%. Opportunities for applicants who are non-US citizens are limited by a series of factors that are not related to their professional qualifications. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to explore the challenges faced by IMG in the MIS fellowship match. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study analyzing the minimally invasive surgery application requirements of all the programs listed in the Fellowship Council. Individual program requirements were collected into a database and a descriptive analysis was performed comparing programs who accept IMGs versus those that do not. Further statistical analysis was performed to explore those differences and associated factors. RESULTS: There were 148 MIS fellowship programs and 187 positions offered during the 2021 match year in the US. Ninety-seven programs (65.5%) were found to accept graduates of foreign medical schools if they were US-citizens, whereas only 49 programs (33.1%) were found to accept IMG and sponsor a visa for their training. University affiliated programs (88.9% vs 75.0%, p = 0.04), programs with a general surgery residency (94.4% vs 75.0%, p = 0.003), and older programs (63.0% vs 45.5%, p = 0.04) were more likely to accept IMGs requiring visa sponsorship. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant bias against IMGs in the MIS fellowship match, with a reduced number of positions available based on factors not related to their professional performance or qualifications. Well established programs, university, and residency affiliated programs are more likely to consider these physicians for training. Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons 2022 /pmc/articles/PMC8993460/ /pubmed/35444402 http://dx.doi.org/10.4293/JSLS.2021.00084 Text en © 2022 by SLS, Society of Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/) ), which permits for noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not altered in any way.
spellingShingle Research Article
Romero-Velez, Gustavo
Rodriguez-Quintero, Jorge Humberto
Moran-Atkin, Erin
Lima, Diego L.
Malcher, Flavio
Camacho, Diego R.
Exploring the Challenges for International Medical Graduates Pursuing Minimally Invasive Surgery Training in the United States and Canada: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
title Exploring the Challenges for International Medical Graduates Pursuing Minimally Invasive Surgery Training in the United States and Canada: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
title_full Exploring the Challenges for International Medical Graduates Pursuing Minimally Invasive Surgery Training in the United States and Canada: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
title_fullStr Exploring the Challenges for International Medical Graduates Pursuing Minimally Invasive Surgery Training in the United States and Canada: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Challenges for International Medical Graduates Pursuing Minimally Invasive Surgery Training in the United States and Canada: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
title_short Exploring the Challenges for International Medical Graduates Pursuing Minimally Invasive Surgery Training in the United States and Canada: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
title_sort exploring the challenges for international medical graduates pursuing minimally invasive surgery training in the united states and canada: a cross-sectional analysis
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8993460/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35444402
http://dx.doi.org/10.4293/JSLS.2021.00084
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