Promoting diversity in medicine
The International Medical Graduates Section (IMG) represents and promotes the interests of physicians who graduated from medical schools outside of the United States or Canada. Thirty-five thousand members strong, all AMA members who are IMGs are automatically members of the IMG Section.

View the AMA-IMG Section Summary of Actions from the AMA Annual Meeting in June(PDF, 123KB)

AMA-IMG Section Annual Meeting highlights
AMA-IMG Section members convened a number of events to focus on key international medical graduate issues, network with colleagues and hone leadership skills. At the Congress, attendees heard from James Thompson, MD, president and chief executive officer of the Federation of State Medical Boards. View Dr. Thompson's presentation (PDF, 161KB).  Congress attendees also voted to ratify the IMG GC officer selections and the newly revised international operating procedures.  The Caucus featured a candidates' forum and a discussion on the future of the Section.  Saturday evening ended on a sweet note, with the Desserts From Around World Reception featuring a vast assortment of international desserts to sample. This event was co-sponsored by more than 15 medical organizations and attendance was well-over 350 people.

AMA-IMG Section events concluded with the inaugural Busharat Ahmad, MD Leadership Development Program. This program  featured, Dr. Ronald M. Davis, AMA President, who share his ingredients for leadership.  The program ended with an interactive roundtable discussion when attendees shared their successes and lessons learned on their quest for leadership poistions.

AMA-IMG Section elects new chair and vice chair
The AMA-IMG Section is pleased to announce that Hugo Alvarez, MD, an internal medicine physician in Chicago, as been elected to serve as Chair and Jayesh Shah, MD, a hyperbaric physician in San Antonio, Texas, as Vice Chair of the AMA-IMG Section Governing Council.  Drs. Alvarez and Shah assumed their positions at the conclusion of the AMA Annual Meeting and their terms will expire on June 18, 2009.

AMA-IMG Section Governing Council election
AMA-IMG Governing Council election results are in! Thanks to all of you who voted and for those who ran for these three coveted Governing Council positions. The election results are as follows:

• Padmini Ranasighne, MD
• Rajendra Seth, MD
• Anagh Vora, MD (resident/fellow).

AMA supports reauthorization of J-1 visa program
Read the letter (PDF, 42KB requires Adobe® Reader®) recently sent to Senator Kent Conrad expressing the AMA's strong support of S. 2672, the "Conrad State 30 Improvement Act."

14 IMGs win AMA Foundation Awards
The AMA Foundation recently announced its winners for the Pride in the Profession, Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine and AMA Foundation Leadership Awards. The AMA IMG Section and its Leadership Development Committee would like to highlight and congratulate 14 of the winners who happen to be IMGs. A special congratulations goes to Subramaniam Balasubramaniam, MD of Anaheim who won the prestigious Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine. View a listing of the IMGs who won these awards. (PDF, 24KB)

Wanted: IMG advisors
After a successful pilot year, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) is once again seeking the participation of qualified physicians to serve on its IMG Advisors Network (IAN). IAN allow IMGS who are applying for J-1 visas through the Exchange Visitor Sponsorship Program to communicate directly with IMGs who have successfully entered or completed GME training in the U.S. Learn more about serving as an advisor in the ECFMG IAN.

AMA-IMG Section Congress presentation available (PDF, 1MB) View the presentation given by Stephen Seeling, JD, Vice President of Operations for the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) at the AMA-IMG Section Congress at the AMA's Interim Meeting. The presentation provided an update on the state of the ECFMG.

Highlights from the AMA-IMG Section Leadership Session (PDF, 39KB)
Mike Lynch, AMA Vice President of External Communications lead an AMA IMG leadership session at the AMA Interim meeting entitled "Communicating Effectively." Highlights of the tips on testifying at a reference committee or on the floor of the House of Delegates and the top 10 mistakes made by speakers are available.

IMGs in the U.S. Physician Workforce Discussion Paper- 2007 edition (PDF, 419KB) The AMA-IMG Section is pleased to provide the 2007 edition of this document which provides information on IMG workforce related issues including: the role of IMGs in the U.S. physician workforce, statistics on IMGs, IMG contributions to the delivery of health care in the U.S. and much more. Additional information on IMG workforce issues is also available in a slide presentation (PDF, 1MB) given by Nyapati R. Rao, MD, MS in June 2007.

AMA-IMG Interim Meeting news
The AMA-IMG Section brought together IMG physicians in a number of venues to discuss several issues of importance. AMA-IMG Congress attendees heard an information-packed presentation from Stephen Seeling, J.D.from the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) on undergraduate medical education migration trends. The AMA-IMG Caucus provided an additional opportunity for attendees to caucus on items of business before the House of Delegates (HOD), hear organizational reports and discuss other issues of concern such as proportional IMG representation in the HOD. The Caucus also featured guest speaker,Gerard Dillon, PhD, from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) who provided an update on the comprehensive review of the USMLE. Attendees were encouraged to actively participate in the AMA-IMG Section by signing up for one or more committee workgroups.

The AMA-IMG Section Disposition of Actions from the 2007 AMA Interim Meeting (PDF, 72KB)

IMG Section Summary of Actions from the June 2007 Annual Meeting (PDF, 46KB)

AMA Board of Trustees names ECFMG Board of Director appointments
The AMA Board of Trustees appointed Rajam Ramamurthy, MD of San Antonio, Texas and Paul Rockey, MD of Chicago for the AMA IMG and AMA slots respectively on the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) Board of Directors. Go to their Web site for more information about the ECFMG.

Practicing medicine in the U.S.
Information on immigration, certification and licensing. Applying for residency positions. Residency vacancies.

The AMA working for IMG's
Current advocacy on IMG issues and efforts to increase visibility of IMGs in the AMA and in organized medicine.

About us
History and evolution, mission statement, bylaws, accomplishments, and IMG Newsletters.

IMG leadership
Structure and leadership of the IMG Congress and Governing Council. Election procedures and results.

Meetings
The voice of the IMG Section influences policy and supports advocacy issues. This Web site includes Congress agendas, ethnic medical society meetings dates, actions from IMG Section meetings and links.

IMGs in the U.S.
Demographics of IMGs in the U.S.
State and Specialty IMG Sections.
Ethnic Medical Associations.
Setting the record straight on common myths.

FAQs
Frequently asked questions of concern to IMGs.

Contact us
Contact information for AMA Staff, IMG Governing Council and related services.

This AMA e-mail newsletter is sent weekly to IMGs. AMA eVoice informs IMGs about meetings and events, leadership applications and awards, up-to-date information from the IMG Section, current events in the healthcare industry, and much more!