Going Back Home: Understanding the Challenges and Discrimination of Early and Mid-Career International and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates in Oncology Fields in the United States
PURPOSEAlthough international medical graduates (IMGs) and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates (PRMGs) comprise an integral part of the health care workforce, these individuals, particularly women, frequently face numerous types of discrimination throughout medical training and independent practice. To o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Society of Clinical Oncology
2025-04-01
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| Series: | JCO Global Oncology |
| Online Access: | https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/GO-24-00513 |
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| author | Coral Olazagasti Claudia Villa Celi Arun Mahtani Ana I. Velazquez Lauren Kiel Arthi Sridhar Miki Horiguchi Mariana Gonzalez Carolina Bernabe Oyepeju Abioye Nazli Dizman Narjust Florez |
| author_facet | Coral Olazagasti Claudia Villa Celi Arun Mahtani Ana I. Velazquez Lauren Kiel Arthi Sridhar Miki Horiguchi Mariana Gonzalez Carolina Bernabe Oyepeju Abioye Nazli Dizman Narjust Florez |
| author_sort | Coral Olazagasti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | PURPOSEAlthough international medical graduates (IMGs) and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates (PRMGs) comprise an integral part of the health care workforce, these individuals, particularly women, frequently face numerous types of discrimination throughout medical training and independent practice. To our knowledge, we conducted the first cross-sectional study to understand the journeys and consequences of migration faced by IMGs and PRMGs in the US oncology workforce.METHODSWe developed a cross-sectional, online survey consisting of 51 multiple choice and open-ended questions that captured demographic information, professional status, period of migration to the United States, location within the United States that participants migrated to, reasons for migration, cultural adaptation, experiences of discrimination during training, and overall professional experiences in the United States.RESULTSThe majority of participants cited better education, professional gains, and a lack of opportunities in participants' home country as primary reasons for migration to the United States. However, most participants, particularly women, experienced staunch assimilation to fit the mold of professional American standards; women were also particularly likely to report experiences of racial/ethnic, language, and gender discrimination during oncology training in the United States, which only marginally improved during independent practice. Despite such discrimination, most participants reported excellent professional satisfaction during training and independent practice, although only moderate personal satisfaction. Most participants decided to stay in the United States, citing reasons pertaining to enhanced professional opportunities, whereas those that returned home valued reasons relating to family and quality of life.CONCLUSIONOur sobering findings underscore the need for institutional enforcement of an inclusive environment encompassing cultural humility, enactment of programs addressing barriers to socialization, immigration laws, and financial support, creation of IMG-specific support networks, and the sponsorship and promoting of minority women physicians. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4d89627ecccd4b69bcfee891f5aad61d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2687-8941 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | American Society of Clinical Oncology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JCO Global Oncology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4d89627ecccd4b69bcfee891f5aad61d2025-08-20T03:17:58ZengAmerican Society of Clinical OncologyJCO Global Oncology2687-89412025-04-011110.1200/GO-24-00513Going Back Home: Understanding the Challenges and Discrimination of Early and Mid-Career International and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates in Oncology Fields in the United StatesCoral Olazagasti0Claudia Villa Celi1Arun Mahtani2Ana I. Velazquez3Lauren Kiel4Arthi Sridhar5Miki Horiguchi6Mariana Gonzalez7Carolina Bernabe8Oyepeju Abioye9Nazli Dizman10Narjust Florez11University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami, FLCapital Health, Trenton, NJNew York University, New York, NYUniversity of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CALowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MAMayo Clinic, Rochester, MNLowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MAUniversidad Americana, Managua, NicaraguaMontefiore Einstein Cancer Center, Bronx, NYAllegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PAUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TXLowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MAPURPOSEAlthough international medical graduates (IMGs) and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates (PRMGs) comprise an integral part of the health care workforce, these individuals, particularly women, frequently face numerous types of discrimination throughout medical training and independent practice. To our knowledge, we conducted the first cross-sectional study to understand the journeys and consequences of migration faced by IMGs and PRMGs in the US oncology workforce.METHODSWe developed a cross-sectional, online survey consisting of 51 multiple choice and open-ended questions that captured demographic information, professional status, period of migration to the United States, location within the United States that participants migrated to, reasons for migration, cultural adaptation, experiences of discrimination during training, and overall professional experiences in the United States.RESULTSThe majority of participants cited better education, professional gains, and a lack of opportunities in participants' home country as primary reasons for migration to the United States. However, most participants, particularly women, experienced staunch assimilation to fit the mold of professional American standards; women were also particularly likely to report experiences of racial/ethnic, language, and gender discrimination during oncology training in the United States, which only marginally improved during independent practice. Despite such discrimination, most participants reported excellent professional satisfaction during training and independent practice, although only moderate personal satisfaction. Most participants decided to stay in the United States, citing reasons pertaining to enhanced professional opportunities, whereas those that returned home valued reasons relating to family and quality of life.CONCLUSIONOur sobering findings underscore the need for institutional enforcement of an inclusive environment encompassing cultural humility, enactment of programs addressing barriers to socialization, immigration laws, and financial support, creation of IMG-specific support networks, and the sponsorship and promoting of minority women physicians.https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/GO-24-00513 |
| spellingShingle | Coral Olazagasti Claudia Villa Celi Arun Mahtani Ana I. Velazquez Lauren Kiel Arthi Sridhar Miki Horiguchi Mariana Gonzalez Carolina Bernabe Oyepeju Abioye Nazli Dizman Narjust Florez Going Back Home: Understanding the Challenges and Discrimination of Early and Mid-Career International and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates in Oncology Fields in the United States JCO Global Oncology |
| title | Going Back Home: Understanding the Challenges and Discrimination of Early and Mid-Career International and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates in Oncology Fields in the United States |
| title_full | Going Back Home: Understanding the Challenges and Discrimination of Early and Mid-Career International and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates in Oncology Fields in the United States |
| title_fullStr | Going Back Home: Understanding the Challenges and Discrimination of Early and Mid-Career International and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates in Oncology Fields in the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Going Back Home: Understanding the Challenges and Discrimination of Early and Mid-Career International and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates in Oncology Fields in the United States |
| title_short | Going Back Home: Understanding the Challenges and Discrimination of Early and Mid-Career International and Puerto Rican Medical Graduates in Oncology Fields in the United States |
| title_sort | going back home understanding the challenges and discrimination of early and mid career international and puerto rican medical graduates in oncology fields in the united states |
| url | https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/GO-24-00513 |
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