Photo credit: Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Russian doctor rebuilds career and finds new hope in Chicago
When Filipp arrived in Chicago in 2019, he stood at the edge of Lake Michigan and felt something inside of him shift.
“I understood that I won a huge lottery ticket,” he says. “Not because of money, but because in America, I don’t feel a ceiling — you can jump over yourself here.”
Originally from Russia, Filipp is an International Medical Graduate (IMG) — one of over 12,000 in Illinois — with a deep commitment to healing.
A calling from childhood
Filipp’s path to medicine began in a garden in Crimea. At 5 years old, he found a grasshopper with an injured leg and asked his father, a dermatologist, for ointment to help it heal.
“I touched the grasshopper and it flew away,” he remembers. “That was the beginning of everything. I thought, ‘Wow, I can make someone less vulnerable and let them prosper without me.’”
He went on to study at Moscow State Medical University, completing six years of medical school, followed by a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in family medicine. His focus gradually shifted toward geriatrics, driven by a desire to serve the elderly — one of the most underserved populations in Russia.
“In Russia, pensions are often just $200 a month. Elderly people have to choose between food and medicine,” he says. “I wanted to help them live with dignity.” By 28, he led a department of over 25 healthcare workers specializing in geriatric medicine at a hospital in Moscow.
Starting from scratch
Filipp moved to the U.S. in 2019 thanks to his mother, who had already relocated. Like many IMGs, he faced the long, expensive, and uncertain road to relicensing — but he refused to give up.
He walked into a Chicago hospital, resume in hand, and asked for a chance. He was hired as a medical assistant at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital under the supervision of Dr. Andrey Lev-Weisberg, who became a mentor and friend.
“He gave me the opportunity to work with patients, not just [file] paperwork,” he says. “I still feel like a doctor, and I’m learning every day.”
Filipp has since passed Step 1 and Step 2 of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination and is now preparing for Step 3. In 2024, he came close to matching for residency, receiving six interviews.
“Wasting one or two years not realizing yourself as a doctor — it’s a huge price, but I will keep going,” he says.
Connecting with Upwardly Global
In 2024, Filipp learned about Upwardly Global from a fellow IMG. What began as a search for financial support for Step 3 turned into something much deeper.
“Tamar helped me with everything — mock interviews, my CV, personal statements, but more than that, she helped me understand the American mentality,” he says. “Upwardly Global helped me grow.”
Still working hand in hand with Upwardly Global, Filipp likens the support to “parenthood.”
“I want to work in the field where I’m a professional,” he explains. “I want to make people less vulnerable — that’s still my goal.”
A new law and new hope
Filipp is one of thousands who are ready to serve — but until recently, were unable to practice in Illinois due to licensing barriers. That’s beginning to change.
In 2023, Illinois passed a law that Upwardly Global advocated for with state legislators, establishing a limited license for IMGs that allows them to practice under supervision in underserved areas. After two years, they can receive a provisional license, and eventually, a full, unrestricted one. It’s a game-changer for professionals like Filipp, and for Illinois, which is projected to face a shortage of over 6,000 doctors by 2030.
Filipp is now exploring this new pathway, hopeful it will bring him closer to his dream of practicing medicine again.