With Upwardly Global’s support, internationally trained physicians are matching into U.S. residencies and rebuilding their lives in medicine
They’ve cared for patients in hospitals, clinics, and conflict zones. They’ve delivered babies, managed chronic conditions, and responded to emergencies. But when internationally trained doctors arrive in the U.S., they’re told to start from scratch.
Instead of stepping into hospitals, thousands of highly qualified physicians are asked to prove themselves all over again — through costly exams, unpaid clinical rotations, and a residency match process that strongly favors U.S. graduates.
In 2025, over 16,000 international medical graduates (IMGs) applied for U.S. residency, but only 58% of non-U.S. citizen IMGs matched compared to 93.5% of U.S. medical students. But that gap isn’t about talent — it’s about access.
As a nonprofit that charts career paths for immigrant and refugee professionals, we’re working to change that. In 2025, nearly a dozen of our job seekers matched into U.S. residency programs. Their experiences reflect the barriers IMGs face — and what’s possible when those barriers are met with support, advocacy, and belief.
“Don’t ever say you’re a doctor here.”
When Yousef arrived in the U.S. in 2021, he had already practiced medicine for several years. Originally from Jordan, he’d moved to Ukraine to study and enter the field. But after moving to be with family in Dallas, he found that his experience meant little in a system that discounts foreign credentials.
“I met a coordinator who told me, ‘Don’t ever say you’re a doctor here,’” he recalls. “It was like everything I had worked for didn’t matter.”
Yousef was able to land a job as a clinical research coordinator in Dallas while his family was living in Houston. Each week, he drove four hours each way to work 16-hour shifts, all while studying for the U.S. licensing exams.
“In 10 months, I drove more than 40,000 miles just going back and forth,” he says. “I had a lot of moments where I thought I could lose my life, driving through thunderstorms.”
“I was all by myself, juggling all these hardships.”
Salma, a Moroccan physician, arrived in the U.S. in 2023 after winning the Diversity Visa lottery. Soon after moving to Orlando, she faced housing instability, job loss, and the crushing weight of starting over.
“I spent all my savings on a car that broke down a month later,” she says. “I was working in a smoke shop, doing observerships [shadowing physicians], and studying for my last exams. It was the hardest year of my life.”
But she kept going. “I didn’t want to lose touch with medicine — even if I wasn’t practicing, I needed to stay close to it,” she says. “I was all by myself, juggling all these hardships.”
“It was isolating, but I had a goal.”
Yaroslav was studying medicine as war broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2013. By extension, his training included military triage and emergency care. After graduation, he joined a humanitarian mission with American doctors, which sparked his interest in the U.S. healthcare system.
When the full-scale war began in 2022, he then worked in a frontline hospital stabilizing wounded soldiers. A year later, he fled to the U.S. with his elderly grandmother, settling in a small town in rural Virginia, where his mother lived.
“I went from a city of over a million to a place where my whole experience of America was this tiny town,” he says. “It was isolating. But I had a goal.”
The Upwardly Global difference
Each of them found their way to us — and to specialized career coaches who would become mentors, advocates, and lifelines.
For Salma, it was Iryna who helped her rewrite her personal statement, prepare for interviews, and apply for scholarships. “She wasn’t just a mentor,” Salma says. “She was my support system. She believed in me when I didn’t.”
Yousef faced a particularly unique challenge: Due to the war, his Ukrainian medical school no longer existed, and the ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates) refused to certify his credentials. “I was crushed,” he says. “I thought it was over.”
But Tamar, his career coach, refused to give up. She made calls, wrote letters, and eventually connected him with someone at ECFMG who could help. “She fought for me,” he says. “She gave me hope.”
Yaroslav, too, credits Iryna with helping him navigate the maze of observerships, interviews, and visa logistics. “She helped me write my CV, apply for scholarships, and prepare for interviews,” he says. “She understood me as a fellow Ukrainian.”
We also provided mock interviews, exam scholarships, and connections to clinical rotations — resources that are often prohibitively expensive or inaccessible for IMGs. “Without them, I don’t know how I would have done it,” Salma says.
Match Day: A moment that was years in the making
In March 2025, the results were finally in — and for Salma, Yousef, and Yaroslav, the news marked the beginning of a long-awaited new chapter.
Salma matched at a hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “I had 30 interviews,” she says. “But I was still terrified. I didn’t know if I’d make it. When I did, I booked a flight home to Morocco. I needed to see my family.”
After his third year of applications, Yousef matched into a residency program near Boca Raton, Florida. “I cried,” he says. “I couldn’t believe it. After everything, I finally made it.”
Yaroslav matched at a hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, close to his family. “They sponsor work visas,” he says. “That was important. I needed stability.”
The success of these three doctors is extraordinary — but it shouldn’t have to be. The U.S. faces a growing physician shortage, and 79 million people currently live in primary care deserts. Yet highly qualified IMGs are often sidelined by a system that is opaque, expensive, and biased toward U.S. graduates.
“Every year, the bar gets higher,” Yaroslav says. “Programs want higher scores, more U.S. experience, perfect English. IMGs are navigating a system that wasn’t built for us.”
We’re working to change that. By providing coaching, resources, and advocacy, we help IMGs not only survive the process but match.
Stepping into residency programs
All three doctors are preparing for the next chapter — orientation, long shifts, and the steep learning curve of U.S. residency, which begins this summer. But they’re also reflecting on how far they’ve come.
“Years ago, I used to think I couldn’t do it,” Salma says. “But now I know I can handle anything.”
Yousef agrees. “Every year, I asked myself: What’s different about me this year? What have I added to my CV, to my experience? I never stopped growing.”
And Yaroslav offers this advice to others: “Stay in medicine. Even if it’s just volunteering once a week. Don’t let the gap grow. And don’t give up.”
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