Doctors working in fast-food restaurants

[aaron2020 11,651]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/04/health/latino-doctors/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

(CNN) -- Landor Sanchez wants to practice medicine again.

But instead, he's laboring at an asbestos removal company in upstate New York.

For five years, Sanchez was a family medicine doctor in Cuba. He moved to the United States in 2011 with the dream of being a doctor there.

Like many immigrants, he had a plan to live with friends to save money and to study for the exam to become medically licensed in the United States.

Baby boomers causing doctor shortage

But soon, his money ran out. And Sanchez found himself with less time to study and instead taking any job he could get -- from painting, to fast-food restaurants, to, now, asbestos removal.

A doctor, not practicing medicine, in a country that is short of primary care physicians.

Sanchez's story is common among Latino immigrant doctors.

In Southern California alone, there are an estimated 3,000 medically trained Latino immigrant doctors who aren't practicing medicine.

"We had always wondered, where are the (immigrant) doctors from Latin America?" says Dr. Patrick Dowling, chairman of UCLA'sDepartment of Family Medicine. "And we stumbled upon them working in menial jobs."

Instead of treating patients, Dowling says, many doctors spend years cleaning houses or working on construction sites and in fast-food chain restaurants.

"We heard from one woman working at McDonald's in Colorado," says Dowling. "So she is selling fast food to people, and if she were licensed as a physician, she could be educating those same people, those same patients, on what a good diet is."

Latino immigrant doctors have a harder time than other immigrants transitioning into the U.S. health system, according to Dowling.

"Often they work in their own country for 10 years and then come here and they aren't licensed, and then they see how hard the process is and they have to get an odd job to support themselves."

It's a costly, time-consuming process that most immigrants aren't prepared for.

Army desperately seeking health care providers

That's why Dowling and his colleague, Dr. Michelle Bholat, have developed a program at UCLA that helps fast-track Latino immigrant doctors into the U.S. health care system, the International Medical Graduate program.

The IMG program provides test prep classes and clinical observations with UCLA doctors. It also covers the cost of the U.S. medical board exam and provides a monthly stipend.

Funded by private donors, the program has helped 66 Latino immigrant doctors pass the board exams and get placed into residency programs in California. In return, the doctors commit to working three years in an underserved area.

Dr. Jose Chavez is one of those graduates.

He was a doctor in El Salvador with more than eight years of medical training when he moved to the United States in 2005.

But prior to last year, he wasn't working in a U.S. hospital -- or any hospital. Instead, he was cleaning houses and installing flooring.

"I would do anything you asked me to as long as it was legal and you paid me for it," he says.

Chavez says without the help of UCLA's IMG program, he would still be working odd jobs to pay the bills while juggling his time to study for the test at night.

"It requires you study at least 10 hours a day," says Chavez. "Imagine you are working 10 hours a day, and then try to study 10 hours at night. It is really impossible."

The stipend allowed Chavez to stop cleaning homes and focus solely on his studies. He passed the U.S. medical board exam just six months after being accepted into the program.

Today, he is a first-year resident at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in California -- a place in desperate need of doctors. Riverside County has just one primary care physician for every 9,000 residents, according to the hospital.

"I personally know at least 20 more (Latino immigrant) doctors who are delivering pizza, and instead they could be working as doctors if they had the help I had," say Chavez.

And with Obamacare potentially adding 25 million to 30 million people to the health system, the doctor shortage is going to get worse before it gets better.

"When 2014 rolls around, they (Americans) may have an insurance card, but where are they going to get care?" says Bholat. "It is not enough to just issue an insurance card."

Your health care is covered, but who's going to treat you?

The problem is compounded in California because of the large immigrant population.

"Forty percent of the population here is Hispanic, but only 5% of our doctors are Latino. That is an amazing gap," says Bholat.

Dowling and Bholat say while their fast-track program may make only a small dent to help the primary care shortage in America, it's a critical start.

"We're getting dozens of applications daily, and we accept as many candidates as we can financially support in the program," says Bholat "We need these doctors in America."

Sanchez has applied to the UCLA IMG program and is waiting to hear if he gets accepted.

Until then, he'll continue to work at the asbestos removal company during the day, and study for the U.S. medical boards at night.

But he says no matter how long it takes, he won't give up on his dream to practice medicine in the United States.

[scienceworks 64]

Quoting "come here and they aren't licensed, and then they see how hard the process is and they have to get an odd job to support themselves." Well this is not a Latino-only problem, it's a universal problem.

[Darnell 8,478]

that's just funny, as

there are private loans available to cubans

to take the exams.

Sure, it take 20 minutes of due diligence to find them

and

all originate in Miami (#### NY, sorry)

so, IMO, that fella not get on the path, the right path, the first time.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

that's just funny, as

there are private loans available to cubans

to take the exams.

Sure, it take 20 minutes of due diligence to find them

and

all originate in Miami (#### NY, sorry)

so, IMO, that fella not get on the path, the right path, the first time.

This!

There are 6 ways from Sunday to skin that cat, you just have to get after it. A doctor applying for a Pell grant will be denied every time, for example, because he already has a degree and is disqualified. But he can get "non-degree" grants for studying for his exams or even for taking courses which can later be transferred to a degree program,

There are thousands of grants and scholarships for everything including Red-headed Ukrainian immigrants, (most of those originating in Brighton Beach NY ) you just have to find them and apply for them. Lots of them. You spend a lot of time doing it but you score big. A simple application can get you $500-1000 and take less than an hour to fill out. Who do you know that will pay you that much for an hour's work. A big one can net you $7500 or even a full scholarship and stipend of $24,000 per year! Oh yeah, it happens!

Never give up, and yeah, it is OK to be a painter while a student, too.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I don't know about the grants or anything like that. My husband and I made an agreement I'd be the breadwinner and support him through the exams while here. So for the first several years I've worked and he's been jumping through the hoops to become a doctor here. I agree with others in that if you really want it then you'll find a way to get there.

[Darnell 8,478]

You could find the grants, with a modicum of searching and human networking.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I've researched and written for grants for studying abroad and for documentary film-making but I haven't considered it for foreign doctors studying in the US to become licensed. In my experience researching and writing for grants isn't all that easy. I've even found that there are people you can pay to research and write and apply for grants for you that do this for a living. When I was applying to go to Cairo for a study abroad I was directed by the program directors to research grants and I did and I applied for several grants but all were denied. I've also written and applied for documentary film-making grants and have been denied. It hasn't been much of a success for me but there's no harm in trying for free grant money right. Though it's not entirely free. Some of the study abroad grants I applied for had conditions such as you have to come back and give a series of presentations to local schools on your experience. There are often things they want for the money they're providing and it's usually in the form of some kind of educational pay back to the community.

[Darnell 8,478]

Welcome to the USA! Things are a bit different, here.

Although it's great you can write and know a bit about the large-ish grant approval process, I suggest you refocus a bit, if'n you'd like monies in the USA for this stuff.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I'm from the USA? Anyways, I think it's more about competition than focus. My proposals were good and the department directors and dean of the college over saw it and thought it was very good as well. Not all of these were big grants I was applying for either. It's just I know I wasn't the only one competing and applying for these grants and they picked somebody else over me. It could have been anybody out of thousands across the country who also applied for them.

Now scholarships on the other hand. I was very good at getting scholarships, but I've found grants weren't just something where one can open a book and pluck the grant off the money tree. That's the kind of advice people who haven't applied for grants but have only heard about it dole out. It takes time to research grants and see if you meet the requirements. Then time to write and apply for it. There are usually deadlines to meet and if you're applying for more than one you have to keep track of your grant writing projects. You have to take other people's time too look over your proposals and applications because there's competition for the grants. Then if you are selected as a recipient you usually have some requirements to meet afterwords.

Now that I think more about it - as a spouse whose husband has been through the years of studying it takes to complete the USMLE process and become a certified MD according to the American Board standards and as someone with grant writing experience - to suggest putting all this process that goes into grant writing on top of a foreign doctor attempting to study for their medical licences in the States is somewhat unreasonable. Sure if they have time and are a doctor of academics pursuing that career path with no other way for these financial resources they need then I'd suggest giving the grant writing process a shot even knowing there's no guarantee they'll get anything for their effort.

[lierre 224]

Now scholarships on the other hand. I was very good at getting scholarships, but I've found grants weren't just something where one can open a book and pluck the grant off the money tree. That's the kind of advice people who haven't applied for grants but have only heard about it dole out. It takes time to research grants and see if you meet the requirements...

Now that I think more about it - as a spouse whose husband has been through the years of studying it takes to complete the USMLE process and become a certified MD according to the American Board standards and as someone with grant writing experience - to suggest putting all this process that goes into grant writing on top of a foreign doctor attempting to study for their medical licences in the States is somewhat unreasonable. Sure if they have time and are a doctor of academics pursuing that career path with no other way for these financial resources they need then I'd suggest giving the grant writing process a shot even knowing there's no guarantee they'll get anything for their effort.

She's absolutely right.

I was on that same path to get my license as a US physician just a few months ago. I have since then decided not to pursue it due to my decision to apply for a masters degree instead.

Guess what... Just passing the exams is not enough to be licensed.

You have to apply to 3-5 year residency training programs that will take you, the foreign graduate, over the American graduates from US med schools. This means paying for flights or train rides to different states and staying in hotels. Then, when you get accepted, you put yourself through the rigorous demands of the 3-5 year training program. After that program, you take another expensive exam (think 1,000+ dollars for exam fee) and only become licensed after you pass that fourth exam.

A grant (if that even exists for foreign medical graduates) is not the key to being a US licensed physician. If it was so, this article won't even exist. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/business/economy/long-slog-for-foreign-doctors-to-practice-in-us.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

The US has this huge source of medical skill and expertise present in foreign graduates living in the US, yet nothing is being done to utilize this advantage.

Edited September 7, 2013 by ivyanddan

[scienceworks 64]

That's the kind of advice people who haven't applied for grants but have only heard about it dole out. It takes time to research grants and see if you meet the requirements. Then time to write and apply for it. There are usually deadlines to meet and if you're applying for more than one you have to keep track of your grant writing projects. You have to take other people's time too look over your proposals and applications because there's competition for the grants. Then if you are selected as a recipient you usually have some requirements to meet afterwords.

110% agree. Easy to say that you can apply for grants. I myself have never applied for grants as a PhD student, but my boss does that all time, and get rejected most of the time. It takes months to finish a good grant proposal and it the end rejection is the result. I am assuming you applied for grants which involves big monies. It's difficult to get one these days when resources are stretched thin with too many applicants.

Edited September 7, 2013 by scienceworks

[faithinGod 8]

This is true for all International Medical Graduates that immigrate to US , not just latino.

Also, grants, even non degree ones , are given to students.

IMGs who come to US are not students , they are graduates and they study for their United States Medical Licensing Examination aka "The Boards" , at home , by themselves and they sit for the exam when they are ready.

This is not as easy as it sounds; there are 3 exams that need to be passed and the average preparation time for each is 1 year (more for some, less for others) and they are some of the most challenging and demanding exams in the world so enrolling in some college on the side just to get a grant is NOT doable.

Also this process is not cheap at all and even passing the exams does not offer any guarantee that the applicant will be accepted in a residency program...ever. So taking a loan to support themselves for 2-3 years is VERY risky, way more than taking a collge loan.