International medical students' career choice, attitudes toward psychiatry, and emigration to the United States: Examples from India and Zimbabwe

The selection residents who are international medical graduates can be facilitated by knowledge of the context of their training and experience in psychiatry; the career opportunities in the country from which they come; and their attitudes toward psychiatry, medicine, and the United States. This study examines some of these variables as well as the emigration plans of 209 Indian and 46 Zimbabwe medical students in their next to last year of medical school. Both groups tended to hold positive attitudes toward psychiatry and had good experiences with the field. Fifty-six percent of the Indian students indicated that they had at least thought about emigrating to the United States for postgraduate training, and 22% had definite plans. Only 25% of the Zimbabwe students had thought about U.S. emigration, and a mere 2% had plans. Indian, as well as other IMGs, will continue to be a presence in U.S. residency programs, and those who have a preresidency stay in the United States may come to know and appreciate psychiatry more as they become more familiar with the field and with American culture.