When Dr. Lidys Rivera Galvis arrived in the United States, one of her main goals was to take her licensing exam and then apply for residency to work as a doctor as she did in her native Colombia. What she didn’t know, however, was that achieving these goals would be a long and complex process — especially when one doesn’t know the language and has few economic resources or connections.

But with the help of Dr. Patricia Silveyra, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine; Dr. Daniel Weber, a retired obstetrician/gynecologist from Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and other community members, Rivera Galvis has successfully navigated her way through the system. She is currently serving as a fellow in Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’s Simulation Education and Research Fellowship program and conducting her fellow project, an international medical graduate (IMG) program.

In January 2018, nine Cuban physicians began meeting at the Simulation Center once a week for four hours and learning from Rivera Galvis and Penn State College of Medicine faculty and students. After completing the yearlong program, these immigrant physicians will be better prepared to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination. Step 1 of the exam assesses their knowledge and application of scientific concepts that are basic to practicing medicine.

The IMG program also helps Latin American physicians assimilate into the U.S. health care system. Since 2013, more than 240 Cuban health care professionals, nearly all of them doctors, have left their country to move to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Due to a lack of resources and guidance, Rivera Galvis says that many of these doctors find themselves in low-skill jobs — losing motivation and the hope of working in health care ever again.

“Like me, I see these doctors who don’t know what problems to solve, what books to get or how to advance their careers in the U.S.,” Rivera Galvis said. “This program gives me the opportunity to share my experience and help others reach a medical residency, which is a dream that we have in common.”

Learn more about the IMG program in this Penn State Medicine article.