IMG Wellness Initiative

Dr. Can Misel Kilciksiz is an international medical graduate (IMG) from Koc University School of Medicine in Istanbul (Turkey). He is currently a PGY-4 psychiatry resident and has experienced the challenges of being a minority and immigrant in and outside of the hospital and academia. Can Misel aspires to use his experience and passion to create a support and advocacy system for co-residents and fellows in the hospital to enhance their well-being.

Dr. Rawan Safa is an international medical graduate (IMG) from American University of Beirut (AUB) in Beirut, Lebanon. She is currently a Chief Resident in the Emergency Department at Washington University. Rawan was born in the US and moved to Lebanon during her early years, making her understand the difficulty and culture differences and try to use her experience to provide a supportive system to her colleagues.

Dr. Callie Torres, while not an IMG, is the wellness champion and a chief resident in the Department of Pathology, where up to one third of the trainees are IMGs. Through working with and developing friendships with her IMG co-residents, she has been exposed to some of the unique difficulties they experience. Thus, she aims to help establish resources and other such opportunities for the well-being of her own co-residents and IMGs across the WashU campus.

Dr Nadia Wattad is an international medical graduate and a second-year fellow in the pediatric pulmonology division. She moved with her family from Israel 3 years ago. She completed her residency in pediatrics at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She has been adapting to a new culture and this process has been challenging given the lack of special support she needed. After passing through this experience, she has a goal to deliver the tools she acquired to her IMG colleagues starting their medical career in the US, to make their experience better.