International Medical Graduates SIG
Chair:
Paula Zimbrean, MD
Professor of Psychiatry and Surgery (Transplant)
Yale School of Medicine
Paula Zimbrean, MD, FAPA, FACLP | Yale School of Medicine
Vice-chair:
Shruti Mutalik, MD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai
Shruti Mutalik - Psychiatry | Mount Sinai - New York
SIG Goals:
The International Medical Graduate (IMG) Caucus/SIG was established in 2023 to enhance the recruitment and professional development of IMGs within Consultation–Liaison Psychiatry (CLP) and CL fellowships. Despite representing approximately one-third of psychiatry residency applicants and residents, IMGs remain significantly underrepresented among CL psychiatrists, comprising only about 13% of CL fellowship applicants. This disparity highlights both a recruitment challenge and an opportunity for growth within ACLP.
CLP is often perceived by IMGs as particularly demanding due to its high expectations for academic productivity, scholarship, and systems-based expertise. However, IMGs bring substantial strengths to CLP, including firsthand experience with diverse health care systems and deep cross-cultural perspectives. These attributes are directly relevant to the core work of consultation–liaison psychiatry and can enrich the field's clinical, educational, and scholarly mission.
The IMG Caucus aims to create a dedicated forum within ACLP to support IMG trainees and faculty, foster mentorship, and demystify pathways into CL fellowships and academic CLP careers. By providing targeted guidance and a professional community, the caucus seeks to empower IMGs to translate their unique clinical experiences and cultural expertise into educational initiatives, scholarly work, and leadership roles that benefit the broader ACLP membership.
Through advocacy, mentorship, and collaboration, the IMG Caucus aspires to strengthen diversity within CLP, expand the academic contributions of IMGs, and enhance the field’s capacity to address cross-cultural and systems-level challenges in contemporary medical settings.
Mentorship
Are you an IMG looking for career mentorship as a CL psychiatrist? ACLP mentorship programs are free and they can help at all stages of your career. Make sure you check the option “IMG related” on your corresponding application form:
- If you are a trainee or early career psychiatrist: ACLP Trainee and Early Career Psychiatrist (ECP) Mentorship Program - Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
- If you are a CL psychiatrist with more than 10 years of practice: Career Consultations - Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
OR contact the SIG chair or vice-chair directly.
External resources for IMGs:
- American Psychiatric Association
- International CL conferences:
- Opportunities for psychiatric observerships for IMGs
- APA IMG resources https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/international/international-medical-graduates-resources
- University of Miami - Harrington program - psych-oncology rotation
- Cleveland Clinic - CL and inpatient psychiatry International Physician Observer Program | Cleveland Clinic
- The Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell - via VSLO. More info at Visiting Student Learning Opportunities™ (VSLO®)
- Yale - clerkship only general psych, not CL specific https://medicine.yale.edu/md-program/visiting-students/
- Mayo clinic - clerkship only general psych, not CL specific https://college.mayo.edu/academics/visiting-medical-student-clerkships/
Bio of Shruti Mutalik:
Shruti Mutalik is a Consultation Liaison and Transplant psychiatrist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She immigrated from Mumbai, India, to New York City, in pursuit of a residency in Psychiatry.
She believes that her experience of having lived in two countries helps her inhabit an identity that is enriched and informed by both perspectives and experiences. Particularly in the current sociopolitical climate, she is committed to the IMG SIG as both, a supportive community for IMGs at a particularly challenging time, and an opportunity to harness the incredible diversity of perspectives and lived experiences that IMGs bring, with the rest of the ACLP.
How to access past listserv discussions:
Go to: https://list.clpsychiatry.org/, and then click on the link on the right side of the page that lets to the list they are looking to view. From there, login, this will send you a one-time use link to their email. From there, they will see all of the Lists they are a member of, be able to manage their subscriptions, email frequency, and view/search the archives.