Minnesota International Medical Graduates Clinical Preparation Grant

MN_health.IMG@state.mn.us

The Minnesota Office of Rural Health and Primary Care is offering grants to support clinical preparation for immigrant international medical graduates (IMGs) in Minnesota.

The program goal is to address barriers to practice and facilitate pathways to assist immigrant IMGs to integrate into the Minnesota healthcare workforce, specifically by preparing IMGs for admission into medical residency programs, with the intended outcome of increasing access to primary care, particularly in rural and healthcare shortage areas of Minnesota.

Applicants may develop and implement their own curriculum. The curriculum must include training designed to equip all trainees to:

• Understand and describe the U.S. healthcare system
• Understand and describe assessment, evaluation, and feedback norms in U.S. medical education
• Gather information, formulate differential diagnoses, and propose plans for initial evaluation and management of patients with common presentations
• Manage follow-up visits with patients having one or more common chronic diseases
• Develop evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention plans for patients
• Demonstrate competency in advance elicitation of history, communication, physical examination, and critical thinking skills
• Demonstrate knowledge of local and national ethical and legal guidelines governing patient confidentiality
• Clearly summarize the patient's reason for admission and rationale for clinical plan
• Assess suicidality when appropriate
• Initiate a conversation with a patient about advance healthcare directives
• Clearly and concisely present oral and written summaries of patients to members of the healthcare team, including and synthesizing all relevant clinical information
• Demonstrate cultural responsiveness
• Understand and practice patient-centered care
• Collaborate with other members of a healthcare team
• Demonstrate proficiency in electronic health record software

Other required project components:

• A variety of clinical activities, including inpatient and outpatient rotations
• Mentoring by program faculty and preceptors
• Assessment of participants' clinical skills at the outset of the program and continually during the program
• Opportunities to participate in other activities in the medical education program and broader institution, such as grand rounds, conferences, and research
• Monthly stipends for IMG program participants

Eligible applicants are existing clinical medical education programs that fulfill the criteria:

• Located in Minnesota
• Currently provide clinical medical education
• Have the capacity and expertise to provide clinical preparation in primary care, including exposure to outpatient and inpatient medicine in one or more of the following specialties: family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, and psychiatry

Applications meeting the following criteria will receive priority:

• Experience providing clinical training, such as observerships, preceptorships, or graduate medical education, to IMGs
• Collaboration across organizations or entities
• Located in a rural or healthcare shortage community

Clinical preparation programs must serve eligible IMGs. An eligible IMG meets the criteria:

• A physician who received a basic medical degree or qualification from a medical school located outside the U.S. and Canada
• Born outside the U.S., now resides permanently in the U.S., and did not enter the U.S. on a J-1 or similar nonimmigrant visa following acceptance into a U.S. medical residency or fellowship program
• Has lived in Minnesota for at least 2 years at the time the program starts
• Has not been admitted to or completed a medical residency program in the U.S.
• Certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
• Has passed United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Steps 1 and 2
• Commits to providing primary care in a rural or underserved community of Minnesota for at least 5 years once eligible to practice medicine in Minnesota

Award ceiling: $700,000 per year
Award floor: $200,000 per year
Project period: May 1, 2026 - December 31, 2028
Estimated number of awards: 2

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and the online application portal are available on the program website.