International Medical Graduate (IMG),

The term International Medical Graduate (IMG), earlier known as a Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG), is widely used to refer to a physician who has graduated from a medical school outside of the country in which he or she intends to practice. In the United States it has been used to refer to a physician who has graduated from a medical school located outside the United States, Canada, or Puerto Rico.

The Florida Statutes, Title XXXII: Regulations of Professions and Occupations, Chapter 458: Medical Practice, Section 458.3124, states: “…foreign-trained physician: A person who was trained in a medical school that is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools published by the World Health Organization and is located in a country other than the United States, Canada, or Puerto Rico.”

In 2006, a bill (HB 881 CS) was presented at the House of Representatives to create s. 458.3126, F.S., defining the term "international medical graduate" as follows: (1) An "international medical graduate," also referred to as a "foreign-trained physician," is a person who has trained in an allopathic foreign medical school that is listed in the International Medical Education Directory and is located outside the United States, Canada, or Puerto Rico.

The latter definition is in conformity with the one used by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), and it will be the one we will use in this webpage.