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Blog → June 23, 2025

Advancing Careers: VCU and RPA Launch Medical English and Cultural Competencies Course for International Physicians

Medical English class

Foreign-trained doctors bring invaluable medical expertise, but navigating communication and cultural differences in the U.S. healthcare system can be a challenge. That’s why the Refugee Physicians Advocacy Coalition (RPA) has partnered with Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Global Education Office to co-design a new course: “Medical English and Cultural Competencies in the U.S. Healthcare System.’

The curriculum blends an introduction to foundational practice competencies with the communication skills needed for successful transition to U.S. healthcare settings—preparing participants for the Residency match, Virginia’s new Provisional License pathway, and other healthcare roles. The course is tailored for International Physicians with advanced English proficiency.

A special thank you to VCU’s Laura Wilkinson for leading the course, and to Dr. Lily Cameron, Dr. Sarah Kureshi, Dr. Sara Foster Fabiano, Dr. Shalah Namek, and Dr. Kacie Saulters for their expert collaboration. We’re also grateful to the Asian American Center of Frederick, Maryland for their generous financial support.

Together, we’re empowering international physicians to thrive and make a difference in our communities!

VCU Professional Development Course

RPA welcomes opportunities to collaborate on other courses or initiatives to help advance International Physicians’ medical careers. Please send us an email.

Contact Us

If you are an International Physician interested in joining our registry and enlisting RPA Coalition’s medical career support, enter your information here:

International Physician Registry
What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2024, more than 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, or human rights abuses.

An increase of 7.2 million over 2023, that’s more than 19,619 people every day — roughly one person every 4.4 seconds.

They arrive in refugee camps and other countries, like the US, seeking the one thing they’ve lost: safety.

Fleeing political imprisonment, ethnic violence, religious persecution, gang threats, or war crimes, they come with what little they managed to carry:

Legal papers – if they’re lucky.

A single backpack.

Sometimes a child’s hand in theirs.

They also carry the weight of what they left behind: fractured families, homes they’ll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

They carry loss most of us can’t imagine – but also the truth of what they’ve endured.

At TSOS, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares their experience of forced displacement, they reclaim their voice. And when we amplify that voice – through film, photography, writing, and advocacy – the world listens. Hearts soften. Communities open. Policy begins to shift.

That shift matters. Because when neighbors understand instead of fear…

when lawmakers see people, not politics…

when a teacher knows what her student has survived…

Rebuilding life from the ashes becomes possible.

We’re fighting an uphill battle. In today’s political climate, refugee stories are often twisted or ignored. They’re reduced to statistics, portrayed as national threats, or used to score political points.

The truth – the human, nuanced truth – gets lost, and when it does, we lose compassion.

We are here to share their truth anyway.

At TSOS, we don’t answer to headlines or algorithms. We are guided by a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and welcomed.

Our work is powered by the people we meet — refugees and asylum seekers rebuilding after loss, allies offering sanctuary, and communities daring to extend belonging.

Your support helps us share their stories — and ensure they’re heard where they matter most.

“What ultimately persuaded the judge wasn’t a legal argument. It was her story.”

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We value every gift, but recurring contributions allow us to plan ahead and invest more deeply in:

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You don’t have to be displaced to stand with those who are.

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