The path of an immigrant to medicine is long and thorny: a doctor from Kazakhstan spent 15 years to get the right to work in her profession in New York

Very often, young people from small towns in remote countries have to give up their American dream. But not Asel Talaspayeva. The girl told TengriMIX about what a long journey of 15 years she made from a small town in the Almaty region to New York. Nothing less than setting himself the goal of becoming a guru in ophthalmology.

“I come from the small town of Ushtobe. Doctor by profession, ophthalmologist by profession. This is a doctor (microsurgeon) who specializes in eye health, diagnosis and treatment of pathologies of the organs of vision. She studied this profession in Almaty, at KazNMU named after Asfendiyarov. In 2012 she graduated from the university, then continued in internship and residency at the Kazakh Research Institute of Eye Diseases. After graduation, she remained to work at this institute as an ophthalmologist.

I have been interested in studying abroad since I was a student. Always looking for internships abroad, traveled to Italy with a group of top students. Interest in the profession has become even deeper. I constantly communicated with foreign professors and scientists who came to our university on an exchange basis. Thanks to all this, I realized that I want to go to other countries to continue studying medicine and learn about advanced developments in the field of ophthalmology.

I flew to the US during my summer vacation and was able to study the health care system in America. I was struck by the high professionalism of doctors, as well as their relationship with patients. Then she especially noted for herself that the ethical standards of medical workers and laws equally well protect both the doctor and the patient. Then I set a goal for myself - to learn English and try to find a job in America.

During the residency, she began to engage in research activities even more. I presented the results of my research at international conferences. I managed to get an invitation to the world's largest annual ophthalmological conference, held under the auspices of ARVO. I became the first doctor from Kazakhstan who was allowed to speak there and present the results of my work. At this conference, I attracted the attention of a professor of ophthalmology from the USA, and he suggested that we do future research together. We have formed a good professional tandem, and we are now working together. The most vivid impressions from that conference were meeting the people who invented the complex medical equipment on which I worked every day. And also with those who created the medicines that I prescribed every day!

Having participated in many international conferences and internships, I decided to move to the USA

However, to become a doctor in the States, you have to go a long and difficult way. The main problem for doctors from other countries is to confirm the diploma of medical education. To do this, you need to pass three difficult exams, which just repels many doctors from the CIS countries from the opportunity to work abroad in their specialty.

On the subject: How a Kazakh built a career in New York and got an apartment in Manhattan

In 2018, I moved to New York and began training at a school for foreign doctors. Despite the difficulty, I really enjoyed the training. Well-known doctors came to us as invited teachers. I had to study all of medicine again in English. In addition to standard subjects, I studied disciplines that I had never even heard of. Worked out 12 hours a day. From Friday to Sunday, the school was a holiday. And these three days I studied in the library from 7 am to XNUMX am - everyone is doing that there.

There were dozens of mock tests for medical exams in English! After several failures, I packed my bags in tears, thinking that nothing would work out for me. Then I unpacked it again and went to study in the library.

Last year I managed to confirm my diploma, I received a long-awaited certificate of recognition. It was a long and thorny path, and the support of close and dear people helped me to go through it.

After receiving the certificates, I practiced in the most famous ophthalmological clinics in the USA, where I met the best professors and doctors. And a few months ago, I was offered jobs in the best eye labs at university clinics like Columbia University and New York University. Even a professor who is researching the application of artificial intelligence technologies in the field of ophthalmology was interested in my resume. His team won the Nobel Prize. Interest from such a person was a great honor for me.

Doing science is interesting and informative, but in the future I want to work as a microsurgeon and do research at the same time. What I want to say by my example: never stop and live your dream, no matter what others think about it. In the East they say that the dog barks, but the caravan moves on. It doesn’t matter where you come from, it’s important to work hard and achieve your goals!