I was visiting my mother at a specialty hospital in Jacksonville, and pursued the wall of physicians.
Out of 12 of them, 7 of them came from either Mexican schools of medicine or the Caribbean.
Mind you, this place is affiliated with a the major hospital system in town.
Kind of castes a shadow of doubt on the hatred that SDN has for international medical schools.
Wow, I can't believe someone didn't call me on that...
Y'all are slipping!
I just got caught up on this thread and saw the minor WC error while reading it. I'm not much of a grammar nazi, but at least you noticed it. That's what matters.
20, heck even 10 years ago it was a whole different story. The reality is that in the coming years leading up to 2018-2020 all US-IMGs trying to obtain residencies will be competing for a dozen residencies left untouched by USMD and USDO students. And lets be honest, the AMA and AOA have pretty much teamed up this year with their merger to effectively push out as many IMGs as possible.
I just read an interesting article in JAMA about this topic.
Traverso G, McMahon GT. Residency training and international medical graduates. JAMA 2012;308(21):2193-4.
I'll summarize some of the points made:
-One of the most important statistical factors to consider is the fact that by 2015, the number of US medical graduates is expected to surpass the number of residency slots.
-The above expectation is based partly on the fact that there is a physician shortage, prompting US medical schools (allopathic and osteopathic) to increase enrollment.
-The authors assert that this may lead to enrolling less qualified students and thus may impact the quality of care.
-What role do IMGs play in the US?
-25% of physician population and 10-15% of residents, IMGs are disproportionately practicing in areas of the U.S. with high infant mortality, lower socioeconomic status, and higher non-white populations and rural areas. IMGs work more in the public sector and for longer hours. They represent more than a third of needed physicians in PCP-shortage areas. 10% of US hospitals are reportedly IMG-dependent. IMGs add diversity to physician workforce, and may improve patient-physician relationships between concordant ethnicities.
-Why do IMGs work in these areas?
-Better pay than in country of nationality, pathway to US citizenship for some if serving in medically underserved areas, visa waiver programs for those that stay in the US and practice in underserved areas.
-What problems do US citizens who attend medical school abroad face in the future?
-Since the number of IMGs practicing in the US is expected to decline, coupled with the rising enrollment of US medical schools, US citizens who attend medical school abroad (~50% in the Caribbean) may face difficulty in reentering the US. As it is, the number of residency positions in the US has not kept up with the increase in US enrollment. The decrease in funding of graduate medical programs may put further strain on the number of IMGs that are able to complete their residency in the US.
So there it is. Of note, the first author has a MB, BChir. The authors assert that a decline in IMGs may have drastic effects on patient care with respect to cultural and linguistic diversity, especially in underserved areas where they are disproportionately found. Furthermore, the authors seem to make a case for retention of pathway-to-citizenship programs and other related perks of practicing in the aforementioned US regions. At the same time, the authors state that with the ACA-induced increase in insurance coverage, the PCP need may become severe if IMGs are limited. US medical grads could be drawn to work in these sectors of medicine through incentives, etc. Thus, one can surmise that this could put further strain on the ability of IMGs to practice in the US (again, particularly the underserved areas).
Thoughts?
