The Ethics of Physician Migration and Their Implications for the United States

Abstract

Currently, the United States trains only three quarters of the physicians it requires to fill its entry level residency positions. The other quarter of residents employed by its hospitals is composed of immigrants who have been trained in other countries. This reliance of our healthcare system on foreign physicians puts a tremendous strain on the healthcare systems of developing nations. At the same time, by replacing American medical school graduates with graduates of foreign schools, the policy prevents a significant number of Americans who desire to practice medicine from doing so. An alarming shortage of physicians by the year 2020 has been forecasted. Discussion of how this shortage will be addressed is long overdue. The options are clear: either the United States can increase its dependence on foreign medical training programs or it can expand its own. It should choose the latter.