Path to United States Practice Is Long Slog to Foreign Doctors

[Cinderella]

I thought of putting this in the Foreign Medical Graduates forum but then I recalled that there are FMG/IMG members that don't have call level access and it might severe a better purpose in a public access place for those coming to this site seeking information.

The recent NYT article discusses the long path to practicing medicine in the United States for FMG/IMGs. A lot of it I already know and we've gone through first hand or my extended family members have but maybe the article will be more articulate in it's explanation.

Path to United States Practice Is Long Slog to Foreign Doctors

[medpedspouse]

I recognize the hurdles and challenges FMGs face in our current system. However, I wish the author of this article had done its homework and had written an article that was objective without an agenda.

For example...take this little phrase...

For years the United States has been training too few doctors to meet its own needs, in part because of industry-set limits on the number of medical school slots available.

What industry is this? Right now each medical school is pressured to increase their class size. Problem is that the funding does not come along. Why does the author not mention this fact? Our class grew this year but we did not get any extra funding to increase the labs or pay for additional faculty. Why? Because there is only so much money to go around. Medical schools are not the only ones being pressured to increase class size. The same goes for all other departments/colleges/disciplines. Institutional funding can only go so far.

Furthermore, going back to the funding/money issue, why increase the class size when it is getting harder and harder to get residency spots later? This issue also affects US grads. I wonder why the author did not mention this either.

Also, the mention of low test scores and not being able to match also affects US grads. I am not saying the process is perfect BUT how else can a residency program determine whether or not the applicant has the knowledge base they expect?

[corn poffi]

I'm glad somebody else felt the same way. I thought the article was horribly researched. It tried to tug at the emotional heartstrings by forgetting to analyze why some of these protocols are in place.

[Cinderella]

I thought the article did mention that funding for residency programs hasn't been increased by Congress since 1997, or maybe I read that in the comments? They addressed a lot of things in the comments of the article that it didn't mention. I think the point of it was maintained however to keep it simple for the amount of space they had to fill. Otherwise we all know it can turn into a book.

[SoonerTexan]

2 new med schools in Texas alone in the next few years...at least one geared toward primary care.

[moonlight]

2 new med schools in Texas alone in the next few years...at least one geared toward primary care.

Really? Didnt know that. DH did residency by a med school like that. Grads have a hard time doing anything but primary care. I always wonder how a pre med knows what type of residency they want so early in the process.

[SoonerTexan]

Austin and one near the border. Can't remember where or at what stage they are. I guess there is a chance they could fall apart and not open too.

[metroguy]

from what i seen, most MD med school try to increase 2 to 10 students per year every yr since 2006 with the basic goal of increasing 10% of graduating class. of course, with the addition of new DO schools + a few MD school, there's a lot of competition for residency spots which increase very little. so, if you're a FMG, it gets harder and harder to land a spot. it's the way it is. the article just complain about it and doesn't offer any good solution. the usa already accept MD degree's from other countries. the author advocate getting rid of residency for 'experience' FMG. if that happens, there'll be a flood of FMG and the us residency will become worthless. once residency is worthless, there med school will no longer be competitive. i doubt that will happen. of course, it did happen on computer science world..