Stop Importing Foreign Doctors While American MDs Remain Jobless

The United States is in the midst of the worst public-health crisis in a generation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. averages 2.59 doctors per 1,000 people.

Despite ample untapped medical talent at home, the government continually issues thousands of visas to foreign doctors each year. More than 6,500 recent American medical graduates currently sit idle, being passed over by residency programs around the country.

In Dr. Esther Raja's New York Post op-ed "Let's stop importing doctors while American MDs go jobless," she says:

"Relying on foreign physicians was difficult to justify even before the pandemic. But at a moment of crisis-level unemployment, and crippling demand for medical care, letting an army of American doctors sit on their hands is bonkers.

By the time American doctors graduate from medical school, they have spent nearly a decade navigating one of the most intensive and competitive systems of professional training on the planet. They have distinguished themselves in pre-med programs, performed well on the Medical College Admissions Test, defied the odds by earning entrance into a medical school, then completed their degrees at great financial expense. The average medical school debt in the United States exceeds $200,000."

In the midst of an unemployment upheaval, forcing American doctors to sit at home while issuing more visas to foreign physicians instead is unacceptable.

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