Physician Migration to the United States

Abstract

THERE are now nearly 47,000 foreign-trained physicians who have permanent residency status and are licensed to practice medicine in the United States.¹In the past 20 years, the number of foreign medical graduates (FMG) receiving license to practice increased from an annual rate of 300 in 1950 to 3,000 in 1970.¹Thus, in 1970, twenty-seven percent of the 11,000 new licentiates in the United States were FMG as compared to 5% of 6,000 new physicians granted licenses in 1950.¹Now almost one-third of all US house staff are FMG.¹The extensive role played by the FMG in the health care system of the United States has been discussed from the point of view of the receiving country in a recent article by Dublin.²Our study addresses the issue from the viewpoint of one of the major donating countries. At present Iran ranks fifth among all