Contradictory Policies for Foreign Medical Graduates

Abstract

Research Article Health AffairsVol. 6, No. 3 Contradictory Policies for Foreign Medical GraduatesStephen S. MickPUBLISHED:Fall 1987No Accesshttps://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.6.3.5AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextView PDFPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions View articleAbstractPrologue:By almost any accounting, foreign medical graduates (FMGs) constitute an important part of America's health care system. For the most part, though, serious study of their participation and the drawing of implications should the flow of FMGs be constricted in the future has not taken place. Recent legislation, sponsored by several key legislators, proposed to terminate Medicare support for the graduate training of FMGs. The American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association supported the legislation and the Reagan administration acquiesced to it An alternative and less punitive measure sponsored by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), was enacted. It required that FMGs pass both parts of a demanding test (Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in the Medical Sciences) before hospitals could receive Medicare support for the graduate medical training of such residents. In this article, Stephen Mick questions the assumptions upon which legislators, the medical profession, and other interested parties are basing their attitudes in relation to FMGs. Mick is an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. He holds a doctorate in sociology from Yale University and has been studying foreign medical graduates for fifteen years.TOPICSMedicarePhysiciansMedical educationPhysician workforceMarketsLegislationMedical practiceHospital qualityQuality of carePhysician payment Loading Comments... Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. DetailsExhibitsReferencesRelated Article MetricsCitations: Crossref 8 History Published online 1 January 1987 InformationCopyright © by Project HOPE: The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.PDF downloadCited byDual Autonomies, Divergent Approaches: How Stratification in Medical Education Shapes Approaches to Patient Care21 March 2018 | Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Vol. 59, No. 2“We Wanted To End Disparities at Work”: Physician Migration, Racialization, and a Struggle for EqualityJournal of American Ethnic History, Vol. 29, No. 3The Journey of a Foreign-Trained Physician to a United States Residency: Controversies Surrounding the Impact of This Migration to the United StatesJournal of the American College of Surgeons, Vol. 206, No. 1Immigrant Health Care Providers in the United StatesInternational Medical Graduates in Rural America: The 1987 Distribution of Physicians Who Entered the U.S. Medical System Between 1969 and 1982The Journal of Rural Health, Vol. 12, No. 5Geographical implications of restricting foreign medical immigration: A New Zealand case study, 1976–1987Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 33, No. 4Recruitment and Retention of Rural Physicians: Issues for the 1990sThe Journal of Rural Health, Vol. 6, No. 1Meeting The Medical Needs Of Adults In Public Psychiatric FacilitiesJames C. Hurowitz24 July 2017 | Health Affairs, Vol. 8, No. 2