U.S. needs more medical schools
I agree with Judy Benson that we should thank all the foreign-born doctors who are playing key roles in the U.S. health system, “Critical care: Foreign-born doctors play key role in U.S.,” (April 23). I have worked with many such outstanding physicians. However, there is one issue that the article failed to address, and that is why do are 25 percent of our current physicians foreign born? Most of these came into the U.S. on H-1 B Visas and were allowed to stay.
This occurred not because U.S. students did not want to go to medical school and become physicians, but because we were not producing the number of physicians we needed. There was a prediction in 1980 that we would have a physician surplus, and the result was a lack of federal support to build new medical schools. Many frustrated U.S. pre-medical graduates went to foreign medical schools or never went to medical school.
There were, however, residency training spots for the U.S. graduates, U.S. foreign graduates and foreign-born graduates to apply to. In 2010, a new report by the Association of American Colleges called for a 30 percent increase in enrollment in the U.S. medical schools. New schools are starting to be built. Quinnipiac, here in Connecticut, has one of them. More medical spots should help our U.S. pre-medical students become physicians.
Kathryn Johnson, M.D.
Niantic