Contribution of J-1 Visa International Medical Graduates to the Rural Physician Workforce
International Medical Graduates (IMGs) account for a quarter of the nation’s physician workforce, and are an important source of physicians for rural areas, and in particular, Critical Access Hospitals. Many IMGs obtain their green cards and eventually citizenship during their training in U.S. residencies, and then receive a J-1 visa waiver, which allows them to waive their obligation to leave the country after residency training. J-1 visa waiver IMGs are obligated to practice in designated physician shortage areas through an employment agreement with a private or public entity, including federal health clinics. While it is known that the J-1 visa waiver program is important in placing IMGs in rural practice, little in known about their location and actual numbers, and research to date has not differentiated IMGs based on whether they previously obtained a J-1 visa waiver. This project is determining the contribution of J-1 IMGs to the rural physician workforce by obtaining aggregate summary information on their location and adding 2005 American Medical Association data on other physicians to determine the contribution of J-1s to the physician supply in different types of rural areas, as measured by Rural-Urban Commuting Areas (Version 2.0) and regions. The numbers and percentages of J-1s will be compared to U.S. medical graduates and non J-1 visa waiver IMGS. The product for this project will be a policy-relevant working paper.
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