Acad Med. 2024 Jan 1;99(1):35-39. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005310. Epub 2023 Jun 27.
Almost one quarter of physicians and physicians-in-training in the United States are international medical graduates (IMGs), meaning they have graduated from a medical school not accredited in the United States. Some IMGs are U.S. citizens and others are foreign nationals. IMGs, many of whom have years of training and experience gained in their countries of origin, have long contributed to the U.S. health care system, especially by providing care to populations that have been historically underserved. Additionally, many IMGs contribute to the diversity of the health care workforce, which can enhance the health of the population. The diversity of the United States is increasing, and racial and ethnic concordance between a physician and a patient has been linked to improved health outcomes.IMGs must meet national- and state-level licensing and credentialing standards like any other U.S. physician. This assures the ongoing quality of the care provided by the medical workforce and protects the public. However, at the state level, variation in standards and standards that may be more challenging to meet than those for U.S. medical school graduates may hamper IMGs' contributions. IMGs who are not U.S. citizens also face visa and immigration barriers.In this article, the authors present insights gleaned from Minnesota's model IMG integration program as well as changes made in 2 states in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Improving and streamlining processes for IMGs to be licensed and credentialed as well as the policies governing visas and immigration, where appropriate, can ensure that IMGs will be willing and able to continue to practice when and where they are needed. This, in turn, could increase the contribution of IMGs to addressing health care inequities, improving health care access through service in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas, and reducing the impact of potential physician shortages.
美国有近四分之一的医生和医学生是国际医学毕业生（IMG），这意味着他们毕业于未在美国获得认可的医学院校。有些 IMG 是美国公民，有些则是外国公民。IMG 们，其中许多人在原籍国接受了多年的培训和积累了经验，长期以来一直为美国的医疗保健系统做出贡献，特别是为那些历史上服务不足的人群提供医疗服务。此外，许多 IMG 为医疗保健劳动力的多样性做出了贡献，这可以提高人口的健康水平。美国的多样性正在增加，医生和患者之间的种族和民族一致性与改善健康结果有关。IMG 必须像任何其他美国医生一样，符合国家和州级的许可和认证标准。这可以确保医疗劳动力提供的护理质量持续提高，并保护公众的安全。然而，在州一级，标准的差异以及可能比美国医学院毕业生更难满足的标准可能会阻碍 IMG 的贡献。非美国公民的 IMG 还面临签证和移民障碍。在本文中，作者介绍了明尼苏达州国际医学毕业生融入计划模型中获得的见解，以及为应对 COVID-19 大流行而在两个州所做的改变。改进和简化 IMG 获得许可和认证的流程，以及适当的签证和移民政策，可以确保 IMG 在需要时愿意并能够继续在他们需要的地方行医。这反过来又可以增加 IMG 对解决医疗保健不平等问题、通过在联邦指定的卫生专业人员短缺地区提供服务来改善医疗保健获取机会以及减少潜在医生短缺的影响的贡献。
