1221 



from the LDCs, and accumulated evidence seems to corroborate the 

 judgment of Dr. Thomas D. Dublin that, "with the floodgates now open 

 for the mass migration of physicians, particularly from the lesser to 

 the more highly developed countries of the world, a long time may 

 elapse before this flow is stopped, or reversed. Up to 100,000 physicians 

 may now be migrating annually. . . ." ^*^ 



U.S. Dependency on FMGs. — As the statistical data presented in 

 Chapter II indicated, the United States is a prime receiver of emigrat- 

 ing physicians : it depends upon FMGs to meet demand, and this de- 

 pendency is increasing. In 1959, there were 20,575 FMGs in the United 

 States, or 8.5 percent of the 241,036 total number of physicians; in 

 December 1970, there were 63,391 FMGs identified in the latest AMA 

 census. Another 10,000 or more are believed to be unregistered. The 

 proportion of FMGs more than doubled by 1970 to almost one in five 

 of the 334,028 listed doctors. In the lli/^-year interval, the total number 

 of M.D.s in the United States increased by 39 percent ; the number of 

 M.D.s receiving their basic medical training outside the United States 

 more than tripled. During the 3-year period 1968-70, the proportion 

 of newly licensed FMGs rose to more than 29 percent of the total. In 

 1970, the net increase in physician population was 9,102 ; one-third, or 

 3,016, were newly licensed FMGs — the figure would be 3,208 if Ca- 

 nadian medical graduates were included.^*® 



In recent years the annual inflow of FMGs has matched and then 

 exceeded the number of graduates from American medical schools. In 

 1969, 7,216 FMGs entered the country; 8,059 American medical stu- 

 dents were graduated. In 1970, 8,166 FMGs entered ; 8,367 American 

 students were graduated. In 1971, the figures were 10,540 and 8,974 

 respectively. During the total period 1962-71, 75,639 FMGs entered 

 the country ; 77,867 American medical students were graduated.^*^ 



That FMGs contribute a great deal to American health care is 

 evident in data presented in the studies by Stevens and Vermeulen, 

 Margulies and Bloch, and the AMA in its 1970 report on FMG«. The 

 benefits accrued to the United States are apparent in the statistics. 

 In citing American dependency on FMGs for hospital staffing, Stevens 

 and Vermeulen note that as of December 1970, 28,000 of the 63,000 

 FMGs were working full-time in American hospitals as interns, res- 

 idents, or full-time staff. While constituting less than one-fifth of the 

 total number of M.D.s in the country, they provide about a third of 

 all physicians in hospital-based practice. In anesthesiology, nearly one- 

 half of the 2,700 full-time hospital physicians, including interns and 

 residents, are FMGs."^ -pj^g ^^i^ ^f FMGs in internship and residency 

 programs during the last two decades has increased enormously. In 

 1950-51 FMGs represented only 10 percent of interns and 9 percent 

 of residents in American hospitals; in 1970-71, there were 29 percent 

 and 33 percent respectively.^*^ 



FMG contribution to American medical care extends beyond the 

 hospitals. More than 20,000 were in office-based practice in 1970; more 

 than 4,000 were in medical teaching or research ; and 1,200 in adminis- 



^^ Dublin, op. clt., p. 870. 



«« Ibid., p. 871. 



"^ Stevens and Vermeulen, op. cit, p. 96. 



6*8 Stevens and Vermeulen, op. cit., p. 1. 



B« Ibid., p. 6. 



