1253 



the inefficient use of health manpower already available. 'WTiatever the 

 causes, the quick absorption of FMGs provides.the sustained magnetic 

 force attracting medical manpower readily available in the markets of 



theLDCs. . . ^ 



Until something is done to alter this "push/pull" relationship be- 

 tween the sending LDCs and the receiving United States, little change 

 can be expected in this medical inflow. As long ago as 1966, Dr. G. 

 Halsoy Hunt informed the Federation of State Medical Boards of the 

 United States that "barring world catastrophe the foreign medical 

 graduate will be a major fact of American hospital and medical life 

 for many years to come." ^*° And as recently as June 1972, Stevens and 

 Vermeulcn wi ote : 



The influx of foreign trained physicians is primarily a market response to a 

 shortage of physicians in the United States. While there is a continuing demand 

 for additional "physicians, most notably for hospital house staffs, economics alone 

 would suggest a continuing flow of doctors, particularly from countries with rela- 

 tively low income levels for professionals and limited openings for medical 

 practice."^ 



"Wliat virtually assures continuous medical inflow is not just the 

 favorable balance of "push/pull" factors but U.S. practice in encourag- 

 ing — indeed facilitating — medical immigration. Stevens and Vermeu- 

 len made this point when they observed: "At present, vrith the new 

 immigration laws and current Congressional attitudes both encoura^^- 

 ing an influx of foreign trained physicians, one can expect more physi- 

 cians to come intending to practice." For those continuing to come as 

 interns and residents, they said, the new laws "facilitate their remain- 

 ing here after training." ^*^ 



CONTINUIXG BRAIN DRAIN FROM LDC's 



Historically, brain drain has demonstrated its durability as a 

 natural, human phenomenon : It has been a fact of man's life, at least 

 since the beginning of recorded history, and it is more likely to evolve 

 into a higher form through the impact of forces released in the indus- 

 trial age than to dissolve. The essential cause of brain drain is dis- 

 parity in development among nations. In the present era this means 

 disparity in economic development. It is axiomatic that investment 

 in human resources is necessary, indeed vital, for economic develop- 

 ment. Yet in the absence of world economic homogeneity, the move- 

 ment of people between the "have-not" and "have" nations is inevita- 

 ble, and it is necessary.^*^ Highly skilled people naturally seek higher 

 rewards and greater opportunities for their talents and labor. In the 

 present era, the growing gap in development between rich and poor 

 stimulates this flow of talent and provides the essential life-sustaining 

 element to brain drain that makes it a continuing international prob- 

 lem. The conclusions reached by Gregory Henderson in his UNITAR 

 study on brain drain from the LDCs elucidate this relationship be- 



^^ Quoted In, Nader and Zahlan, Science and Technology in Developing Countries, 1969, 

 p. 45.S. 



«" Stevens and Vermeulen, op. clt., p. xll. 



«2 Ibid., pp. xvl-xvl. 



«*3 Deutsch, op, cit. p. 42. 



