1240 



Only the study by Dr. Fein on the doctor shortage raises, as he 

 phrased it, "the question of the right of qualified students to pursue 

 studies in the fields that interest them." Medicine, he noted, was one 

 of few fields where supply was restricted at the point of entry into 

 the educational system rather than into the profession. "Even if pro- 

 fessional licensing arrangements are justified in order to assure qual- 

 ity," he observed, "it is quite another matter to prevent students from 

 pursuing medical education if they so desire and are qualified." ^°= 



Admissions Crisis in American Medical Schools. — In June 1971, 

 Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) spoke on the Senate floor of the 

 "crisis in admissions to American medical schools," observing that it 

 "has reached major proportions." ^^^ Kecent data revealed that the ex- 

 tent of this problem has not been exaggerated. In 1970-71, 24,987 

 Americans applied to U.S. medical schools ; to total of 148,787 appli- 

 cations were submitted ; of this number, 11,500 were accepted.^^'' 



In 1971-72, 29,172 Americans filed a total of 210,943 applications for 

 12,361 places in American medical school freshman classes.®"^ (In the 

 fiscal year 1971, 5,748 foreign-trained physicians and surgeons entered 

 the United States as immigrants, the, overwhelming percentage from 

 the LDCs.) In 1972-73, according to AAMC estimates, there were 

 37,000 individuals filing 250,000 applications ; 13,570 were enrolled in 

 medical schools.®"^ (In the fiscal year 1972, 7,143 FMGs entered the 

 United States as immigrants, a sharp increase over the fiscal year 

 1971, again the overwhelming percentage w^as from the LDCs.) 

 AAMC estimates that in 1973-74, 40,000 American aspirants to medi- 

 cal school will be filing some 288,000 applications to fill 13,822 open- 

 ings. AAMC also estimates that in 1974-75, there will be 43,000 indi- 

 viduals filing application ; 322,500 applications will be filed for ac- 

 ceptance to fill some 14,300 openings in freshman classes in American 

 medical schools.^" 



This anomaly of a growing number of medical school aspirants for 

 a restricted number of openings, in an environment of a prolonged 

 and aggravated doctor shortage, and coincidental with an increased 

 inflow of foreign trained doctors, is becoming increasingly apparent 

 in the medical profession and in the Congress. Dr. Robert A. Chase of 

 Stanford University told the October 1973 meeting of the American 

 College of Surgeons that it was "a national shame" that the United 

 States did not have space for those students who wanted to attend 

 medical school.^" And the American Medical Association itself asked 

 in a recent editorial reviewing American medical education, "Isn't 

 there something awry when the United States must depend on the 

 immigration of graduates of foreign medical schools for its supply 

 of physicians, while at the same time United States schools are forced 

 to turn away qualified applicants?" ^^^ What adds to this anomaly is 



«f» Fein, op. cit., p. 144. 



«o« Congressional Record, June 18, 1971. p. S9423. 



e<" Stpv<>ns and Vermeiilen, op. clt., p. 165. 



«09 AAMC, Medical School Requirements, 197i-75 (Washington: 1973), p. 16. 



«» Ibid. 



oio Ibid. 



on "Doctor Immigration Is Termed Harmful in U.S. and Abroad," The New York Times, 

 Oct. 17, 1973. p. 25. 



ei^ Quoted in Lawrence K. Altman, "Doctors Influx Backed by A.M.A.," The New York 

 Times, Oct. 23. 1973. p. ». 



