Immigration Ban Highlights Just How Much U.S. Relies On Foreign-Born Doctors
Doctors studying in the United States are given the option to either return home or work for three years in an area that is medically underserved. Meanwhile, the ban has forced one doctor to cancel a trip to Iran to perform life-saving surgeries.
NPR:
Foreign-Born Doctors Provide Care In Underserved Area
[Dr. Muhammad] Tauseef was born and raised in Pakistan. After going to medical school there, he applied to come to the U.S. to train as a pediatrician. It's a path thousands of foreign-born medical students follow every year — a path that's been around for more than half a century. And, like most foreign-born physicians, Tauseef came on a J1 visa. That meant after training he had two options: return to Pakistan or work for three years in an area the U.S. government has identified as having a provider shortage. (Silverman, 2/11)
The Associated Press:
Trump Travel Ban Kills Surgeon’s Lifesaving Trip To Iran
A Houston surgeon has canceled a trip to Iran to perform lifesaving surgeries because of uncertainty over the future of President Donald Trump’s refugee and immigration travel ban. Dr. Alireza Shamshirsaz is an Iranian-born professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He specializes in fetal surgery, and he has already had devastating video chats with two sets of parents who expected him to operate on their unborn children. (2/10)
Meanwhile, Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali faces a possible death sentence in the next few days over accusations of espionage —
Stat:
Alarmed Colleagues Mobilize To Free Doctor Accused Of Spying In Iran
It was only in October that his colleagues would learn what had happened: [Dr. Ahmadreza] Djalali had been imprisoned in Tehran, accused of espionage. Now, after being held for nearly 11 months, Djalali could be sentenced to death over the next few days — in part because he refused to sign a confession saying that he was a spy for a “hostile government,” according to an Amnesty International report.His friends in the disaster medicine and human rights communities are urgently organizing a campaign to free Djalali, hoping that publicity will pressure Iran to change course. They have started a petition, which currently has over 200,000 signatures. (Boodman, 2/10)
