Challenges Faced by US-Trained Gastroenterologists When Pursuing a Medical Career Outside of the USA

Excerpt

Although the vast majority of US-trained medical practitioners choose to practice in the USA, there are circumstances in which US-trained gastroenterologists choose to pursue a career outside the USA. A common scenario involves physicians with foreign medical degrees who complete residency and fellowship in the USA and decide to return to their home country or to an area that more closely resembles their cultural background. While the majority of these foreign medical graduates stay and pursue a career in the USA, familial and cultural motives as well as immigration obstacles (inability to find a path to permanent residency in the USA) are the main causes underlying the decision to leave. The latter may become a more common trigger now that new regulations have been imposed on the H1 visa program, a pathway used by most foreign physicians to convert their visa status in order to be able to practice in the USA. …