How Tennessee is Creating New Opportunities for Doctors Trained Outside the U.S.
This legislative session, Gov. Bill Lee made history by signing a bill that makes Tennessee the first state in the country to remove redundant medical residency requirements for top international doctors. By opening a new pathway for doctors trained outside the United States, HB1312 and SB1451, introduced by state Rep. Sabi Kumar and state Sen. Kerry Roberts, will help Tennessee address its growing physician shortage.
Most experts predict that Tennessee will be short 5,989 physicians by 2030, 1,107 of them primary care doctors. The new law will disrupt these trends and help Tennessee attract talented physicians from around the world to ensure the state has enough doctors to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population.
Tennessee is one of several states that want to do more than simply hope this problem will go away on its own. The problem is that Congress artificially capped the number of residency slots in the 1990s, leading in large part to today’s shortages. Some contend adding residency slots will solve the issue. However, adding slots will still take years before any noticeable improvements are made. States should follow Tennessee’s lead to fix Washington, D.C.’s error by making it easier for doctors licensed outside the U.S. to come and practice in their state.
To ensure only highly qualified doctors use this pathway, the law requires international doctors to demonstrate equivalent training, pass the same exams, be fully licensed in good standing in another country, and have practiced medicine abroad without incident. Furthermore, doctors have to be sponsored and employed by a health care provider that also trains residents. After two years of successful and safe practice, this law automatically grants these doctors a full Tennessee medical license. The only thing this law doesn’t require: repeating a three-year or longer residency training program.
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