In one of his first actions as President of the United States, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning travel into the US by anyone from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
Trump’s immigration ban immediately affected citizens of seven nations – Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen – with some visa holders on route to America being removed from planes and then being detained in holding areas for several hours.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) state 260 people from the seven nations are among the foreign medical
Due to the Trump immigration ban, many of them may now not become doctors in America – a move which could affect a vast amount of American patients (at least temporarily). A quarter of all practicing American physicians have been educated overseas and are more likely to work in areas of need.
school graduates who have applied to American residency slots. Despite court rulings that the travel ban is illegal, the Trump administration seeks to reinstate the immigration ban and legal battles are expected to continue for several days. This has led to a lot of confusion, particularly at ground level where administration officials have been instructed to subject visa holders from each of the affected countries to additional vetting.
There are fears such unclearly defined directives are potentially open to mistakes and abuse through misinterpretation by customs and border officials. Residency program directors are trying to sort out the rules and how they pertain to doctors, and there are concerns additional proposed changes could further restrict skilled health professionals from working in the US.
The Trump immigration ban has also affected Australian-based doctors who had planned to visit the US, to attend research conferences for example, but fear entry will be refused because they are a citizen of one of the affected countries.
Some Australian based doctors who have to undergo a lengthy and difficult process to apply for a visa to enter the US, state the travel ban feels like discrimination and are rethinking their decision to travel.
There has been a lot of support for the pledge of Dr Stuart Marshall, a Monash University anaesthetist and researcher, to boycott US-based medical journals until the ban is lifted, claiming it discriminates on the basis of race, religion and nationality. Some Australian doctors have even pulled out of speaking engagements in the US as a way of protest.
After intervention by the Australian government, Australians with dual citizenship are now exempt from the ban unless they are travelling from one of the nations on the banned list. The controversial order continues to be the subject of protests both in the US and worldwide.
If you are a doctor interested in working abroad, Australia is always an option. Feel free to browse our range of doctor jobs for your next career opportunity or traverse our information on migration.