Foreign-born and educated physicians in Connecticut who have not entered residency training

Twenty-seven foreign-born, foreign-educated physicians who had not yet entered residency training were located in the Hartford, Connecticut area. Twenty-two completed a written survey and were interviewed. Fairly complete information was available on another two, for a total of 24. The physicians fell into two distinct groups. One group of young, single physicians with an average of two years of experience after medical school, were in the United States on student visas for further training, and generally planned to return home upon completion of training. The second group were older, experienced physicians who had come to the United States with their families for political reasons and planned to settle here permanently. Both groups had great difficulty passing FMGEMS Part I, but few had problems with Part II. Ninety percent were preparing at a commercial test preparation center, and 42% were employed, almost exclusively in the health-care field. Forty-four percent had been observers in a Connecticut hospital. The presence of these individuals, especially the older, more experienced group, raises many public policy questions in the areas of physician evaluation and licensing in the United States.