Call it a sign of the times. For the first time, more than half the physicians entering residencies at Detroit's Wayne State University are coming in from non-U.S. medical programs. This year, foreign-educated students will fill 91 of the school's 162 residency slots, an influx which mirrors the experience of many programs in the U.S.. The new crop of students is particularly striking given that only 37 of the school's own graduates will take part in the program. School administrators argue that foreign-born doctors bring much-needed ethnic diversity to the program, particularly given the growing diversity of the U.S. population. Not only will the influx of foreign physicians diversify the WSU program, it will also add diversity to the state's long-term physician population. WSU has found that 60 percent of graduates stay in the state to practice after they finish their education.
To get more background on this trend:
- read this Detroit Free Press article