Patients in Alexandria, La., were the friendliest people Dr. Muhammad Tauseef ever treated. They鈥檇 drive long distances to see him, and often brought gifts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a small town, so they will sometimes bring you chickens, bring you eggs, bring you homemade cakes,鈥� he said. One woman even gave him a puppy. 鈥淭hat was really nice.鈥�
Tauseef was born and raised in Pakistan. After going to medical school there, he applied to come to the U.S. to train as a pediatrician.
It鈥檚 a path thousands of foreign-born medical students follow every year 鈥� a聽聽that鈥檚 been around for more than half a century. And, like most foreign-born physicians, Tauseef came on a聽. That meant after training he had two options: return to Pakistan or work for three years in an area the U.S. government has identified as having a聽. He chose to work with mostly uninsured kids at a pediatric practice in Alexandria, La.
鈥淭hat was a challenge,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut it was rewarding as well, because you are taking care of people who there aren鈥檛 many to take care for.鈥�
The U.S. medical system depends on doctors like Tauseef, said Andrew Gurman, president of the American Medical Association. He worries that President Donald Trump鈥檚聽聽on immigration, which is after a federal appeals court ruling.
鈥淚nternational medical graduates have been a resource to provide medical care to areas that don鈥檛 otherwise have access to physicians,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ith the current uncertainty about those physicians鈥� immigration status, we don鈥檛 know whether or not these areas are going to receive care.鈥�
According to the AMA, about 280,000 international medical graduates practice in the U.S. today 鈥� that鈥檚 about one in four doctors. Some are U.S. citizens who鈥檝e gone abroad for medical school, but most aren鈥檛.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 all have permanent visas and so a lot of them are concerned about what their status is going to be, whether they can stay, whether they can go home to visit family and still come back, and the communities they serve have similar questions,鈥� he said.
And the care is top-notch. A聽聽just published in the journal BMJ shows Medicare patients treated by doctors from foreign medical schools get just as good care 鈥� and sometimes better 鈥� than those treated by U.S. medical graduates.
The uncertainty is hitting medical schools at a tough time of the year.聽聽is in charge of recruiting top students from across the world for the University of Texas Southwestern residency program.
鈥淭ypically we have 3,000 people applying for our 61 positions 鈥� of those 3,000, at least half of them are international medical graduates,鈥� he said.
Applicants find out their聽聽in March and usually start working in June. That gives them about 90 days to get聽. Kazi worries this year that won鈥檛 be long enough, and that students from countries included in the travel ban won鈥檛 be let in.
鈥淭hat would create hardship for the hospital, for us, and for our remaining residents,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l have to pick up more shifts or give up vacation.鈥�
Two-hundred and sixty people have in the U.S. from the seven countries included in the travel ban, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Tauseef left Louisiana two years ago but continues to care for low-income patients at Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic in Dallas. Six of the 30 physicians who work at this clinic are from other countries. Tauseef said they鈥檙e all educated to do the same thing.
鈥淎s a physician, being a foreign medical graduate, U.S. medical graduate, a Muslim doctor, a non-Muslim, we are trained to look for signs and symptoms,鈥� he said, 鈥淲e do not look at anybody鈥檚 color, we are not trained to look at anybody鈥檚 religion or ethnicity.鈥�
Tauseef, who has been in this country for 13 years, will apply for U.S. citizenship next month.
This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.