By Nyesha Stone
Dr. G. Richard Olds believes international medical students are the key to solving the shortages of doctors. Picture taken by Carols Puma.
Can you imagine a society without doctors? If not, then you would agree that the shortage of doctors in the U.S. is a problem.
According to a 2017 report conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges, “we project physician demand will continue to grow faster than supply, leading to a projected total physician shortfall of between 40,800 and 104,900 physicians by 2030.” In other words, although there’s always going to be a need to fill these positions, it’s questionable if the demand will ever be met.
President of St. George’s University (SGU) Dr. G Richard Olds, said there’s an answer for the shortage—international medical students. Because even when an individual is denied from a medical school in the U.S., due to only a small percentage being accepted each year, international medical schools are just as equipped and prepare students well to be doctors, said Dr. Olds.
“Where you go to medical school isn’t as important as you think,” he said. “[Because] doctors at the end of the day are highly trained.”
St. George’s University campus. Picture taken by Joshua Yetman.
SGU is located in Grenada, West Indies and according to their website, SGU has placed 900 US residencies in just this year alone. This is the third year in a row that SGU has secured more residency positions than any medical school in their world. Plus, 75 percent of their medical students are U.S. citizens.
After spending two years in Grenada and two years in Atlanta, Zach Wadsworth is now stationed in Milwaukee for his residency. While here, he’s working in the Medical of Wisconsin’s pediatrics-anesthesiology residency program.
“The first day [on the job] I felt like I didn’t know anything,” said Wadsworth, who’s originally from Phoenix. “Now I feel much better about the process and how the hospital runs.”
Wadsworth has a passion for traveling, so he always dreamed of attending school internationally and SGU was the perfect decision for him.
Incoming SGU student Jacob Lamirande wasn’t going to let not being accepted into U.S. medical schools stop him from being a doctor. After applying, he received the Legacy of Excellence scholarship, which awards students with excellent academic history up to $60,000, so attending SGU cost about the same as attending a medical school in the states.
“I’ve been hoping to be a doctor since high school,” he said. “[And,] if that means I have to go across the world, I will.”
While these men are fighting the shortage issues, it gets a little deeper than that.
There’s also specifically a shortage in doctors willing to work in minority communities.
“We have to get more students from rural (and low-income) areas into medical school”, said Dr. Olds. There are many individuals who live in poor neighborhoods that miss the chance to get their foot in the door because of the lack of resources and opportunities. And with the rise of minority doctors, minority neighborhoods could receive the care they deserve and need, like the nicer areas.
We may be facing a shortage of doctors, but let’s not forget that there are thousands of individuals ready to step up, they just need the chance.