Recruitment of Public Psychiatrists: The Impact of University and State Collaboration on FMGs in Maryland

The current emphasis on university and state collaboration to recruit competent psychiatrists to the public sector may adversely affect foreign medical graduates (FMGs) working in state hospitals, many of whom received inadequate training in autonomous state hospital residency programs. In Maryland a joint initiative of the state university and the mental hygiene administration called the Maryland Plan has been successful in attracting university-trained psychiatrists, mostly U.S. medical graduates, to public hospitals, leaving fewer training and employment opportunities for FMGs. Most FMGs have retained their positions in the state hospitals, and 15 percent of the university-trained recruits have been FMGs. However, the authors predict that few FMGs will be able to compete with U.S. medical graduates for residency slots, and they call for continued recruitment of the most qualified FMGs into the public system.