In the past, HPPR has reported on the fact that rural America has been struggling to find enough doctors to serve its populace.
Now, it appears that President Trump’s travel ban could worsen the problem. As The Rural Blog reports,Trump's travel ban of immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, with possibly more majority-Muslim nations to come, could hurt medical education in the United States.
In 2013 alone, American residency programs received over 1,200 doctors from 11 different majority-Muslim countries. Foreign medical graduates are more likely to serve in poor, under-served communities, and build lives in rural areas.
Last week the American Medical Association stated that the ban would worsen access to health care in rural areas. The AMA asked President Trump to ensure that doctors and medical students not be affected by the ban.