Nearly one in four doctors practicing in the U.S. was born or trained abroad. In many rural communities, the number is much higher. A Harvard medical historian explores the roots behind America’s reliance on internationally trained physicians, from the sweeping changes of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to today’s tightening visa restrictions. She argues that immigrant physicians aren’t a supplement to the system; rather, they are the foundation to it.
Guest: Eram Alam, associate professor of the history of science at Harvard University and author of The Care of Foreigners
Then, from a childhood in rural Bangladesh marked by illness and loss to decades treating cancer patients in the United States, an oncologist reflects on his own immigration story and the experiences that shaped his career in medicine. He also discuss his new memoir, The Temple Road, and makes a case for empathy as the sustaining force of human connection and healing.
Guest: Fazlur Rahman, oncologist and the author of The Temple Road