Dr. Alaa Al Nofal sees up to 10 patients a day at his pediatrics unit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He has known some of them since they were born. In addition, he continued treatment after graduating from high school.
“I treat these kids for type 1 diabetes, thyroid problems, thyroid cancer, puberty disorders, and adrenal disease,” he said.
Al Nofal’s expertise is invaluable. He is one of only five full-time pediatric endocrinologists working in a 150,000 square mile area covering both South Dakota and North Dakota.
Like most rural areas of America, it suffers from a shortage of doctors.
said Cindy Morrison, Chief Marketing Officer of Sanford Health, a nonprofit health care system based in Sioux Falls. Mainly in rural communities he runs 300 hospitals and clinics.
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But Sanford Health could lose Al Nofal and several other doctors important to its healthcare network.
Al Nofar, a Syrian citizen, is in Sioux Falls through a special workforce development program called Conrad 30 Visa Waiver. This essentially waives the requirement that physicians who complete residency on a J-1 exchange visitor visa must return to their country of origin. 2 years before applying for another US visa. Conrad’s 30 exemption allows him to stay in the United States for up to three years, as long as he commits to practicing in areas where doctors are in short supply.
President Donald Trump Temporary entry ban With restrictions on entry into the United States for people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria, Al-Nofar is uncertain about his future in the United States.
Al Nofal said, “While we agree that more must be done to protect our nation, this executive order will have a negative impact on doctors in these countries who are sorely needed across America. “They may no longer want to practice in the United States.” The case is currently in legal ambiguity after a federal appeals court. pause Ban.
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Conrad 30 visa waiver for the last 15 years It has sent 15,000 foreign doctors to underserved communities.
Sanford Health has a total of 75 doctors with these visa waivers, seven of whom are from countries listed in the executive order. “With the loss of Dr. Al-Nofal and other J-1 doctors, we will be unable to close a significant gap in access to healthcare for rural families,” said Morrison of Sanford Health.
The ban could also affect the new physician pipeline.
Each year, more than 6,000 international medical trainees enroll in the U.S. Residency Program on J-1 visas. About 1,000 of these trainees are from banned countries, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. J-1 visa holders who were outside the country when the ban took effect were barred from entering the United States and could not start or finish school as long as the ban was in effect.
The State Department told CNNMoney that the government could issue J-1 visas to people coming from one of the blocked countries if it had a “national interest,” but whether it was due to a shortage of doctors. I didn’t check. It deserves such consideration.
“The stress and anxiety created by the short-term executive order can have long-term consequences. There could be a growing shortage of healthcare providers willing to serve the community,” said Dr. Larry. Dial is Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia.
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Al Nofal attended medical school in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and completed a residency at the University of Texas on a J-1 visa. He went on to a Mayo Clinic fellowship, then applied for a J-1 waiver and was placed at Sioux Falls.
Now, 19 months into the three-year contract, Arnofar is directly treating or We see an average of 400 pediatric patients per month.
He sees most of his patients at the Sanford Pediatric Clinic in Sioux Falls. Once a month he takes a small plane to see patients at a clinic in Aberdeen, about 200 miles away.
“It’s not easy to be a doctor in this environment,” said Al-Nofal, citing long hours and South Dakota’s famously frigid winters. “But as a doctor, I am trained to help people in any situation and I am proud of that.”
This is one of the reasons Ar-Nofal and his American wife Alyssa had a hard time accepting the visa ban..
“I have a 10-month-old baby and I cannot travel to Syria right now. My family in Syria cannot come here,” he said. “Now my family can’t see their first grandchild.”
“I know that if we leave, we will probably never come back,” he said. He doesn’t want to travel anywhere in the country now. “I am afraid of how I will be treated,” he said. He also worries that he will be stopped at the airport even if he is traveling to another state.
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Almatmed Abdelsalam, from Benghazi, Libya, planned to practice as a family physician in Macon, Georgia through the Visa Waiver Program after completing his residency at the University of Central Florida Medical School in July.
Everything was going well. Abdelsalaam, who treats inpatients and veterans, applied for a visa waiver and was accepted. He signed an employment contract with his Magna Care, which provides doctors to his three hospitals in the Macon area, and is looking for a home to move himself, his wife, and his two young children to in the summer. started.
But there was a final step. To fully complete his J-1 waiver application, he needs final approval from the Department of State and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
“The Executive Order was issued midway through that process and my application at the State Department stalled,” he said.
Because he is a Libyan citizen (Libya is also subject to a visa ban), Abdelsalam fears the consequences.
“Macon hospitals are in dire need of a doctor. They have me, but I don’t know how long they’ll wait,” he said.
“No one argues that we need to keep our country safe, but we also need to keep our country healthy.” It’s an asset.”
CNNMoney (New York) First published February 10, 2017: 7:47 PM ET
