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SALT LAKE CITY — Immigrants are playing a crucial role in addressing labor shortages in the health care industry in Utah and across the country, according to new research.
A report from the American Immigration Council found that immigrants — who comprise 9% of Utah's population — account for 13% of Utah physicians, 8% of pharmacy technicians and 5% of dental hygienists. The American Immigration Council is a nonprofit and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
Utah's health care labor shortage dates back years.
In 2015, for example, Utah faced severe physicians' shortages, with some counties reporting zero physicians per 100,000 residents. Then, COVID-19 further intensified workforce shortages in the health care industry — in Utah and across the country.
Although the total number of health care jobs in Utah's health care industry has declined, the state has seen a dramatic increase in the number of job postings. Between 2017 and 2021, online job postings increased 688% for anesthesiologists, 291% for dental hygienists, 90% for psychiatric technicians, 83% for sonographers, 46% for MRI technicians and 32% for dentists.
During that same period, the number of health care job postings that require bilingual skills increased by 39%.
"As employers struggle to recruit and retain specialized health care workers, immigrants play a crucial role in helping to address labor shortages," the American Immigration Council report states. "With an increase in demand for multilingual and culturally competent employees, internationally trained health care professionals are uniquely positioned to provide support across all health care settings."
Reducing 'brain waste'
The full potential of immigrant contributions to Utah's health care industry may be under-tapped. Nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants in the U.S. are unemployed or stuck in low-skilled jobs — a phenomenon referred to as "brain waste." In Utah, 33% of immigrants with health care-related professional and doctorate degrees were working in a health care job that does not require their degree.
This issue can be traced to the barriers immigrants face in transitioning into the American workforce, including difficulty or inability to get their foreign credentials recognized in the U.S. as well as a lack of U.S. professional work experience or technical English fluency.
Those barriers can be even higher in health care. It generally costs immigrants trained as doctors overseas at least $10,000 and four to five years to get licensed in the U.S., according to Pew Charitable Trusts.
"For Utah to remain competitive and address critical shortages of physicians and other health care workers, it will be crucial to implement policies that not only attract and retain global talent that is complementary to the U.S.-born workforce, but that also build career pathways for immigrants who already call the state home," the American Immigration Council report states.
The report pointed to policies in Minnesota and Washington as examples of ways states can reduce barriers for internationally trained health care workers. Minnesota, for example, has as a program that provides internationally trained doctors with clinic experience so they can compete for medical residences. In 2021, Washington passed a law that requires the state's medical commission to offer a limited license for international medical graduates that allows them to gain clinical experience.
Ryan Starks, executive director of the Utah Governor's Office Economic Opportunity Office, says the state "recognizes the incredible contributions of our immigrant communities" and is working to address some of the barriers immigrants face.
"As a state and across agencies, we're working to maximize the talents and contributions of New Americans," Starks said in a press release. "This report highlights the opportunities to make strategic priorities in policy and practice to reduce brain waste and increase health care professionals' pathways to work in Utah."
