RPA Founders Present at the 2024 National Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America Scientific Conference
Dr. Sarah Kureshi and Brandi Kilmer, co-founders of the Refugee Physicians Advocacy (RPA) Coalition, presented at the 2024 National Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America (AMPPA) Scientific Conference in October. Their topic “Strengthening the Medical Workforce with Skilled International Physicians” resonated strongly with an audience of over 50 Afghan professionals who share an interest in advancing the medical careers of displaced Afghans.
Afghan physicians are eager to be seen as a resource to help solve U.S. healthcare shortage. One participant explained, “I will volunteer my time for free to demonstrate my skills to any employer.” For Dr. Kureshi, who has conducted and published research on refugee physicians and leads a yearly cohort of first year medical students in refugee health-related projects the topic is personal. Kureshi’s own parents were International Medical Graduates who relocated to the United States from Pakistan before she was born. It took years for her father to re-establish his career and her mother gave up her career altogether.
RPA Coalition’s efforts to assist International Physicians is a beautiful example of institution-community partnership working together."
- Dr. Sarah Kureshi
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Discussions of physician workforce policy tend to organize themselves around numbers. Shortage projections, residency slot allocations, and licensing timelines dominate the literature, and for understandable reasons. More than 83 million people in the United States currently live in areas without sufficient access to a primary care physician, and projections suggest the country could face a shortage of as many as 120,000 physicians by 2030.