Foreign Physicians Helping Underserved Areas
The Primary Care Office (PCO) helps coordinate the placement of foreign physicians in underserved areas of the state through the Physician Visa Waiver Program. This program is also known as the "Conrad Program" or the "J-1 Visa Waiver Program."
Right now, many Oregonians do not have access to a primary care doctor in their community. This is mainly true for rural areas of the state, but also applies to some urban and suburban communities. The Physician Visa Waiver Program helps address this issue by allowing international medical graduates to remain in the United States if they work in a federally designated shortage area. An M.D. or D.O. who has completed or is scheduled to complete a residency or fellowship in a U.S. medical school through the Exchange Visitor (J-1 Visa) Program is eligible to apply.
The program allows Oregon to sponsor 30 waiver applications per federal fiscal year, October 1 - September 30. An application fee of $2,000 helps fund the program.
Two Slots Remain for this Program Year!
Twenty-eight J-1 doctors are ready to start work this summer. Only two slots remain to be filled between now and September 30. Primary care, specialties, and flex placements (outside of federally designated shortage areas) are all welcome.
These are some highlights of recent streamlining of the application process:
- The six-month recruiting requirement has been removed and replaced with documentation of recruiting efforts;
- Employment Status Reports are due once per year instead of every six months;
- Quite a bit of the application paperwork has been eliminated.
For information, or to reserve a slot, please contact Dia Shuhart at
dia.shuhart@oha.oregon.gov.
Please examine and use the updated program forms below
Please visit the
Department of State and obtain your tracking number in advance. The employer and the J1 physician need to work together to complete the application. The
Administrative Rules (OAR 409-035) explain the program requirements and steps necessary to complete the application process. Below are the forms you will need:
Our mailing address is:
Physician Visa Waiver Program
OHA-Health Policy & Analytics
500 Summer Street NE, E-65
Salem, OR 97301