- Fact Sheet
The Growing Demand for Physicians in Colorado
Published
New research from the American Immigration Council highlights the crucial role immigrants and refugees in Colorado are playing to help address critical physician shortages. To meet the growing healthcare needs of the Centennial State, especially in rural counties, the state will need to implement policies that attract and retain immigrant talent that is complementary to the U.S.-born workforce, and that also builds career pathways for immigrants who already call the state home.
Key findings from the brief include:
- There is a growing demand for physicians in Colorado. From 2017 to 2021, the number of online job postings for physicians in Colorado increased by 23.2 percent. Demand for obstetricians and gynecologists grew the most, nearly doubling. Anesthesiologists and general internists are also in high demand.
- Immigrants and refugees are helping Colorado meet its growing demand for healthcare workers. In 2019, immigrants and refugees made up 9.3 percent of the state’s population, but accounted for 13.6 percent of physicians in the state.
- International medical graduates are already helping meet demand, despite barriers. Despite the time-consuming and expensive barriers to licensure that internationally trained healthcare workers face, 8.1% of immigrant and refugee physicians in Colorado were likely international medical graduates.
Help us fight for immigration justice!
The research is clear – immigrants are more likely to win their cases with a lawyer by their side. But very few can get attorneys.
Introducing the Immigration Justice Campaign Access Fund.
Your support sends attorneys, provides interpreters, and delivers justice.
Immigration Justice Campaign is an initiative of American Immigration Council and American Immigration Lawyers Association. The mission is to increase free legal services for immigrants navigating our complicated immigration system and leverage the voices and experiences of those most directly impacted by our country’s immigration policies to inform legal and advocacy strategies. We bring together a broad network of volunteers who provide legal assistance and advocate for due process for immigrants with a humane approach that includes universal legal representation and other community-based support for individuals during their immigration cases.