Washington advances international medical graduate licensing and training options as physician shortage grows

Olympia — The Washington Medical Commission and its partners told the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee on July 22 that the state has made measurable progress implementing alternative licensing pathways for internationally trained physicians (ITPs) to help address local physician shortages.

Micah Matthews, Deputy Executive and Legislative Director at the Washington Medical Commission (WMC), said the commission and an implementation work group have laid foundational elements — a clinical evaluation assessment (CEA) tool, a clinical experience license and an agency grant process — and the group is now working on next steps that would move candidates from supervised experience into permanent licensed practice.

Why it matters: State health officials and national experts said ITP pathways can add provider capacity in primary care, nursing homes and underserved areas without requiring every clinician to repeat residency, but they urged careful guardrails so the public is protected and ITPs are not exploited.

Key developments and numbers - Clinical experience license: Washington implemented a clinical…