When Michael Scott pitched potential investors for The Michael Scott Paper Company, he introduced his team. “From his humble beginnings as a prominent surgeon,” Scott says of Vikram, an Indian employee at his company, “he risked it all to become the most successful telemarketer in the lipophedrine industry.” If you watch The Office, you might have chuckled at that line and moved on with your day. But the problem is very real: Doctors relocate to America and can’t easily begin to practice, even if their training lines up with American training.

This issue is even more problematic during the pandemic when medical professionals have been stretched thin. Fortunately, new legislation in Missouri could fundamentally change the way the state treats foreign-trained doctors. If it passes, it will be a model for the nation.