The American Medical Association is concerned 3.4 million healthcare workers could become eligible for military draft, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A paper published earlier this year in the Wisconsin Medical Journal, by Wisconsin Army National Guard State Surgeon Col. Roger Lalich, said though a general draft is unlikely, a physician draft is "the most likely conscription into the military in the near future."
The Selective Service System's little-known contingency plan for drafting physicians, nurses and other health professionals is called the Healthcare Personnel Delivery System. It was authorized by Congress in 1987 to handle an emergency need for medical personnel during a conflict. The workers aged 20 to 44 would be expected to register with Selective Service if the president called for the plan to be put into action, and Congress approved.
In September, there were about 8,000 active-duty medical personnel and 3,000 reservists deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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