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Fear of terrorism is making it harder for some rural communities in the United States to recruit physicians from the Middle East, an immigration lawyer said at a meeting of the Nashville Health Care Council yesterday.

''It's harder on these communities,'' said Gregory Siskind, a Memphis attorney.

American-born physicians are more likely than ever to live and work in cities, he said. That leaves small towns throughout the country dependent on foreign doctors to staff their hospitals and clinics. Those physicians work in the United States under temporary work permits or become permanent residents.

After the events of Sept. 11, however, the federal government delayed or stopped issuing such visas to applicants from 26 countries, Siskind said. In addition, the Department of Agriculture ended a work permit program for foreign doctors who promised to work in rural areas.

At the same time, new travel restrictions were placed on foreign physicians already in the country. If they travel outside the United States, they face delays of 30 to 60 days getting back in, Siskind said.

''I've had doctors who had a parent die and they won't leave the country. Their jobs are in jeopardy,'' he said of the post 9/11 predicament.

Nashville attorney Steve Cobb said there has been a ''very emotional, political element'' to concerns about homeland security as the government's priorities shifted from recruiting doctors to combating terrorism.

Bill Lewis covers the health-care business. He can be reached at 259-8075 or at blewis@tennessean.com.