Desperate Housewives remark about Filipino doctors

[Donna A 4]

i dont understand why foreign doctors are having to go back to school. my husband is a doctor and didnt have to go back to school. he is doing his residency now and all the other residents are foreigners also and a few from the philipeans.

alot of the americans also go overseas for medical school becasue it is cheaper. some of the student doctors he works with are already $150,000 in debt with school loans.

Edited October 3, 2007 by Donna A

[Jenn! 918]

honey jen!! i dont know about phillipines docs, but i guarantee you one thing - that docs abroad are WAY much better than US docs... i know thats the case with my country...at least our docs or nurses know how to do some stitches...when i went to the doctor here in the US they told me, i dont know how to do stitches, go to the E freakin R...That is unbelievable!!! so the us docs need to go abroad to do some serious studyin!!!!

Maybe the doctor you saw here went to med school in the Carribean.

[Fandango 1,440]

honey jen!! i dont know about phillipines docs, but i guarantee you one thing - that docs abroad are WAY much better than US docs... i know thats the case with my country...at least our docs or nurses know how to do some stitches...when i went to the doctor here in the US they told me, i dont know how to do stitches, go to the E freakin R...That is unbelievable!!! so the us docs need to go abroad to do some serious studyin!!!!

Maybe the doctor you saw here went to med school in the Carribean.

BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[one...two...tree 2,762]

i dont understand why foreign doctors are having to go back to school. my husband is a doctor and didnt have to go back to school. he is doing his residency now and all the other residents are foreigners also and a few from the philipeans.

alot of the americans also go overseas for medical school becasue it is cheaper. some of the student doctors he works with are already $150,000 in debt with school loans.

For dentistry, it depends on each state, but I think all of them require some kind of additional schooling or training except for I think Florida. Even still, they are required to pass board exams. My wife has even considered being a hygienist here, but that also requires that you attend an accredited school in the US. We figure even if it costs upwards of 60 g's for 2 more years schooling, her salary will more than make up for it.

[Lyuba 0]

I think America in general doesn't accept foreign diplomas (IT might be the only exception). You can't be a laywer, a doctor, a teacher or anybody else who needs to be certified here even if you are a highly qualified professional.

I don't think it happens in Europe. If you went to a good school and can prove you have good skills, what is the difference?

I understand that probably there should be some test for those who want to practice law or medicine or teach, but they shouldn't be sent to study all over again.

I was told that I would have to take Russian classes taught by an American professor to be able to teach Russian. I have master's degree in linguistics and I taught college myself. What can an American professor teach me about Russian linguistics or language?

[rclouse 0]

Hi, everybody!

[Caladan 19]

It may be wrong about the Phillipines, but it's not as if the characters on Wisteria Lane are enlightened world travellers.

[Sister Fracas 5]

Having worked in medical education these are the facts...from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates

Medical schools outside the United States and Canada vary in educational standards, curriculum, and evaluation methods. The purpose of ECFMG Certification is to assess the readiness of international medical graduates to enter U.S. residency and fellowship programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

If you are an international medical graduate and wish to enter an ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship program in the United States, you must be certified by ECFMG before you can enter the program. You must also be certified by ECFMG if you wish to take Step 3 of the three-step United States Medical Licensing Examination™ (USMLE™). ECFMG Certification is required to obtain an unrestricted license to practice medicine.

In other words...you take the tests and if you pass, you are certified to practice medicine...if you don't pass... you can retake it. In addition to passing the exam, before you even take it, the institution you attended must meet certain standards and be listed on an International Medication Education Directory. If someone has to go back to school to be able to take the exams, it's because either their school didn't meet the criteria or they failed an exam.

The bottom line is, if someone is practicing medicine in the United States, they MUST meet the same criteria that graduates of US schools meet. So to call a doctor from a foreign-born school inferior, is just inaccurate....unless they are having someone else take the exam FOR them. And I don't see that happening as one step of the exam is a clinical skills assessment.

Edited October 3, 2007 by Frances

[Jenn! 918]

Just out of curiosity....do you consider the med school that a doctor went to before booking an appointment?

I know I do. If I don't recognize the school, I'll choose another doctor. I fail to see the harm in that.

[Sister Fracas 5]

Just out of curiosity....do you consider the med school that a doctor went to before booking an appointment?

I know I do. If I don't recognize the school, I'll choose another doctor. I fail to see the harm in that.

No, but if it makes you feel better, then do it.... but knowing that they all take the same exam I guess is comforting to me.

And what is it they say...

"What do you call someone who gets a "D" in medical school?".............

"Doctor"

Edited October 3, 2007 by Frances

[Jenn! 918]

Just out of curiosity....do you consider the med school that a doctor went to before booking an appointment?

I know I do. If I don't recognize the school, I'll choose another doctor. I fail to see the harm in that.

No, but if it makes you feel better, then do it.... but knowing that they all take the same exam I guess is comforting to me.

And what is it they say...

"What do you call someone who gets a "D" in medical school?".............

"Doctor"

All I know is that in my family, it is mandatory that one visits a doctor that has been to a reputable medical school. I guess I can see how that would be considered discriminatory.

[Caladan 19]

Just out of curiosity....do you consider the med school that a doctor went to before booking an appointment?

I know I do. If I don't recognize the school, I'll choose another doctor. I fail to see the harm in that.

No, mostly because you usually don't get such a choice with an HMO.

And I doubt it's a great predictor of skill. Medicine's a guild system, practically, or a profession, so anyone practicing here has passed the same exams, done the same residencies, etc. A better predictor of skills would be where they did their residency or fellowship, really. Unless you're looking for a specific specialty or something that one of the 'name' schools specializes in.

A friend went to the University of Arkansas medical school (his parents were doctors there, so tuition was free for him) and then did his residency at Emory. I think you'd be making a mistake if you ruled him out based on the med school.

[Jenn! 918]

Just out of curiosity....do you consider the med school that a doctor went to before booking an appointment?

I know I do. If I don't recognize the school, I'll choose another doctor. I fail to see the harm in that.

No, mostly because you usually don't get such a choice with an HMO.

And I doubt it's a great predictor of skill. Medicine's a guild system, practically, or a profession, so anyone practicing here has passed the same exams, done the same residencies, etc. A better predictor of skills would be where they did their residency or fellowship, really. Unless you're looking for a specific specialty or something that one of the 'name' schools specializes in.

A friend went to the University of Arkansas medical school (his parents were doctors there, so tuition was free for him) and then did his residency at Emory. I think you'd be making a mistake if you ruled him out based on the med school.

Maybe so, but I don't have access to that information. Just the other day I was choosing between two doctors (I have a PPO), one went to Tufts, the other went Carol Davila University., and I chose the one that went to Tufts. In the absence of any other information, how else would you make the choice?

[almaty 19]

Just out of curiosity....do you consider the med school that a doctor went to before booking an appointment?

I know I do. If I don't recognize the school, I'll choose another doctor. I fail to see the harm in that.

No, but if it makes you feel better, then do it.... but knowing that they all take the same exam I guess is comforting to me.

And what is it they say...

"What do you call someone who gets a "D" in medical school?".............

"Doctor"

same here..i don't care...dr followell, my female doctor, i was her 1st patient, fresh out of med school..and she has been my doctor of 12 years..i just, don't like paying a tip to her..when she checks my prostate..

[Sister Fracas 5]

All I know is that in my family, it is mandatory that one visits a doctor that has been to a reputable medical school. I guess I can see how that would be considered discriminatory.

In your family it's mandatory? hehehe What do you mean? And again, "reputable".... any school that is accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education is reputable.

same here..i don't care...dr followell, my female doctor, i was her 1st patient, fresh out of med school..and she has been my doctor of 12 years..i just, don't like paying a tip to her..when she checks my prostate..

nutter....

I swear I've heard that before... LOL