Thoughts On Foreign Trained MD's

[Abraham]

If a doctor received his/her medical training in the third world, are you O.K. with that?

I've recently come across two MD's that were both trained is an obscure, third world institution and wonder if I should look askance at their education? Yeah, I realize this makes me sound like a bigot, but man, when it comes to my health, I want someone trained in a first world institution.

Am I being overly cautious?

My PCP just retired, so I'm interested in (perhaps) one of these two MD's. I researched her educational background to see it was completed in a third world country and found that bit of information more than a little dismaying.

Does that mean third world medical training is inferior by leaps and bounds compared to first world?

I don't know?

What say you?

Thanks!

[WildBill]

From what I understand graduates of foreign medical schools have to go through the residency program in the US before they can practice.
A friend of mine has a brother who completed his pediatric residency in India had to go through the entire training again when he moved to the US.
I know that doesn't answer your question, but gives me a little more confidence in their abilities.

That said, I think it depends more on the person than the school. I would interview several and then make a choice.
I have been seen by several US educated physicians and they did not impress me.
Before he retired, my old white male doctor told me to find another old white male doctor because he would relate to me better.

[Abraham]

Thanks WildBill - food for thought!

[DocV]

Although this http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/busin ... .html?_r=0 is a bit dated, you might find it useful.
Also have a look at the AMA : http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-a ... cine.page?

That said, my experience with foreign-trained MDs is limited to one trained in South Africa and one trained in the Philippines. Both were spectacular. As WildBill said, it is the person that counts.

Edit: I am not an MD nor do I play one on TV.

[Abraham]

DocV,

Thank you very much!

[parabelum]

From what I understand graduates of foreign medical schools have to go through the residency program in the US before they can practice.
A friend of mine has a brother who completed his pediatric residency in India had to go through the entire training again when he moved to the US.
I know that doesn't answer your question, but gives me a little more confidence in their abilities.

That said, I think it depends more on the person than the school. I would interview several and then make a choice.
I have been seen by several US educated physicians and they did not impress me.
Before he retired, my old white male doctor told me to find another old white male doctor because he would relate to me better.

That's what I learned as well. Family friend was a ER physician in Sarajevo, and after the war he moved to the US.
He had to complete the 4 year residency to get accredited, kinda funny because he had several years of very intense ER experience under his belt, but, as newcomer to the country, one must adjust to the customs and the fact that many procedures are performed bit differently, not to mention pharmacology differences.

Might be different for someone who graduated in Canada, but for other Countries, my understanding is that this is the way to go.

And I support that.

[The Wall]

You have a doctor? Wow! I have a Nurse Practitioner or Physicians Assistant. When Obama care hit all the doctors left or were forced out. There is one doctor left in the practice I go to. She over sees four NP's and one PA. If you want to see the actual doctor you have to pay an additional $75 a month in addition to your insurance premiums and co-pays. Fortunately I'm healthy enough where seeing a NP is okay for now. Very difficult to find doctors around here.

[Richbirdhunter]

Let your spidey senses be your guide, if you don't think he's good don't use him.

[The Annoyed Man]

My current dr was trained in the Philippines, and he's a good dr. When I worked in healthcare, there used to be a thing called The 5th Pathway for people (including Americans) who attended foreign medical schools before they could enter into internship/residency in the US. Remember the invasion of Granada? The immediate pretext given the public was that Cuban soldiers had taken American medical students there hostage, and we were going in there to rescue them. I don't remember how many it was, but I think it was on the order of 80-120 students, or something like that. Anyway, all of those students were originally slated to go through 5th Pathway on return to the US before they could complete their training here. I recall several people who did their 5th Pathway ER rotations over the 5-6 years that I worked in that ER.

[R DAVIS]

From what I understand graduates of foreign medical schools have to go through the residency program in the US before they can practice.

That said, I think it depends more on the person than the school. I would interview several and then make a choice.
I have been seen by several US educated physicians and they did not impress me.

Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard ! NYUK NYUK.

[Abraham]

R DAVIS,

You brought me a great big smile with my 3 favorites...now to hit the floor and run sideways in a circle, whoopboobooboooo!

[rotor]

Those of you who think you have a good doctor, how do you know he/she is good? No guarantee that training at the best U.S. institution yields a good doctor. To answer your question, a foreign trained doctor might be great and a U.S. trained doctor might be terrible. What to look for, check the Texas Medical Board website for info. Ask your friends. If it's a surgeon see how long he/she has been in practice and what kind of reputation he/she has. Doctors who move every two years are suspicious. See if the docs are involved with residency teaching. Finally, make an appointment and interview the doctor. A good doctor will have a good staff and a good front office. If you can never get past the front office go elsewhere.

[jmra]

Had this conversation with a healthcare professional with many years working with "imports". Their experience has been that the imports are much less aggressive in treatment options. This may well be due to the lack of options that were available where they were trained.
That being said, they felt there were some imports that were excellent in their field. If you can find someone that has been on a nursing staff for a while at the hospital they can tell you in a heartbeat who you want and who you don't want regardless of where they were trained.

[Abraham]

Thank you all for the great insights.

I very much appreciate it.

[WildBill]

Had this conversation with a healthcare professional with many years working with "imports". Their experience has been that the imports are much less aggressive in treatment options. This may well be due to the lack of options that were available where they were trained.
That being said, they felt there were some imports that were excellent in their field. If you can find someone that has been on a nursing staff for a while at the hospital they can tell you in a heartbeat who you want and who you don't want regardless of where they were trained.

Nurses deal with these doctors every day and get to know how they work. That is an excellent suggestion!