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Old 10-20-2010, 11:15 AM
 
6,034 posts, read 10,656,171 times
Reputation: 3989

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Quote:
Originally Posted by rodomonte View Post
. He certaintly didn't give me all the options.
Your fault. You need to ASK about your options, not just assume that your doctor has given you all of them.
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Old 10-20-2010, 11:21 AM
 
Location: Arizona
555 posts, read 874,269 times
Reputation: 346
Quote:
Originally Posted by yayoi View Post
I think this has less to do with their nationality and more to do with the fact that you're a medicare patient.

They won't admit it, but some doctors treat their medicare/medicaid patients differently than their patients with private insurance.
I can believe that.

In the long run I am screwed because the 500 Billion cut from Medicare will mean fewer doctors taking it. Everybody will be covered, but there will be no doctors to see. That's health care reform?
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Old 10-20-2010, 11:57 AM
 
Location: Up in the air
19,112 posts, read 30,557,881 times
Reputation: 16395
I've seen A LOT of doctors, since I have a rare genetic disorder so I'd like to think I have a good grasp on how Doctors treat their patients. In my experience, I want a Doctor that's quick, gets ***** done, and doesn't take crap from the insurance company. I don't care where they grew up or what they look like and I certainly don't care about their 'bedside manner'. I'm not there to have a warm, loving conversation... I'm there because I'm sick and I want to be well. Period.

My current doctor is AMAZING. He is foreign (Indian), he doesn't beat around the bush and when he wants something done (a test, an MRI etc.) he badgers someone until they okay it. I appreciate that He has been more helpful in the past 3 weeks that he's been my PCP than my last one was for the past 2 years.

I guess it comes down to personal preference though.
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Old 10-20-2010, 12:11 PM
 
29,981 posts, read 42,815,480 times
Reputation: 12828
The problem of foreign born doctors in rural America is a huge one. The language gap experienced by too many patients does result in a poorer quality of care.
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Old 10-20-2010, 12:20 PM
 
43,360 posts, read 44,076,810 times
Reputation: 20425
All foreign doctors have to have American licenses/training in order to practice medicine in the USA.
As for people on Medicare/Medicaid, it is true that some doctors (American & foreign-born) will treat such patients differently because they know it is more difficult for them to get certain procedures to be paid for by Medicare/Medicaid (although this should not be doctor's concern when treating a patient).
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Old 10-20-2010, 12:23 PM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
5,299 posts, read 8,232,741 times
Reputation: 3809
I see no difference in quality of treatment or in "bedside manner" between my American born female doctor nor my Vietnamese male doctor. Having lived in Portland for several years, I find doctors here spend a lot of time talking with patients during office visits. Also, they don't jump the gun prescribing medications that may not be warranted. According to this study, the doctors you should be cautious about are Americans who trained in foreign countries. One reason Americans who trained at foreign medical schools might not perform as well as doctors trained in the United States, or as well as foreign-born doctors is that their grades were too low to be accepted by an American school and another that some overseas schools by be sub par.
Clip:
...Dr. Norcini said there had been concern about the competence of foreign-trained doctors, based in part on reports in the 1990s of lower test scores and performance ratings. But his study noted that “by the mid-1990s, international medical graduates were outperforming U.S. graduates†on tests in internal medicine.
...There is a doctor shortage in the United States, and foreign doctors have stepped into the breach, particularly in specialties like internal medicine and family practice, which many American students have turned away from in favor of more lucrative specialties like cardiology. In response to the doctor shortage, medical schools in the United States have begun to expand their class sizes, and some new schools have opened. But the number of residency spots is not increasing, so new American graduates may start squeezing out the foreign-born doctors when it comes time to start residencies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/he...gewanted=print
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Old 10-20-2010, 09:04 PM
 
29,972 posts, read 18,533,328 times
Reputation: 20737
Quote:
Originally Posted by tigerlily View Post
I see no difference in quality of treatment or in "bedside manner" between my American born female doctor nor my Vietnamese male doctor. Having lived in Portland for several years, I find doctors here spend a lot of time talking with patients during office visits. Also, they don't jump the gun prescribing medications that may not be warranted. According to this study, the doctors you should be cautious about are Americans who trained in foreign countries. One reason Americans who trained at foreign medical schools might not perform as well as doctors trained in the United States, or as well as foreign-born doctors is that their grades were too low to be accepted by an American school and another that some overseas schools by be sub par.
Clip:
...Dr. Norcini said there had been concern about the competence of foreign-trained doctors, based in part on reports in the 1990s of lower test scores and performance ratings. But his study noted that “by the mid-1990s, international medical graduates were outperforming U.S. graduates†on tests in internal medicine.
...There is a doctor shortage in the United States, and foreign doctors have stepped into the breach, particularly in specialties like internal medicine and family practice, which many American students have turned away from in favor of more lucrative specialties like cardiology. In response to the doctor shortage, medical schools in the United States have begun to expand their class sizes, and some new schools have opened. But the number of residency spots is not increasing, so new American graduates may start squeezing out the foreign-born doctors when it comes time to start residencies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/he...gewanted=print

I think the take home message (which bears out my personal experience) is that foreign medical grads with foreign residencies are inferior to those who complete US residencies. Further, there is little difference between FMGs and US grads who complete US residencies. US citizens with offshore schools are the worst.

Pretty much EVERYTHING you learn in medicine is in residency. As long as you do a good residency, your medical school really does not matter. You see this among FMGs and DOs who complete good residency programs.

1. Foreign grads who perform foreign residencies are definately inferior

2. No difference with FMGs who complete US residencies

3. Board scores of FMGs are lower than US grads, and board certification rates lower, but does not correlate with "quality measures".


Bottom line- get somebody who trained at a decent US residency program. That is where you learn EVERYTHING in your specialty.
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Old 10-20-2010, 09:26 PM
 
Location: 3rd rock from the sun
3,857 posts, read 6,937,872 times
Reputation: 1817
There it is again. Foreigners taking jobs (family practice, rural/small towns, medicare...) that Americans don't want to do.
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Old 10-20-2010, 09:32 PM
 
10,719 posts, read 20,232,560 times
Reputation: 10020
It goes both ways. I'm certain foreign physicians are not exactly given the red carpet treatment in a rural community that has little exposure to foreign culture and people of different faiths. I'm sure it's not easy being a foreign doctor practicing in rural community in which everyone is white, Christian and conservative. That is like asking a Southern Conservative White Evangelical doctor to practice in the Castro district in SF.

Last edited by azriverfan.; 10-20-2010 at 10:11 PM..
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Old 10-20-2010, 09:45 PM
 
10,719 posts, read 20,232,560 times
Reputation: 10020
Quote:
Originally Posted by hawkeye2009 View Post
1. Most foriegn trained physicians (with the exception of western europe and Canada) have inferior training compared to US doctors.
All physicians train in the United States to practice here. They are required to do residency in a U.S. program. They may have attended medical school in a foreign country but they graduated from a U.S. residency. 90% of a physician's training is acquired in residency not medical school. Medical school consists of the first 2 years being basic sciences with the last two years consisting of clinical rotations in which they spend a month in each specialty more or less observing or writing notes. Furthermore, to be accepted at a U.S. residency program, foreign doctors are required to pass the United States Licensing Exam, the same exam that U.S. medical school graduates are required to take. The exam is written in English so all foreign doctors are required to be fluent in English and have English proficiency. To get licensed, they have to pass the same state board exams than all U.S. graduates have to take.

Quote:
2. There is no difference between a "foriegn doctor" who trained in the US and an "American doctor" who trained in the US. (given the work ethic of many immigrants, some of those "foriegners" may actually be better).
All foreign doctors are required to do residency in the United States thus they are trained in the U.S.

Quote:
3. "Foriegn doctors" who trained in the US are superior to "American doctors" who trained offshore.
That isn't true. Both foreign and American doctors who attended medical school offshore may have studied harder, achieved higher board scores and outperformed their American counterparts in the United States. This is why competitive residencies will select foreign trained doctors over American trained doctors if they boast higher test scores and grades.

Quote:
4. DO training, compared to MD training, is inferior.
DO's are often selected as the Chief Residents and Attendings at prestigious programs like the Mayo Clinic for example. Again, it has to do with the individual not their initials. Furthermore, osteopathic training often incorporates treating the entire body which was considered too "new age" at the time, now both allopathic and osteopathic schools of thought embrace this approach to health care by not focusing exclusively on symptoms.

Quote:
5. DOs who do residencies in good MD residencies are just fine. (I am a physician and chose a DO who did a MD residency as my PCP- he is very good).
I know of an MD who trained at a prestigious program who lost his license by the Arizona Medical Board. Again, it comes down to the individual and not resume.

Quote:
It is a little tricky to navigate the waters. Just because somebody looks "foriegn", they may have great training. A guy I used to work with was Phillipine, but lived in the US since age 3. We went to Univ of Chicago undergrad, then Wash U in St. Louis (a very good training program) for everything. We thought it was funny when he got the "foriegn doctor" treatment, as he was and is a very, very good physician.
Funny because in an earlier thread you claim to have been trained at the University of Iowa. You claimed to have undergone the M.D./PhD route at Iowa but now you are claiming you went to Wash U. You just got busted. Stop lying and stop offering false information. Unlike you, I was trained at a top program, the University of California at San Francisco and have worked with all types of physicians to know that you don't stereotype based on where a person went to medical school.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal View Post
The problem of foreign born doctors in rural America is a huge one. The language gap experienced by too many patients does result in a poorer quality of care.
There is also a cultural gap as people in rural communities have little experience and exposure to people of different backgrounds and can often be xenophobic as a result. For example, could you imagine how a Hindu Indian doctor would be received in an Evangelical Christian rural community in the South or another Right Wing community?

Last edited by azriverfan.; 10-20-2010 at 10:13 PM..
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