Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ask me if I care, when I'm just 65 miles to Nogales, Mexico where they have some very fine doctors, who could be practicing here, but can't pass the stringent medical tests.
Been enjoying medical tourism now for over 10 years.
"...could be practicing here, but can't pass the stringent medical tests"?
We let in 10 million unskilled farm workers lets just let in 10 million health care workers.
Everyone at my clinic, doctors, nurses, staff are all foreigners and they are wonderful.
"... stafff are all foreigners, and they are wonderful".
I find it very amusing when lay people rate thier doctors by how nice they are. They have no clue as to what constitutes "good" medical training and what countries do (and do not) train physicians well.
Keep in mind that foreign medical grads and DOs make up a disproportionate number of malpractice cases in the US. There is a reason for that.
If the big bloated fed government would lift caps on.the number of residency slots, there'd be many more doctors practicing, and they'd all be a lot less sleep deprived.
Would anyone here want a drunk doctor performing surgery on them? Being sleep deprived impairs cognition just as much, and doctors routinely work 36 hour shifts. No wonder medical error is the 3rd leading cause of death in the US. Scary stuff.
It isn't. Heart disease, cancer, and accidents are the three major killers. But your point is still valid.
I said this is my experience. I live it every day.
How on earth would you know whether a diagnosis and treatment plan was correct or not?
Again, it is probably OVER 50% incorrect diagnosis. Why doesn't the public see this? Because there are knuckleheads like me who identify the problem and correct the error before implementation.
NPs are not trained in differential diagnosis- they are trained in care plans. They do not think like we do as physicians. Currently, there are enough physicians to "cover" and correct mid level errors before implementation. However, as more and more mid levels become the source of primary care, the quality will decline.
Most NPs are incapable of reading an MRI. Why? They aren't trained in it. When I show my NPs imaging, they have no clue as to what they are looking at until it is explained to them.
You are wayyy off base and have no idea what your talking about. I’m sitting in a level 1 Trauma center right now looking at MRI’s with a NP on Trauma service. I hate to disclose what I do so I won’t but let’s just say reading CT scans and MRI’s is something I can train any medical professional from NP/PA up. There are RNs that can read xrays fine, it’s not a black magic.
No one makes the final read on a film except the person doing the procedure or if needed in an emergent situation. Otherwise it is usually the radiologist that makes the read. Let’s not pretend primary care physicians are sitting around reading 100 slide CT scans and MRI’s in their office as most cannot read them.
Ask me if I care, when I'm just 65 miles to Nogales, Mexico where they have some very fine doctors, who could be practicing here, but can't pass the stringent medical tests.
Been enjoying medical tourism now for over 10 years.
I’m not trying to discourage you, because it makes little difference to me where you go for your medical care, but what is your recourse if something goes wrong? It is like buying a car without a warranty.
I have been in surgeries to correct the results of medical tourism. One woman who got breast implants in Brazil, ended up losing an arm on my operating table because the infection from the right breast, basically liquified the muscles of the right chest and upper arm. Another patient ended up blind due to laser eye surgery in your beloved Mexico.
I’m not saying things like this cant happen here, but there are a few things you have to consider. How stringent are the regulations on operating room sterility in the country where you are having surgery? How modern is the equipment being used? The laser eye surgery that patient had in Mexico was likely done with a machine that we would consider antiquated here in the US. I wouldn’t be so worried going to a country like France, Germany, Israel, etc, but I would be worried going to some unknown hospital in poor country for a complex procedure.
And finally, like I said, what is your recourse when these mishaps occur? Do you think a full investigation was done in Brazil after this woman lost her arm, or in Mexico after the patient ended up blind? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but I doubt either of those patients were able to hold the responsible parties (the facilities, or the doctors) accountable.
Ask me if I care, when I'm just 65 miles to Nogales, Mexico where they have some very fine doctors, who could be practicing here, but can't pass the stringent medical tests.
Been enjoying medical tourism now for over 10 years.
Yes! There is nothing like putting your life in the hands of a Doctor that can't pass the medical tests.
You are wayyy off base and have no idea what your talking about. I’m sitting in a level 1 Trauma center right now looking at MRI’s with a NP on Trauma service. I hate to disclose what I do so I won’t but let’s just say reading CT scans and MRI’s is something I can train any medical professional from NP/PA up. There are RNs that can read xrays fine, it’s not a black magic.
No one makes the final read on a film except the person doing the procedure or if needed in an emergent situation. Otherwise it is usually the radiologist that makes the read. Let’s not pretend primary care physicians are sitting around reading 100 slide CT scans and MRI’s in their office as most cannot read them.
Bullcrap-
I read MRIs and CTs of the spine EVERY DAY on about 25-30 patients. In many instances, the radiologists make errors themselves.
There is no way in hell that an NP or PA can diagnose and treat a patient to the level of a physician. No way. I have taught all my NPs on a daily basis to look at films, but there is no way in hell I would trust their reads. Older radiologists and neurosurgeons OFTEN miss pathology in the neural foramen. I can't tell you how many times I have found gross disc herniations and even tumors that have been missed on reports.
If you are a physician (you cannot possibly be) you would know better. I have cases sent to me from one of our neurosurg practices that has the NPs and PAs screen patients before they see the neurosurgeon. Most of the time, they are so far off base as to what should be done that it is not even funny. Fortunately, we correct that path before it is implemented.
The only thing NPs and PAs are good for are simple follow ups and uncomplicated med checks in which there are no problems.
Yes! There is nothing like putting your life in the hands of a Doctor that can't pass the medical tests.
Exactly.
I am here to tell you that the National Boards I, II, III as well as specialty boards are not tough at all with a decent training program and a modest amount of studying. Oral exams are no picnic, but the pass rate is 75%. If you have half a brain, you can pass your boards.
If someone cannot pass the boards, they have absolutely no business practicing medicine, as that is a MINIMUM requirement. Our program director would scream at us if we were not above the 90th percentile for boards. Can't pass your specialty boards? You should not practice- the boards WANT people to pass and do not make it terribly difficult, yet want to establish minimum standards so that their diplomats are not out killing people.
Not able to pass boards? That person then has medical knowledge which is less than the average first or second year medical student.
I am here to tell you that the National Boards I, II, III as well as specialty boards are not tough at all with a decent training program and a modest amount of studying. Oral exams are no picnic, but the pass rate is 75%. If you have half a brain, you can pass your boards.
If someone cannot pass the boards, they have absolutely no business practicing medicine, as that is a MINIMUM requirement. Our program director would scream at us if we were not above the 90th percentile for boards. Can't pass your specialty boards? You should not practice- the boards WANT people to pass and do not make it terribly difficult, yet want to establish minimum standards so that their diplomats are not out killing people.
Not able to pass boards? That person then has medical knowledge which is less than the average first or second year medical student.
If you go to any American MD program, and put in any effort at all, you shouldn’t really have to study much to pass. That said, I studied my ass off for parts 1 and 2, but I also did quite a bit better than average. I’m reasonably sure I would have passed without studying at all.
If you go to any American MD program, and put in any effort at all, you shouldn’t really have to study much to pass. That said, I studied my ass off for parts 1 and 2, but I also did quite a bit better than average. I’m reasonably sure I would have passed without studying at all.
Indeed- anybody who went to a good medical school and residency has no problem with their boards. I don't leave anything to chance, so studied hard. Again, our program director demanded not only "pass", but above 90th percentile on the inservice exams and boards. Those who did not achieve those levels were sentenced to two months additional "dunce training" to beef up their scores and thus had their residency extended.
Not being able to pass your boards is a sign of not mild, but extreme incompetence and lack of command of general medical knowledge.
Patients can be such dolts, as they think a physician is "good" if they are nice to them. They have no way to judge medical competency or relative skill level- none. In my specialty, the guy in town who had the highest patient ratings had his license revoked for malpractice and incompetence. Patients loved him, however, as he was very nice- a terrible doc, but a nice guy. So much for patient ratings.
The VERY BEST neurosurgeon in our state gets patient ratings of "2" on a scale of 1-5. Why? He is blunt and honest- sometimes people don't want to hear that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
