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.
When I was still in grade school, we all had to talk to a our Guidance Councillor about what we wanted to do with our lives.
She did the "If you had a million dollars, what would you do?" question. Meaning, whatever you'd do, if you didn't have to worry about money, what would you do.
My answer was to own a boat, and sail around the world. Now, that doesn't mean that I want to be a merchant marine, or a cargo boat captain, it means I want to drive my own boat, with no one else on it, to exotic locations, where I can lounge around at the beach.
Hard to make a living doing that.
So, I realized that I have a nack for computers and electrical equipment. I eventually got a job working for a cellular phone company. But, on the weekends, I have a boat, and I can relax at the beach, because it gives me enough money to do that.
Would I do this job if I had enough money to retire, hell no. I work for money, its that simple. Does that make me immoral, not to me, but you are entitled to your opinion.
Most folks work in a job, thats a means to an end. If you ask most people if they would work if they didn't have to, the answer is usually no. Thats just one reason why communism failed.
You're right. Very few people end up working a job that they absolutely love - one that really scratches their soul's itch. And those that do are often not very wealthy.
On the other hand, it's sad to see people whose entire lives are caught up in their profession. There's so much more to life than that!
The incentive to do well, economically, is directly proportional to the risk of living in grinding poverty. That's why people in India are more driven than Americans to maximize their earning potential. The alternative is too extreme.
That's not necessarily true. A lot of people go to med school overseas because you don't have to do an undergrad degree there, it's cheaper, and it's faster.
Btw, to get into good schools and especially stuff like med school in India, you have to be beyond bad-ass. Most of our kids here couldn't hack the competition there.
The people going to India for med school from foreign countries often to go private places who hold spots for foreigners.
Bull.. you're telling me the uncle's kids are going to IIT and All India? Which are generally almost free anyway? No, they're probably going to some private no-name medical school where $20,000 buys admission and an MBBS degree.
There's absolutely no reason why anyone would go to a foreign medical school if they could have gotten into a US MD school, period. By going to a foreign medical school in 2010, you are essentially hamstringing yourself for the rest of your medical career. Kiss that ROADS residency goodbye.
The situation was a lot better for the uncle in the 1970-1980s, but things have changed. I know way too many Indian doctors who came to practice in the US with an Indian degree and are now forcing their academically mediocre kids to become doctors by any means (usually via the Caribbean or India route). They feel like they've succeeded in the FMG route, so their kids should be able to also. The reality is that it's gotten much harder as US med schools are expanding class sizes and DO schools are popping up everywhere.
rishi85
In some respects, I do agree with you but the profession that bugs me the most is teaching. So many people become teachers because it is relatively easy to teach, a respectable job, and despite what teachers say, I believe they make enough money for their degree.
I believe that is why education is failing for so many places in the U.S. I read teachers papers that are equivalent to a high school students level.
Because of the fact they become teachers for the pay and not because they have a definite passion to teach, shows through classroom students work and especially through achievement tests.
I mean my Uncle is a neurosurgeon-He must surely have contacts!
Nepotism is rampant in the most lucent places.....a sad truth.All these 2 have to do is get through their 5 years and they are set.Her father even got her a BMW for her birthday or something.She is a nice girl but I sometimes question the ability of an individual.
Like I said, they're in India only because they couldn't cut it for a US medical school, and it doesn't surprise me one bit why they couldn't cut it. Most medical schools in the US have admission rates around 5%.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 06-01-2010 at 07:13 PM..
Reason: Off topic
Because of the fact they become teachers for the pay and not because they have a definite passion to teach, shows through classroom students work and especially through achievement tests.
I'd hazard a guess that very few teachers become teachers because of the "fat" paychecks. Every teacher I know would laugh at that. Teachers are usually stymied by the administration, the budget, the curriculum, even the parents.
Rishi85 is absolutely right about the widespread prevalence of nepotism in India. Here's an example of corruption and nepotism with deadly consequences in India:
But an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2006 found hundreds of safety violations, and scored India worst on “technical personnel qualification and training.”
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 06-01-2010 at 07:14 PM..
Reason: Copyright violation
I know a brilliant young woman whose parents were financially not well-off. She knew she wanted to do medical school and wasn't interested in college, so she just went to India. Double-boarded IM/EM. Great clinician.
So it's not all that cut and dry.
Btw, I got a really nice car for my 16th birthday and I have an MD (from a top U.S. med school) and own 2 companies. None of which had anything to do with my parents' "connections." So maybe now you should reevaluate your assessment of "good parenting," too.
I agree with Guinea here. Any Indian parent (a neurosurgeon nonetheless) who would give a daughter a BMW for her birthday would not send her to a medical school in India in order to save 100 grand on tuition. Unless of course the daughter couldn't get into a U.S. allopathic medical school.
Our orthopedic surgery residency program refuses to even consider applications from graduates of foreign medical schools. More and more programs are doing the same. Even IM residency spots at academic hospitals are becoming incredibly competitive among U.S. seniors.
The earning differential between a specialist and a family doctor in a single year would pay off the extra tuition of attending a U.S. school. Not to mention that a 50 grand BMW would be half that alone.
Here's the part your uncle didn't tell you: His two children are studying medicine in India because they couldn't get into a US medical school (most likely due to poor grades and work ethic),
Moderator cut: Rude
I have worked with MANY Indians and know many others who have (they are huge in I.T. also) and they are notoriously hard-working and intelligent. I would take the avg Indian in that regard over the avg American, and the gap is frankly large.
Moderator cut: Please discuss the topic, not each other.
Quote:
They then come to the US and pretend they have an MD.
I give up: how do you "pretend" to have an MD? What does this even mean?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivorytickler
I really don't care what my doctor's motivations are for being a doctor as long as she's good at what she does.
Wow. Really? To each their own, but I care a great deal, because being a good doctor isn't all about technical know-how. If you don't have at least some genuine care for your patients, you can easily take an easier path to treament, dismiss their opinions/inputs....etc etc etc, I could go on for quite awhile on that...but basically many things which could easily lead to not taking the best approach to that patient's given situation or giving them the best of care, despite being "good." Having a lot of talent and using that talent to the fullest are 2 diff things. I'll take a doctor who gives a damn with XXX IQ over one who doesn't with XXX IQ + 10 every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 06-01-2010 at 07:16 PM..
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.
