[psoccermom]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

Don't knock him. If all of the doctors educated in the Caribbean left the US it would take months to get an appointment and even then would most likely be with a PA, especially in Florida.

I prefer PAs and nurse practitioners.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by psoccermom

I prefer PAs and nurse practitioners.

We don't.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by oldtimes

I got a letter that my doctor was retiring so make that 2

Before I turned 65 with VHC every time my annual appointment come up had new doctor cause the one I had either when somewhere else or moved on?

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Aces4

We don't.

I prefer who ever don’t push every pill under sun or do redundant tests…

[Babubhat]

Everyone takes a haircut in bankruptcy. The lawyers are the biggest beneficiaries. Get in line with everyone else.

[DBaty]

In January, 2025, he was promised a base salary of $230,000. He claims that a number of physicians left earlier this year.

Not sure if more lawyers are getting money as it does not appear that he has lawyer but is representing himself.[/QUOTE]

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Retiredsteve

That doesn't even make sense. Are you saying foreign taught doctors are not as qualified? Do you have data on that or is once again make a statement regardless of the truth?

Yes. And it makes perfect sense

And everything I post is true

And not that I actually am obligated to provide research, but here is an example.

The Caribbean medical school from which the subject of this thread graduated boasts an 83% pass rate for their graduates taking part I of the national boards---and that's their number from their website

Graduates in an American Internal Medicine residency have a 99.4% pass rate
Graduates in an American Family Practice residency have a 91.7% pass rate (the difference most like is a result of family practice residencies taking on a lot of graduates of osteopathic schools and not medical schools

[Runway48]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Yes. And it makes perfect sense

And everything I post is true

And not that I actually am obligated to provide research, but here is an example.

The Caribbean medical school from which the subject of this thread graduated boasts an 83% pass rate for their graduates taking part I of the national boards---and that's their number from their website

Graduates in an American Internal Medicine residency have a 99.4% pass rate
Graduates in an American Family Practice residency have a 91.7% pass rate (the difference most like is a result of family practice residencies taking on a lot of graduates of osteopathic schools and not medical schools

As is often said, the med student that graduated last in his/her class is still called doctor. In medicine, perhaps more than any other profession, the individual matters most. Academic pedigree may not matter the most but it's certainly a reasonable place to start. Now most of that information is available online. It used to be an early part of my conversation when interviewing a new PCP.

[Plinker]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

His starting pay was $230,000! I was shocked. He should be working very hard indeed for that sort of money. I was interested in what he learned about the “billing methodology” of The Villages. Is that a between-the-lines hint that he’s willing to testify about how the illegal billing was done?

Few people realize just how much it costs, in time and money, to get the white coat. It starts with undergraduate school and a BS degree. The degree can be in many areas but US medical schools have prerequisites and look for stellar grades (3.7+) in the science courses such as biology, chemistry, physics and biochemistry. Also, it is not uncommon for students to apply more than once as they may not be accepted on their first try. Medical school is a 4-year program but then comes residency training which can vary from 3 to 7 years. Neurosurgeons are 7 years.
Fortunately, residents receive a salary in the $60,000 to $75,000 range.
So, typically, for at least the first 8 years they not only have no income (unless part time work), they are paying tuition, room and board. The average student loan debt of graduating physicians is around $250,000. Add in the lost income they could have made had they only chose a BS degree and the total amount of time and money is staggering. Paying back those student loans can be easily cost over $2,000/month for 20 or more years.
Is a $240,000 income enough to compensate for this investment? You decide.

[Joecooool]

Originally Posted by Plinker

Few people realize just how much it costs, in time and money, to get the white coat. It starts with undergraduate school and a BS degree. The degree can be in many areas but US medical schools have prerequisites and look for stellar grades (3.7+) in the science courses such as biology, chemistry, physics and biochemistry. Also, it is not uncommon for students to apply more than once as they may not be accepted on their first try. Medical school is a 4-year program but then comes residency training which can vary from 3 to 7 years. Neurosurgeons are 7 years.
Fortunately, residents receive a salary in the $60,000 to $75,000 range.
So, typically, for at least the first 8 years they not only have no income (unless part time work), they are paying tuition, room and board. The average student loan debt of graduating physicians is around $250,000. Add in the lost income they could have made had they only chose a BS degree and the total amount of time and money is staggering. Paying back those student loans can be easily cost over $2,000/month for 20 or more years.
Is a $240,000 income enough to compensate for this investment? You decide.

Which is why the way doctors are taught in medical schools is absurd, unnecessary, and needs to be reformed.

Many doctors will tell you that the majority of what they learned in medical school never directly applies to their day-to-day practice. A more effective approach would be to structure medical training the way we educate tradespeople in vocational schools, with focused instruction in the chosen specialty, followed by several years of hands-on training.

There is little justification for requiring eight years of school plus seven years of residency before a doctor can practice independently, beyond sustaining the financial interests of universities and hospitals.

And who ends up paying for all of it? You and I through exorbitant prices for the services we receive.

And if you really want to see what a racket it is, just go here and see how out of whack what American doctors make compared to the rest of the world. Doctor Pay by Country 2025

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Joecooool

Which is why the way doctors are taught in medical schools is absurd, unnecessary, and needs to be reformed.

Many doctors will tell you that the majority of what they learned in medical school never directly applies to their day-to-day practice. A more effective approach would be to structure medical training the way we educate tradespeople in vocational schools, with focused instruction in the chosen specialty, followed by several years of hands-on training.

There is little justification for requiring eight years of school plus seven years of residency before a doctor can practice independently, beyond sustaining the financial interests of universities and hospitals.

And who ends up paying for all of it? You and I through exorbitant prices for the services we receive.

And if you really want to see what a racket it is, just go here and see how out of whack what American doctors make compared to the rest of the world. Doctor Pay by Country 2025

So, that post is made on the basis of having gone through 4 years of pre-med, 4 years of medical school and in my case 3 years of residency? I doubt it. And the bottom line would be to dumb medicine down to the equivalent of vocational school?

Yes, we learn a lot of useless crap. I don't think that knowing that the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni is Biornphalaria glabratta was ever useful to anyone except perhaps a parasitologist in Venezuela. But I did once have to exclude Trypanosoma cruzi from the reduuvid bug as the etiology of RBBB in a 22-year-old girl who had stayed a month in Suriname. So, you never know. I prefer my doctor to know more rather than less. And btw, the cost of physician services is less than 10% of the total cost of medical care in the US. But feel free to retain the services of a Somalian physician that earns less than $20K/year and let us know how that works out.

[Plinker]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Yes. And it makes perfect sense

And everything I post is true

And not that I actually am obligated to provide research, but here is an example.

The Caribbean medical school from which the subject of this thread graduated boasts an 83% pass rate for their graduates taking part I of the national boards---and that's their number from their website

Graduates in an American Internal Medicine residency have a 99.4% pass rate
Graduates in an American Family Practice residency have a 91.7% pass rate (the difference most like is a result of family practice residencies taking on a lot of graduates of osteopathic schools and not medical schools

I tend to agree with you on the topic of foreign graduates. Although I’m not going to make a blanket statement, I have several friends, US born, that went overseas to get their medical degree because they lacked the grades to get into a US school. IMO, they didn’t possess the in-depth knowledge and skill that US graduates have. One, in particular, took the Board Exam three times and failed each time. As such, he can’t practice. Obviously, there are many exceptions, and not all US graduates are at the top of their game.
Considering the time, expense and dedication to long hours of study while our college friends drank beer and ate pizza, my wife and I believe it was worth it. However, it took us 11 years to pay off our student loans.
Always check licenses and look for US Board Certified. This is easily done with a web search.

[Debfrommaine]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

I agree with GE.

Me too.

[Debfrommaine]

Originally Posted by oldtimes

I got a letter that my doctor was retiring so make that 2

We've been with VH since the beginning, many docs have come and gone for a variety of reasons. This is old news for us.