<p>Residency matters more than med school, in general. There are more gradations in the quality of residencies and the patient breadth / depth that you would be exposed to.</p>
<p>According to what I’ve heard doctors themselves say, the quality of your medical training depends much more on where you did your residency than on where you went to medical school. </p>
<p>What I don’t know but suspect might be true is that graduates from the top medical schools have an easier time getting placed in the top residency programs.</p>
<p>(cross-posted with Pizzagirl)</p>
<p>An argument I’ve heard about the pursuit of medicine: Unless you go to a ‘good’ medical school, you won’t get a ‘good’ residency and may not be able to practice the specialty you desire. Yes? No?</p>
<p>Cross-posted with previous two postings…</p>
<p>I’ve seen folks from Illinois thump on what they call directionals an awful lot on CC. It seems like any reason gets used to do so. Perhaps the main reason people attend directionals is because that is what is affordable for them. I don’t enjoy seeing people get picked on for being broke.</p>
<p>“one year of post-graduate training.”
-Which specialty require only one year? I have never heard of one. You would think that it would be the most selective as everybody would want only one year in residency. As far as I know all of the most selective ones require much longer than one year…</p>
<p>“An argument I’ve heard about the pursuit of medicine: Unless you go to a ‘good’ medical school, you won’t get a ‘good’ residency and may not be able to practice the specialty you desire. Yes? No?”
-No. The Step 1 score, class rank and number of publications determine which specialty one can apply. specifically certain score might lock the doors. I have never heard that the name of SOM will lock the doors though.</p>
<p>I always research a doctor before seeing him or her for anything potentially serious. </p>
<ol>
<li> Board certified is a given.</li>
<li> Must have gone to medical school in the U. S., preferably a good one. Not. D.O. (look at the stats, D. O. schools are for those who didn’t have the grades or MCAT scores for M.D. as are the Caribbean schools.)</li>
<li> I look up what malpractice and disciplinary actions are reported online.</li>
<li> I always ask them about experience with my condition.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>It also matters at which hospitals the doctor has privileges. I tend to think that the hospitals are in a better position to evaluate the doctors than I am and the best hospitals will attract the best physicians.</p>
<p>Physician Assistants do about one year of training post B.S.</p>
<p>"…unlike medical school which lasts four years plus a specialty-specific residency, PA training is usually 2 to 3 years of full-time study, completed during their post-graduate studies, for a total of 6–8 years of rigorous science based postsecondary education."</p>
<p>My adult friend who just started a post college PA program, having made up her missing sciences, is in for 34 months.</p>
<p>I suppose this can vary. It’s of interest to me because the NP and PA in my doc’s office are superb. But I realize this is a digression. Sorry.</p>
<p>What about other fields, like computer science or engineering?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think the point is - all US medical schools are “good.” There is not a “bad” one.
If the D.O. has gone through a residency right next to an M.D., there’s no meaningful difference.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hospitals are “evaluating doctors” to give them staff privileges based on what amount of volume they think they’ll get from that doctor. Don’t kid yourself that it’s about quality! There’s a lot of politics involved.</p>
<p>I stand corrected. Obviously misinformed. Sorry.</p>
<p>“The average length of a PA education program is 27 months.”</p>
<p>[AAPA</a> | What is a PA?](<a href=“http://www.aapa.org/the_pa_profession/what_is_a_pa.aspx]AAPA”>http://www.aapa.org/the_pa_profession/what_is_a_pa.aspx)</p>
<p>I have trouble understanding the specifics of their “quality” measurements. From the excerpt in post #7 it appears that quality care refers to appropriate treatment of the most common chronic diseases. Probably diabetes and heart disease. The standard of care for these diseases are well established and probably require little creative input from the physician to implement. Kaiser Permanente, for example, puts patients pretty much on an autopilot treatment program (including scheduled check ups/lab tests) once they are diagnosed with a chronic disease. Similarly, preventive tests like mammograms are scheduled outside the influence of the primary care physician. If you are late for a mammogram Kaiser will autodial a “friendly reminder call” every day until the appointment is scheduled. These tactics earn them top ratings in health care quality assessments.</p>
<p>But what about the patient with a rare condition? Is it equally likely that a less experienced and less rigorously trained doctor will provide a proper diagnosis? The study shows that people with common health conditions will receive comparable care from most doctors, but it does not address “quality” in the full sense of the word.</p>
<p>I would love to wait 20 minutes for a doctor. The OB care is terrible where I live. And most OBs have 2 hrs or so wait time. The c-sect rate is high and it is very hard to find a doctor who will not force you to schedule a c-sect or at least an induction. Doctors in other specialities are a lot better here, as far as I can tell. The OB care is just awful though.</p>
<p>I am a bit jealous of Kate Middleton and her experience, I will admit. No one forced her to schedule a birth at 38 weeks. And I am guessing no one yelled at her or anything else while she was in labor.</p>
<p>I will say, I got sick and hurt while on vacation. While in a large city, with doctors who had big name school educations, they could not figure out anything, and didn’t seem to care. We continued on with our travels, ending in South Dakota. I ended up at the rural hospital in SD. That doctor actually looked at me and figured out what was wrong. He was amazing.</p>
<p>I think the big city doctors do such volume and cannot be bothered with much outside of the normal common stuff. But the rural doctor sees different things every day and treats a wider variety of things. He took the time to analyze what was going on, rather than just looker for the more common things he has seen all day long. I was not on a mass production line with the rural doctor. Yet, that rural doctor went to University of South Dakota. </p>
<p>Its about the doctor. And as we have seen time and time again, some people, many people, once they have that HYP admission, they think so highly of themselves that they no longer need to learn or try. After all, they are “better” than everyone else, in their eyes.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s easy to generalize, since they are individuals.<br>
The 20 minute wait, btw, ime, is rare. When I first moved here, I joked that I could barely pick up a magazine and open it before they called me. In LA, in contrast, I learned to set the first apt in the am or after lunch. For the obgyn, am meant sitting there with all the pregnant ladies.</p>
<p>"What about other fields, like computer science or engineering? "
-In connection to topic of “the quality of your physician does not depend on his/her medical school” if they choose to go to Med. School? Please, clarify your question.</p>
<p>If the quality of doctors doesn’t depend on what medical school they attend, does the quality of computer scientists/engineers also not depend on the schools they attend?</p>
<p>Regarding post 16, the difference between board eligible and board certified. Eligible usually means you have completed a residency in a certified program recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. Each specialty might have different requirements before someone can take the board exam, besides finishing a residency program. For example, a list of different types of procedures must be submitted. In general, if someone is board eligible they have successfully completed a residency but have not taken the board exam. This is not necessarily a bad thing as some specialtiy boards may have multiple parts which may require various times in practice which might not have been reached yet. A person who has completed one year of post graduate training only will never be board eligible or board certified. The shortest residency programs are three years.</p>
<p>Most state medical boards will list disciplinary actions and malpractice suits which are additional ways to investigate your doctor. However, just because a doctor has been sued doesn’t mean he or she is a bad doctor. However, numerous lawsuits can be a red flag, depending on the circumstances.</p>
<p>Eightisgreat, you were yelled at while you were in labor? Elaborate, please!</p>