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Originally Posted by syztem shack
jeez, miklos, no offense b/c you really know your stuff, but you are such a god damn pessimist. LOL
in addition to intern. med. ed. it also cites being a male and older age as being at a heightened risk of disciplinary action. i guess just cuz im a guy i should be on my toes . . .
cheer up a bit, i think if you work hard, even if you go to poznan or any other interanational med school, and know your pooh pooh, you'll be fine. why are you so bitter, you went to school in europe right?
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I think that I'm not making my point well enough, so please let me try again.
Read this letter to the editor of the American Society of Anesthesiologists newsletter (I chanced upon it, looking for the link to the study above -- all praise google!).
http://www.asahq.org/Newsletters/200.../lte11_04.html
Quote:
AMG/IMG Controversy Continues
In response to Dr. Bacon’s May 2004 editorial, I do not think it is racist or xenophobic to be concerned about too many international medical graduates (IMGs) in our residencies. I am concerned about graduating people who will harm public perception of our specialty and potentially imperil patient safety.
Dependence on IMGs is clearly a sign of noncompetitiveness in a specialty. Now that anesthesiology has regained some popularity among American medical graduates (AMGs) in the National Resident Match Program, it is a mistake to continue taking IMGs in a quest to fill every possible spot.
Dr. Bacon asks, “Is not everyone equal to a U.S. graduate after completing residency training?” The answer is an unequivocal “No.” Many of the IMGs who were allowed to graduate in the past five years were of awful quality. But unless you get caught using fentanyl, most residents are allowed to graduate however low their competence. There is no written examination required to graduate. While 80 percent of AMGs pass the written boards on the first try, less than 60 percent of IMGs do so — if they even take the examination. Perhaps the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) could provide data about the percentage of AMGs versus IMGs who become board-certified within three years of graduating.
Studies have shown that ABA certification is a valid indicator of clinical competence and that board-certified physicians are less likely to face malpractice suits or state board discipline. Residencies are not helping society if they graduate physicians who are intellectually incapable of achieving board certification. Studies also have shown that IMGs are more likely to face disciplinary actions.
While the board-certified IMGs that Dr. Bacon works with at Mayo are obviously all good physicians, they are not representative of the average IMGs who have graduated in recent years. By graduating these sub-par individuals, we do our specialty a huge disservice since the public will begin to think of anesthesiologists as incompetent doctors who speak poor English. And how can we argue that these people are providing safer anesthesia than an unsupervised nurse anesthetist? If we can only match 1,000 AMGs, then that is a number we should be happy with; there is no need to take 120 IMGs to fill all the available slots. Let us aim for quality instead of quantity.
Name withheld by request
References:
1. Kohatsu ND, et al. Characteristics associated with physician discipline. Arch of Int Med. 2004; 164:653-658.
2. Morrison J, Wickersham P. Physicians disciplined by a state medical board. JAMA. 1998; 279:1889-1893.
3. Silber A, et al. Anesthesiologist board certification and patient outcomes. Anesthesiology. 2002; 96:1044-1052.
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Sadly, this is how some AMGs view IMGs. As you are soon going to come overseas for your medical education, you might as well be prepared for this sort of thing now. Actually, worse is when you are in the process for applying for a residency position and you see choice places put up the equivalent of
INNA (in this case, IMGs need not apply) signs on their websites.
08-14-2006, 08:16 AM
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