“But to suggest that there’s essentially no difference between a regional hospital in Illinois and New York Presbyterian is foolish as well as irresponsible.”
No, it’s not, and for you to suggest otherwise is naive. I don’t usually do this, but I will put my credentials, education, and experience against ANYONE you want to compare to, anytime. I’ve seen and treated disasters from NY Presbyterian hospital, and trained MANY people who wound up working there. If you truly believe that Mass General, NYU, Columbia, Mount Sinai, Cedars Sinai, UCSF, University of Michigan Medical Center, or the Brigham are the definitive places for good medicine, then you are truly and tragically misinformed.
I’ve been in academic medicine at these types of institutions my entire career, and there isn’t a single time I am on service during which I don’t find egregious medical errors. Further, of all the trainees I’ve dealt with in a very long and internationally recognized career, I’ve never seen places that turned out better trainees than good state medical schools. Just like Levi’s are probably better jeans than $700 jeans from Paris or Milan, the reliance on pedigree for a definition of quality in medicine is fraught with error.
I hope you have a great night.
If you are a physician why not give us some idea in what setting you practice...rural? small town? suburb? large city? Doing so would lend credibility...in *my* mind at least...to your claims.