Med Schools: Four That Flunk

Hartford Courant ^ | 6-29-03 | By JACK DOLAN And ANDREW JULIEN, Courant Staff Writers

[nuconvert]

Med Schools: Four That Flunk June 29, 2003 By JACK DOLAN And ANDREW JULIEN, Courant Staff Writers

Idaho regulators investigating complaints involving 12 patients revoked Dr. Brent E. Woodfield's license after concluding that he didn't understand "the basic principles of the practice of medicine."

For Dr. Anacleto Capua, accused of misdiagnosing fatal conditions in three patients, refresher medical courses were recommended by Florida authorities concerned about his medical skills.

Hitting the books might have helped Dr. Narpat Panwar, who flunked the U.S. medical licensing exam seven times before passing - only to be accused later in New York of botching a childbirth so badly the newborn suffered brain damage.

Besides a slippery grasp of the basics, these physicians share another bond: They graduated from a handful of medical schools that produce troubled doctors at about 10 times the rate of the best schools, an eight-month Hartford Courant investigation has found.

The schools - the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Mexico, Howard University in Washington, Manila Central University in the Philippines and Meharry Medical College in Nashville - ranked at the bottom in separate analyses of three databases containing records of disciplinary actions against thousands of physicians across the United States.

[nuconvert]

Very long article, but well worth the read.(especially if your new M.D. graduated from one of these schools)

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Ping!

[DoughtyOne]

About twenty years ago the University of Guadalajara in Mexico seemed to have a pretty good program. I wonder if that is true or it just went down hill.

[gcruse]

   Guess what Howard University in Washington
and Meharry Medical College in Nashville have in
common?

[Cathryn Crawford]

You want to look at this...

[The Red Zone]

black

[txzman]

Watch out :) The Affirmative Action Police will be at your door....

[knuthom]

I doubt that anything will be done about the two US schools because their students are primarily a protected class. The practice is to hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil about these schools.

[yankeedame]

Besides a slippery grasp of the basics, these physicians share another bond: They graduated from a handful of medical schools that produce troubled doctors at about 10 times the rate of the best schools....

...And they all worked in military clinics handling military retirees and their spouces.

[friendly]

The docs from these schools have been commonly known for years to be notorious quacks. It is probably actionable from a malpractice perspective to hire these losers at your hospital.

Equally horrific are graduates of medical schools in the Russia, China (except Hong Kong), Haiti, and many other third world hell-holes. India grads are a mixed lot: many are OK, some are bad news, most are greedy, mean, and condescending to patients.

[RLK]

That's scarey.

[nuconvert]

If I didn't know before, it says in the article.

"There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women"

Interesting with your comment.

[RLK]

Watch out :) The Affirmative Action Police will be at your door....

----------------

More likely at your grave.

[stainlessbanner]

From Meharry's website

Mission True to its heritage, Meharry Medical College exists to provide excellent education and training in the health sciences with a special focus on providing opportunities to promising African-Americans and other under-represented ethic minority students.

Anyone know how much state and fed funding Meharry and Howard receive annually?

[jocon307]

"Doctors trained at these schools have gone on to provide care for many who were being turned away by hospitals or physicians that refused to treat minorities."

I'm sorry, what country is this talking about? Are minorities turned away from Hospitals? Not to my knowledge.

How soon before the author of this is story is force to do the "I'm so sorry" back step?

[nuconvert]

One of my favorite lines:

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of health research for Public Citizen, a Washington-based consumer group...

"Maybe this means that it's worth requiring that anyone practicing medicine in this country had adequate preparation before medical school."

D U H

[gcruse]

I do not believe society has rights.
I do not believe groups have rights.
These two universities are turning out
inferior graduates because some believe
this group of people should tolerate
relaxed standards for the good of society.

[nuconvert]

I think they were talking about in the past.

[Atchafalaya]

A mind is a terrible thig to waste?

[gcruse]

A mind is a terrible thig to waste?

Heh.  Reluctant to use 'n's?
You know, with the 'f' word, the 'n' word
and the 'c' word, we're well on our way
to spelling France.

[lizma]

Although difficult to prove, several experts also theorized that racial bias by state medical boards and other regulatory agencies might lead to black physicians being viewed more skeptically than whites when disciplinary actions are meted out, skewing the results for both Howard and Meharry.

Well maybe or maybe Howard and Meharry feel their politcal agenda trumps a few patients lives.

[nuconvert]

And I know of a few horror stories regarding military hospitals ...

[joonbug]

When I was a premed in college, there was a special program to assist (tutor) minority students in some of the difficult premed classes like organic chemistry. A friend and I came across study notes from this tutorial group before our organic chem final. We went through the study notes for practice. And guess what the final exam consisted of? Those study notes and practice questions, meaning that the minority students were given a copy of the actual exam ahead of time. If this same approach is taken at the mentioned medical schools, it is no wonder that their graduates are incompetent. Not only is it bad for patients, but the poor doctors find themselves on the wrong end of lawsuits (plaintiff lawyers don't give a @#$% about diversity), disciplinary actions, and the like. Not fair to them either putting them in a situation where they are destined to fail.

[nuconvert]

Yeah. I don't think they're THAT skeptical. The numbers are a bit too high for that excuse. Of course it's the "several experts" again. You know how they can be.

[gcruse]

Wow. That's pretty frightening. And these people probably have appointments to see patients first thing in the morning.

[nuconvert]

At least it was organic chem and not anatomy.

[Intolerant in NJ]

The four schools differ in many ways, but the clearest common denominator is that most accept candidates who might have had trouble getting into other schools. For a variety of reasons - some noble, others more pragmatic - the schools have more flexible admissions standards than other institutions...from the article bump........

[stands2reason]

most are greedy, mean, and condescending to patients.

Not in my experience.

[nuconvert]

"At least one school, Guadalajara, has accepted would-be doctors who never completed college."

That's pretty flexible.

[lizma]

And I know of a few horror stories regarding military hospitals ...

I've worked in a few veteran hospitals. I think the major problem is that the staff are federal employees and pretty much can't be fired. (I suspect they can kill patients, but I don't think they are allowed to kill their boss. I'll have to look that one up.)

For the most part, good people work there a few years until they can't take it anymore. The lazy ones just show up at work, doing little when they get there, until they can collect a pension. They are very frustrating places to work at.

[nuconvert]

Sounds like it would be frustrating, especially if you're one of the "new" staff.

[Intolerant in NJ]

"At least one school, Guadalajara, has accepted would-be doctors who never completed college." That's pretty flexible...this is true, but actually there are combined programs in the US (or at least there were a few years ago) which admit students to med school after having completed only three undergraduate years of intense pre-med studies - I believe Penn State and a med school in Philly were together in such a coordinated program...of course, students have to be especially selected for such training, and I think Guadalajara's real problem is that they're taking students who couldn't get into any othe med school even with all four years of undergrad work.......

[nuconvert]

Yeah. I don't think the accelerated program at Penn St. is the admissions problem at Guadalahara. But it's interesting that they have that program.

[henderson field]

Good doctors will tell you not to go to VA hospitals if you can avoid it.

[henderson field]

That's the whole problem with the government: no one can be fired. This has to change. You can be fired. I can be fired. But to them there's no reason to be competent, and it obviously doesn't bother them that they are not.

[RightOnline]

"The two U.S. schools, Howard and Meharry, have played a critical role in the history of American medical education, training generations of African American physicians when the doors to most schools were largely open only to whites. Doctors trained at these schools have gone on to provide care for many who were being turned away by hospitals or physicians that refused to treat minorities.

They are also among a handful of historically black institutions that attract students who often come from underprivileged backgrounds and may score lower on standardized tests."

Utter bulls**t.

OK, Black America, just how embarrassed are you at this? How many more excuses does black America need? Just how much longer can "black institutions" ride this hoary "we be disadvantaged" vehicle? Utter horses**t.

The truth is, it's things like this that continue to set back race relations in this country 20 years at a shot. Too many of us are tired of excuses for shoddiness, nonexistent academic performance, barely functional illiteracy, sky high illegitimacy, hugely disproportionate crime rates......and now, excuses for turning out "doctors" by the bucketful who'll kill you as soon as bill you.

Shame, people. Shame.

[nuconvert]

Henderson Field? Guadalcanal?

[nuconvert]

Okay. I'm awake! Now tell us how you REALLY feel.

[RightOnline]

I call 'em as I see 'em.......and the first sumbitch who calls me "racist" for it is going to catch unmitigated hell.

[jwh_Denver]

I doubt that anything will be done about the two US schools because their students are primarily a protected class. The practice is to hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil about these schools.

I think a far worse problem is that doctors will not rat on other doctors.

[lizma]

Too many of us are tired of excuses for shoddiness, nonexistent academic performance, barely functional illiteracy, sky high illegitimacy, hugely disproportionate crime rates......and now, excuses for turning out "doctors" by the bucketful who'll kill you as soon as bill you.

I think your right. It's not attitudes that have done this to them, it's government handouts and victimhood propaganda.

My hope is that the rats set these people free as they scamper for the Hispanic vote.

[crazykatz]

I am a well educated older woman. I dress nicely and do wear SPANDEX, etc.(LOL). Nobody would confuse with any of the trailer-trash that apears so often on Jerry Springer!!

I speak clearly and I use correct grammar. While I am a Southerner, I have a very slight accent. I do not say, "ya'll" or drop my 'G's. I never say things like "honey child" or "ain't".

At any rate, I was forced by a sudden illness to go to an emergency room at a very nice hospital in Jacksonville, Fl.

The attending physician, a woman from INDIA, who could barely speak English, was slighly rude to me. She was not friendly and never once made eye contact with me.

She then handed me a prescription and further instructions for my care, and asked me very rudely,

"DO YOU KNOW HOW TO READ?".

I told her that my family had been reading and writing English, BEFORE her ancestors ever knew there was such a place as England!

She just stared at me... finally making eye contact. She just continued to explain, in her very poor English, the treatment plan... which I had great difficulty understanding.

Just give me an American Doc... I don't trust INDIANS at all.

[nuconvert]

Strange, isn't it? Our American schools are so bogged down with med student applications that they only accept the top students from pre-med programs. Yet when you go to a hospital, it seems (depending on where you live) that 30% of the Dr's are foreign. The US schools are preventing US students from becoming Drs, so there's enough room in the system for foreign docs. Makes NO sense. If THAT many foreigners can get jobs as drs, we're not letting enough of our own students get into Med schools.

[appeal2]

Reminds me of that old joke, "What do you call the guy who graduated last from his medica school class?"


Doctor!!!

[RightOnline]

What really chaps my hide about this is the fact that the average, hard working black or Hispanic would be well and truly pissed off with this. I don't believe for a second that most "minorities" want to be treated like helpless children, and I can't help but think that stories like this absolutely infuriate them. Face it....................after reading this, wouldn't you be seriously tempted to ask any black doctor where he went to med school?? That can't be good for blacks, that can't be good (or necessarily fair) to black medical practitioners......and it's these ridiculous, social-engineering programs that have created this mess.

Affirmative action, or anything resembling it, HAS to go if minorities are to be truly viewed the way they want to be viewed in our society. Schools that cater to minorities (I don't even believe in that concept; find it insulting as hell) should have HIGHER standards. Blacks 40 or 50 years ago understood this. No longer. It's time for minority communities to start challenging themselves.

[friendly]

Our American schools are so bogged down with med student applications that they only accept the top students from pre-med programs. Yet when you go to a hospital, it seems (depending on where you live) that 30% of the Dr's are foreign. The US schools are preventing US students from becoming Drs, so there's enough room in the system for foreign docs. Makes NO sense. If THAT many foreigners can get jobs as drs, we're not letting enough of our own students get into Med schools.

There are plenty of US docs, just not in the ERs and clinics.

The top undergraduate students have however gone into other fields (business, law), so that now 50% of the med school classes are women, up from 5% 25 years ago. Women who (wisely in my view) simply don't work as hard, take vacations, don't do 70 hour weeks, drop out to have kids, etc.

The new docs graduating are simply not as intelligent as the graduates of 25 years ago, in my experience. It is hard to imagine how bad American graduates of these Mexican and other third world hell-hole medical schools must be.

[CatoRenasci]

Must be a recent thing. Thirty years ago, or so, I had a surgery performed by a Pakistani surgeon at our local hospital. My own general practitioner, who had been a first rate surgeon when he was younger, told me he had high confidence in the fellow. The surgeon was excellent, and as I got to know him during my recovery, he turned out to be a charming, well-educated fellow as well. Although he spoke with an accent (rather more Cambridge than anything else), his English was completely fluent and easily understood. He was a fixture in our community for many years until retiring a few years ago.

[dljordan]

I know. I used to laugh at the antics going on over at Meharry. Losing corpses, embezzlement, fraud and last but not least discrimination against white folk (even though they were paying the bills). A real circus.

[dljordan]

Notice that they just couldn't bring themselves to say INCOMPETENT. More liberal newsspeak.

[albee]

>Right On, Line!