Med school - anyone interested? Well...

[Duneranger]

Many countries have a 6-year MBBS program that qualifies the graduate as a general practitioner (GP) in that country, with supervision/mentoring for a few years. For example, in rural communities of Africa, the GP may be the only game in town and has received not only a foundation in primary care and internal medicine but surgery that includes bowel resection and anastomosis, cesarean section delivery, reduction and fixation of fractures, etc. Their knowledge of anatomy is excellent, with gross anatomy (Cadaver lab) exceeding 12 months. I have worked with physicians from countries with very broad general training, and they can stand boot to boot and often exceed the skill sets of many US board-certified physicians! The US physician has become too specialized and compartmentalized in many ways. This isn't a bad thing! We certainly need experts in certain areas of medicine. It just seems like there is now a shortage of primary care doctors. Even board-certified primary care physicians seek fellowships in very focused areas because that is where the money is!

Most of the “good” foreign MDs I’ve met come from the UK, EU or Canada where medical school is pretty similar to the US. Some from India as well.

In the US, you are only seeing the select few who can pass the Step exams and march into a residency. The vast majority of foreign grads can’t do either and aren’t up to US standards.

You are essentially comparing the cream of the crop to the average US physician. Not a fair comparison.