Yah-E said:
This not true at all. Many old 4-year OMFSs (who are in practice for many years) are going to this online "offshore"/international medical school to obtain their MD degree. There was this article in the JOMS not too long ago about this 4-year OMFSs getting their MD degree from an international medical school (which are AAMC accredited). All the 6-year MD/OMFSs were all bitching and moaning about it.
here's the reference:
JOMS, 63:571-572, 2005
Yep, these guys give oral surgeons (both single and dual degree) a bad name. The MD/OMFSs were up in arms because these guys were claiming to be MDs but are not licensed to practice medicine. You cannot be licensed to practice medicine unless you pass all three parts of the USMLE and complete at least one year of post-graduate training in an AMA approved residency.
With a chilling amount of foreshadowing, Daniel Laskin wrote an editorial about this in JOMS in 2000:
Laskin DM. A double standard in double degree. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2000 Sep;58(9):933-4. PMID: 10981971.
In this editorial, Laskin states that:
"Thus, such persons may be entitled to place MD after their name, but they
cannot legally practice under that degree. One might argue that we already have some oral and maxillofacial surgeons with a medical degree who never
sought medical licensure. However, graduation from an American or Canadian medical school guarantees a certain standard of education that is subject to overview by an accreditation process, which is not necessarily true in all medical schools around the world.
Therefore, there is the potential for a double standard in the double degree, which may be misleading to the
public and unfair to the single-degree as well as the qualified dual-degree oral and maxillofacial surgeon. I believe that our specialty is currently facing sufficient challenges from some of our medical colleagues without adding another unnecessary factor, such as this, to the equation."
DANIEL M. LASKIN
In fact, this pathway probably won't be viable - many states are likely to follow the state of Kansas and prevent these guys from advertising their MDs.
See -
http://www.dentalwatch.org/reg/thomas.html
Also, Yah-E, you're totally incorrect about accreditation. The Antigua medical school is not recognized by the AMA or the AAMC:
From -
http://www.dentalwatch.org/edu/uhsa.html
UHSA is not accredited by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), which only accredits U.S. and Canadian medical schools. Graduates from international medical schools can be licensed in the United States once certain criteria are met. But UHSA graduates from UHSA are not permitted to apply for medical licenses in at least two states, California and Indiana [2]. In response to the American Medical News story, the president of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, responded that the vast majority of oral and maxillofacial surgeons with MDs have attained their MD degree by completing oral and maxillofacial surgery residency training programs that integrate two to three years of medical education in an LCME-accredited medical school [3]. These programs are also vastly superior to the UHSA program.
From -
http://www.uhsa.ag/pstudent/lib-artsci/student-profile.htm
The American Medical Association (AMA) does not approve Medical Programs outside of the United States. Therefore, our Institution does not need approval other than that from World Health Organization (WHO). Successful completion of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is essential for those graduates interested in practicing in the United States. The American Medical Association (AMA) or State Licensing Boards will not rubber stamp any foreign Medical School's Program regardless of the Program's content. Some State Licensing Boards usually request information about the Program along with the official records of the student after he/she has graduated and passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).
Those guys are angry. They have a point, but don't say that many "dental Surgeons " are MDs as well.
