Aarrgghh?.do we really have to get into this again? Doesn?t anyone use the search feature to get answers from previous posts? The reality is that there is no definitive answer to this question.
First off it?s impossible and pretty foolish to generalize about the American medical community from a message board comprised mainly, if not entirely, from pre-med students, medical students, and physicians still in training. The American medical community, like the U.S. itself, is too vast and too diverse to ever allow for a single, convenient stereotype.
Is there some arrogance with respect to an American medical degree? Yes. But don?t try and tell me this type of discrimination doesn?t exist in Britain (or Canada or Australia etc?). When I was in England last year there were plenty of reports from foreign-educated doctors unable to climb the ranks of the NHS with the same ease as their British-educated counterparts. This may not necessarily be arrogance, but rather the fact that there is a general level of confidence and control with respect their own level of training whereas it?s nearly impossible to compare or guarantee these same standards within another country?s medical education. Every time the U.K. government talked about bringing over doctors from Spain or North America the British Medical Association released a statement explaining why this wouldn?t work and how it would be bad for the public. People tend to protect their own. America and Britain are no different in this way. There is arrogance, but putting it all down to this is inaccurate.
The more complicated issue is in respect to IMG?s already in the American medical system. There will never be a universal consensus on this issue because some choose to put all IMG?s on the same level while others choose to make distinctions based upon various factors. The general belief (and please note that I am not advocating or stating this as a fact of truth) is that those IMG?s who couldn?t get into US medical schools and therefore attended one of the many for-profit offshore schools located in the Caribbean can face a certain amount of stigma upon their return. As far as IMG?s from foreign countries go, some believe there are distinctions made such as English speaking vs. non-English speaking countries or developed vs. undeveloped nations. Within this theory, an IMG from the U.K. or Australia may be treated differently from one coming from India or China. Again, all of this is speculation based purely on unofficial trends or opinions because under the law there are no differences between IMG?s, regardless of their nation of origin or country of training. From my own experience, I do believe that there are distinctions made between IMG's based on the criteria above, but this is just my thinking and it should mean nothing to someone whose experiences are bound to be different from my own. Ask 25 different doctors about IMG?s and their role in U.S. healthcare and I can almost guarantee you will get 25 completely different answers. There really is no single underlying truth or belief that can accurately answer your questions.
That said, while there may be a collective stigma towards IMG?s held by the medical system in the U.S. (and in Britain and elsewhere), most doctors I have come across treat the physician in front of them as an individual, not as part of some larger unseen group. Ultimately you will be judged by your ability to perform.
Please don?t let this turn into one of the many ?us vs. them? debates that are already present in sufficient number in this forum. Hopefully this thread stays civil or ends quickly.
