Are Med Admissions Random or Inexplicable?

[LizzyM]

Nah, I want the superstar that's the best in town, and for a specialist I want the best in the region.
Just wait until you get sick. Some people just want a good listener, but health care professionals who have seen the difference in the quality of care over their entire careers know better.
Of course that doesn't necessarily correlate with medical school attended, or even residency. Some people just have mad skills and have spent decades honing them vs resting on their laurels. There's a lot of that around.

I think it depends on the reason for seeing the doctor. For routine GYN or preventive care, for example, I want someone who listens and respects me.

It is true that you want someone who is skilled for a procedure and I was glad that my parents traveled out of their way for joint replacement and cancer treatment based on inside info.

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[jcaptian]

I'm late to the party, but this is just too funny. I've NEVER asked my doctor what his MCAT score was. And, I have never once thought, "I wonder if this guy is legit...what exactly was his PS score?"' I'd rather have a doctor who listens to me and treats me with respect.

TRUTH. Oh and add to that that I've never heard a patient ask "did you graduate from a top 10?"

 

[yellowfish]

TRUTH. Oh and add to that that I've never heard a patient ask "did you graduate from a top 10?"

But I have heard a patient say, "I came to you because I saw you graduated from Harvard Medical School." It's probably not common, but to some patients it is important for whatever reason.

 

[LizzyM]

But I have heard a patient say, "I came to you because I saw you graduated from Harvard Medical School." It's probably not common, but to some patients it is important for whatever reason.

And you'll also hear patients say, "I wanted to see the guy who graduated from Harvard, but he's not in my network."

 

[An MD Hopeful]

But I have heard a patient say, "I came to you because I saw you graduated from Harvard Medical School." It's probably not common, but to some patients it is important for whatever reason.

And you'll also hear patients say, "I wanted to see the guy who graduated from Harvard, but he's not in my network."

That reminds me of a fellow at the hospital where I work. He graduated from Harvard undergrad and a top 5 med school. All the attendings at first were so excited about him. Lol, turned out he had absolutely horrible bedside manner, and he couldn't even do a proper physical examination. I had a chance to shadow him briefly. He was truly a very awkward person with patients, and they didn't like him much. On the other hand, a fellow from a med school ranked in the 30's was so wonderful with the patients that they would even request to see him and compliment him to every other doctor. Needless to say the department hired the second fellow, not the first one. I'm not trying to say that all doctors from the Ivy league are bad physicians. Rather I think it just goes to show that it's not the institute that makes the person.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Heavy workload? *gulp* but I work

 

[Geebeejay]

But I have heard a patient say, "I came to you because I saw you graduated from Harvard Medical School." It's probably not common, but to some patients it is important for whatever reason.

It's important because of some entirely false notion among lay people that the best doctors only come out of the top schools.

 

[ZtetNb]

I'd wager that graduates from top schools are quite likely to be good doctors because of the kinds of people who enter their classes (i.e. hardworking and driven), regardless of whether or not they provide superior education. However that doesn't mean that all graduates from top schools will be any good or that the best doctors can't come from other schools.

 

[squat]

I guess I've met enough people in my trips around the sun that I am more impressed by the individual than the papers he or she carries.

Yep, credentials matter, but returning to the original comment, there is no way that I would select my physician (for ANY procedure) on his/her MCAT score. That just strikes me as absurd.

 

[slowbutsteady]

So in essence the entire process is in fact random because EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL has it's own logical system in place. That's exactly the problem and why people think the process is random. I guess that's why they tell you to apply broadly too. If each school has different criteria for acceptances and weights things differently, how the hell are we supposed to know what to do beyond good grades/MCAT/shadow/research/volunteer? If one school values the arts, should I play in the school band to stand out? If one school values a struggle, does that give someone from a poor household with lower stats a leg up because they had to help take care of their siblings?

RANDOM.

You clearly have no understanding of the word "random."

 

[Geebeejay]

I'd wager that graduates from top schools are quite likely to be good doctors because of the kinds of people who enter their classes (i.e. hardworking and driven), regardless of whether or not they provide superior education. However that doesn't mean that all graduates from top schools will be any good or that the best doctors can't come from other schools.

I'd wager that most med students at any school are hardworking and driven.