For those who think Caribb MD is a good idea.....

[PreMedMissteps]

A MS3 Caribb med student recently told me that he and many of his classmates aren’t able to fit in all of their rotations, so their graduation will be delayed until end of summer 2020 (instead of May). They won’t be able to participate in Match 2020 as originally planned. They are Americans and are attending one of the so-called best Caribbean med schools. This was not caused by any NPs. It’s because they can’t get the rotations they need in a timely manner and also coordinate housing from all the moving around. They’re doing their rotations in the US.

Obviously, being American IMGs is already a disadvantage. I don’t know if there’s a further disadvantage if the residency applicant isn’t a current “senior”.

Just one more negative about Caribb meds.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[FutureDPM123]

I almost ended going to a Caribbean school cause I was getting desperate. It's important to note that there is a reason your not getting into a MD program. The competitiveness among enrolled MD students remains high due to the importance of the board exam. Remember that there are plenty of other health care careers out there that are just as important. DO, PA, PT, OT, RNP, DPM, OD. I too used to think I had to do MD. Take a long and hard look at the profession before determining you want to continue the long time and large financial investment towards a career that you might not enjoy as much as you believe.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

I almost ended going to a Caribbean school cause I was getting desperate. It's important to note that there is a reason your not getting into a MD program. The competitiveness among enrolled MD students remains high due to the importance of the board exam. Remember that there are plenty of other health care careers out there that are just as important. DO, PA, PT, OT, RNP, DPM, OD. I too used to think I had to do MD. Take a long and hard look at the profession before determining you want to continue the long time and large financial investment towards a career that you might not enjoy as much as you believe.

Absolutely!

Another friend just couldn’t score well on the MCAT and got frustrated. Then he went the PA route and is now in practice making very good money. The GRE is easier to prepare for.
His peers that went the MD route are PGY1

 

[FutureDPM123]

Absolutely!

Another friend just couldn’t score well on the MCAT and got frustrated. Then he went the PA route and is now in practice making very good money. The GRE is easier to prepare for.
His peers that went the MD route are PGY1

I've come to learn that many things happen for a good reason.

 

[deleted804295]

I've come to learn that many things happen for a good reason.

I love this quote so much. I'm a strong proponent for fate. It honestly might be a blessing in disguise by being rejected from medical school. Medicine is not the end all be all field. There are other amazing fields to explore. There is an entire world to explore!

 

[RNtoMD87]

DPM just doesn’t seem very interesting to me, but I could be missing something. I wish I was more interested in eyes because Optometry looks like the way to go. But I would be solely doing it for the hours and pay, and probably wouldn’t be as interested in learning as I would medicine.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

DPM just doesn’t seem very interesting to me, but I could be missing something. I wish I was more interested in eyes because Optometry looks like the way to go. But I would be solely doing it for the hours and pay, and probably wouldn’t be as interested in learning as I would medicine.

Do you mean ophthalmology or optometry?

 

[Gilakend]

DPM just doesn’t seem very interesting to me, but I could be missing something. I wish I was more interested in eyes because Optometry looks like the way to go. But I would be solely doing it for the hours and pay, and probably wouldn’t be as interested in learning as I would medicine.

I had a friend look into optometry and apparently the outlook is pretty poor according to him.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Really? I figured avoiding the insurance hassle, no nights/weekends/ few emergencies, making at least 120k, sounded nice at least.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Oh only 110k a year avg, a little less than I made my first year when I wasn’t preoccupied with school, but much easier on the health I’d imagine. But like I said, snooze fest. If nursing has me bored as hell I think I’d be bored even faster with that.

 

[glassesvar]

I almost ended going to a Caribbean school cause I was getting desperate. It's important to note that there is a reason your not getting into a MD program. The competitiveness among enrolled MD students remains high due to the importance of the board exam. Remember that there are plenty of other health care careers out there that are just as important. DO, PA, PT, OT, RNP, DPM, OD. I too used to think I had to do MD. Take a long and hard look at the profession before determining you want to continue the long time and large financial investment towards a career that you might not enjoy as much as you believe.

Honestly out of the ones you listed DO shouldn’t be lumped in with the rest since an MD and DO are comparable degrees. DO is just easier to get into.

Not saying the other options are worse, but that the career paths are drastically different, and the breadth and depth of knowledge MDs and DOs have is substantially more than basically all of those.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I had a friend look into optometry and apparently the outlook is pretty poor according to him.

Bah dum tss.

Really? I figured avoiding the insurance hassle, no nights/weekends/ few emergencies, making at least 120k, sounded nice at least.

The job market is pretty poor.

 

[DrFortiusNatando]

The podiatry residents at our institution are pretty well-respected. They know their stuff and take care of the feet/lower legs for a lot of pretty sick patients with advanced vascular disease. They are known for coming down to the emergency department immediately when they get a consult and they always seem pretty excited to get involved. They don't get involved in managing the patients' diabetes, but neither do the vascular surgeons whom also often get called for these patients. And the vascular surgery residents are always grumpy when they have to come see a patient. The podiatry residents just seem like a happier group (as residents at least), and seem to be grateful to be needed!

Even in my city, which seems to have an overabundance of medical professionals, our community seems to be understaffed in terms of podiatrists. There are a few very good ones and they are crazy-busy. They spend a lot of time in the OR.

Of course, you end up focusing on only a small area of the body, and while you should understand systemic illnesses like diabetes, lupus, etc, you will not be managing them. But again, that is not much different than a lot of MD/DO specialists.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

DPMs are experts in gait mechanics and wound management. They are able to perform multiple surgeries, get reimbursed same as ortho. Even more importantly, there are no midlevels encroaching on their turf. Beginning to see a few more ortho foot specialists, but not enough to impact the patient load for DPMs.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Oh don’t get me wrong, it sounds like an excellent field. All of those things you mentioned. Just sounds too much like a combination of diabetic/vsu nightmare that will never be resolved, only managed, and PMR type stuff. Surgery part sounds neat, but feet and legs don’t interest me. I like the abdominal and thoracic cavity.

Definitely wouldn’t rule out podiatry though.

 

[PTPuser]

I shadowed pretty much every physician in all the field of interest before I decided to switch career. One of them were podiatrist. I believe that they're very underrated by pre-meds and their practice are pretty transparent when comparing them between MD / DO world. The only reason I didn't apply to DPM school was because I wasn't wholeheartedly sure that I wanted to practice podiatry as I have other interest that I can bounce from the MD / DO. But if I knew for a fact that I wanted to practice podiatry and do that line of work, I would do it in a heartbeat.

 

[HarmonicConvergence]

We actually have a descent amount of Caribb drop outs in my class. Sucks thinking they've got 1-2 years of debt from those schools and have 4 more to go in podiatric medical school. Most of them either didn't know what podiatry was when they went or were MD or bust.

I wouldn't suggest anyone just jumping into podiatry because you can get. You've got to know you'll be satisfied being a podiatrist which IMO is all the best specialties wrapped into one (derm/ortho/vascular) just saying, but definitely do your research before taking the gamble of Carib school. And shadow shadow shadow. Plenty of rewarding options in medicine other than MD/DO/DPM/DDS.

 

[FutureDPM123]

Honestly out of the ones you listed DO shouldn’t be lumped in with the rest since an MD and DO are comparable degrees. DO is just easier to get into.

Not saying the other options are worse, but that the career paths are drastically different, and the breadth and depth of knowledge MDs and DOs have is substantially more than basically all of those.

Well MD, DO, and DPM all go to medical school and are all physicians. Even a few of the podiatry schools take classes with DO students. I had the stats for DO, but after all my shadowing, nothing seemed to be as good a fit as podiatry.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Well MD, DO, and DPM all go to medical school and are all physicians. Even a few of the podiatry schools take classes with DO students. I had the stats for DO, but after all my shadowing, nothing seemed to be as good a fit as podiatry.

What in particular made podiatry interesting to you?

 

[FutureDPM123]

What in particular made podiatry interesting to you?

I've aspired to be a physician/surgeon for a long time now (due to some childhood experiences). Given my MCAT score, if I wanted to do something surgery related, then I would either have to do DO or DPM. The main points that made podiatry a better fit for me is: 1. The feet are a part of the body I feel more comfortable handling with, 2. I know from the beginning I am specializing in feet and will come out a surgeon, 3. The day to day life of the podiatrist was something I could see myself doing. Whether it be clipping toe-nails of diabetic patients, taking X-Rays, testing for fungus, doing a plantar fasciotomy, etc.

In the end, podiatry had everything I was looking for in a healthcare career. I just want more undergraduates to know about it so they can shadow and decide whether it is the right profession for them.

 

[glassesvar]

Well MD, DO, and DPM all go to medical school and are all physicians. Even a few of the podiatry schools take classes with DO students. I had the stats for DO, but after all my shadowing, nothing seemed to be as good a fit as podiatry.

That’s great that you figured out podiatry was a good fit for you, but I was just pointing out that MD and DO are very similar to each other and have some differences from podiatry in terms of career path. Once you go to podiatry school you can only practice podiatry. You won’t have the breadth of medical knowledge that an MD/DO has, nor do you have the options to choose from the same variety of specialties that an MD/DO can. For a student that isn’t 100% set on dealing with feet specifically, MD or DO may be a better option. However I’m not knocking podiatry at all, I think it’s a great option if someone knows they want to practice podiatry. I definitely think a lot more premeds should consider it as an option.

 

[RNtoMD87]

That’s great that you figured out podiatry was a good fit for you, but I was just pointing out that MD and DO are very similar to each other and have some differences from podiatry in terms of career path. Once you go to podiatry school you can only practice podiatry. You won’t have the breadth of medical knowledge that an MD/DO has, nor do you have the options to choose from the same variety of specialties that an MD/DO can. For a student that isn’t 100% set on dealing with feet specifically, MD or DO may be a better option. However I’m not knocking podiatry at all, I think it’s a great option if someone knows they want to practice podiatry. I definitely think a lot more premeds should consider it as an option.

I guess that’s my thing. In my eyes feet are a small part of the body, and I find the heart, brain, lungs etc more interesting. That’s a reason I choose to work on neuro critical care often. It seems much simpler from a glance, but these patients can have such minor symptoms that must be caught (an eye twitch can be your only sign of a seizure).

Feet reminds me of my first job at an LTAC doing wound care, and dealing with peoples poorly managed diabetes and venous stasis. Never cared for nasty feet, now if I could specialize in injury, say soldiers that stepped on land mines, etc that would be interesting for me.

 

[HarmonicConvergence]

That’s great that you figured out podiatry was a good fit for you, but I was just pointing out that MD and DO are very similar to each other and have some differences from podiatry in terms of career path. Once you go to podiatry school you can only practice podiatry. You won’t have the breadth of medical knowledge that an MD/DO has, nor do you have the options to choose from the same variety of specialties that an MD/DO can. For a student that isn’t 100% set on dealing with feet specifically, MD or DO may be a better option. However I’m not knocking podiatry at all, I think it’s a great option if someone knows they want to practice podiatry. I definitely think a lot more premeds should consider it as an option.

I don't want to make this a pro podiatry thread by any means podiatry has many cons but you keep saying the breadth of knowledge is more. Podiatry students have to learn all the systems just like any other type of medical students. They have to do non-podiatric rotations just like any other medical students. Our classes are not watered down we do head to toe dissection. Most of our schools are paired with DO or MD schools. Optometry school and dental school are direct to profession degrees that prepare the students to practice right out of school. MD/DO/DPM prepare you to be a resident.

 

[glassesvar]

I don't want to make this a pro podiatry thread by any means podiatry has many cons but you keep saying the breadth of knowledge is more. Podiatry students have to learn all the systems just like any other type of medical students. They have to do non-podiatric rotations just like any other medical students. Our classes are not watered down we do head to toe dissection. Most of our schools are paired with DO or MD schools. Optometry school and dental school are direct to profession degrees that prepare the students to practice right out of school. MD/DO/DPM prepare you to be a resident.

Again I suspect that while podiatry schools cover those systems, it is not as rigorous, and also more focused towards podiatry. Do all the DPM schools associated with med schools have all of their basic science classes completely the same? I don’t think so. Could the average DPM student take shelf exams, Step 1, and Step 2 and score near the average for US seniors? I highly doubt it.

Again, not knocking the profession. At the end of the day they are 2 different paths. Med school students can decide to go in to whatever specialty they want at the end of med school, can podiatry students do the same? No. When you go to podiatry school you are locked into 1 specialty for the rest of your life. MD/DOs can even switch between specialties if they really want to after residency (it is rare but I personally know people who have done it). A podiatrist cannot switch to a different medical specialty if they want to. MD/DOs can also go in to basic science research much more easily. These things make it fundamentally different. Podiatrists are also overall less likely to successfully transition into things like health care consulting or become an executive of a health care system. These are all very serious things that need to be considered before committing to one profession or the other, especially for someone that wants a dynamic career. There is no doubt that being an MD/DO leaves you with more options in the future.

 

[de Ribas]

Do all the DPM schools associated with med schools have all of their basic science classes completely the same? I don’t think so.

While I agree with the rest of the comment, I wanted to comment just on this one part.

All sciences are completely the same for 2 years until rotations start at least in my school. We are taking all sciences together and have same labs and are in same groups in gross anatomy labs working together at the same table. We are in the same clin med course, labs and same patient encounter exams.

Second year we focus more on dermatology, biomechanics and surgery as DOs focus on OB, Psych for example.

As for USMLE, I don't think average DO student can score near the average of MD students without significantly more time for studying. Since we know ahead of time that we are not taking USMLE, we focus more on our details and not pay so much attention to other things. I think most podiatry medical students can score well on USMLE provided they study for that as any other MD/DO student since we cover pretty much the same material.


There are FMGs, that have been out of school for many years and score above average on USMLE after they studied for it.

 

[RNtoMD87]

This sounds about right. I had a friend who was an OT student and had MUCH overlap with the medical students. Cadaver lab etc. so I would imagine DPM would also have.

 

[RNtoMD87]

One thing I’m curious about, how far up the leg do podiatrists deal with? Is there like an anatomical point, where everything under that is your scope? Seems more difficult to define than say cardiology, etc where the scope is more clear.

 

[HarmonicConvergence]

Again I suspect that while podiatry schools cover those systems, it is not as rigorous, and also more focused towards podiatry. Do all the DPM schools associated with med schools have all of their basic science classes completely the same? I don’t think so. Could the average DPM student take shelf exams, Step 1, and Step 2 and score near the average for US seniors? I highly doubt it.

Again, not knocking the profession. At the end of the day they are 2 different paths. Med school students can decide to go in to whatever specialty they want at the end of med school, can podiatry students do the same? No. When you go to podiatry school you are locked into 1 specialty for the rest of your life. MD/DOs can even switch between specialties if they really want to after residency (it is rare but I personally know people who have done it). A podiatrist cannot switch to a different medical specialty if they want to. MD/DOs can also go in to basic science research much more easily. These things make it fundamentally different. Podiatrists are also overall less likely to successfully transition into things like health care consulting or become an executive of a health care system. These are all very serious things that need to be considered before committing to one profession or the other, especially for someone that wants a dynamic career. There is no doubt that being an MD/DO leaves you with more options in the future.

I agree matching is completely different. And it goes without saying MD/DO leaves you with many more career options. But as far as schooling you are only making assumption. I will again state that most podiatry schools are with MD/DO students. many students sit in the same class room as the DO students. Or at least share the same professors. Because we are associated with MD/DO we know what our colleagues in other programs are learning. We have to go just in depth with each system during the didactic years as any other medical student. And it is not related to the foot. Obvi we will not be treating these pathologies but it is important that we be able to generally recognize them and understand them so we can properly refer out and have a educated discussion with other members of the medical team. We don't take the USMLE but we do have our own 3 step board exam. Just like the DO's have complex. And we are moving towards the USMLE like was stated.

There are also many podiatrist who are involved in research and publish often in medical journals. There are also podiatrist that are chief of surgery, chief of medical staff. The chief of orthopedic surgery at Howard County General a division of Johns Hopkins is a podiatrist.

So while I completely agree the D.P.M is not as versatile a degree as the M.D and D.O. The D.P.M still gives plenty of options and is an expert physician within its scope.

I try not to sound like a commercial for podiatry its not for everyone and has plenty of cons but I ask someone not to misrepresent the profession if you actually don't know what you're talking about.

 

[HarmonicConvergence]

One thing I’m curious about, how far up the leg do podiatrists deal with? Is there like an anatomical point, where everything under that is your scope? Seems more difficult to define than say cardiology, etc where the scope is more clear.

soft tissue below the tibial tuberosity and everything on the distal leg down. So just like a couple inches above the lateral and medial malleolus. Scope also depends on the state. Beside Ortho obvi we try and stay in our lane. . In general not that I speak for the whole profession. Unlike midlevels we only want to do what we're trained to do and practice within our scope.

A pod could be your best friend. They refer out to vascular, derm, and the PCP a lot.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Reason #306 why I don’t want to be a mid level for when they ask me in my interview “I don’t want the entire medical community to lump me into a group and to be accused of trying to practice outside of my knowledge level”.

 

[FutureDPM123]

Reiterating from before, while thousands of people earn off-shore MD, get some residency spot, and become practicing physicians, at least as many who start per year never earn a degree or get into a residency spot. Podiatry offers a degree that leads becoming a practicing medical specialist , treating people, doing surgery, and being a doctor for your patients, for hospital staff, and to your MD/DO/DPM colleagues.
So the question that I ask students is, do you risk thousands of dollars of debt in an off-shore school where you have a high percentage who do not earn a degree or do not get a residency slot, thus never practicing medicine, or do you consider podiatry?

 

[RNtoMD87]

My thing is, you’re focusing on the “respect”. My main hang up is “is there enough to learn about feet that will keep me interested for another 40 years?”

I feel like with other areas of medicine, there is SO much to know, that you can always find something else. But with a very limited area of practice anatomically, the curve must be undoubtedly much steeper.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Dumb question...Is “mid-level” the same as NPs and PAs?

Either way...we’ve been seeing DNPs which already confuse patients. I don’t know how new this is, but now I’m seeing doctorates for PAs. More confusion for patients! I think all of this is helping move the MD process into a shorter education to make some of this confusion go away.

Also wondering....are there any programs where a PA can become an MD in some sort of accelerated process? Seems like an experienced PA could become a MD in maybe an 18 month condensed program?

 

[ciestar]

Dumb question...Is “mid-level” the same as NPs and PAs?

Either way...we’ve been seeing DNPs which already confuse patients. I don’t know how new this is, but now I’m seeing doctorates for PAs. More confusion for patients! I think all of this is helping move the MD process into a shorter education to make some of this confusion go away.

Also wondering....are there any programs where a PA can become an MD in some sort of accelerated process? Seems like an experienced PA could become a MD in maybe an 18 month condensed program?

Yes, NPs and PAs are midlevels.

 

[PTPuser]

Dumb question...Is “mid-level” the same as NPs and PAs?

Either way...we’ve been seeing DNPs which already confuse patients. I don’t know how new this is, but now I’m seeing doctorates for PAs. More confusion for patients! I think all of this is helping move the MD process into a shorter education to make some of this confusion go away.

Also wondering....are there any programs where a PA can become an MD in some sort of accelerated process? Seems like an experienced PA could become a MD in maybe an 18 month condensed program?

Mid levels are NP, PA and CRNA. There are accelerated program where PA can go for DO. LECOM is one of them.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

There are accelerated program where PA can go for DO. LECOM is one of them.

What is the length of time?

I suspect that we might see some MD med schools offering the same. At least ones who can figure out classroom space to accommodate such an offering and can do so without losing money.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Dumb question...Is “mid-level” the same as NPs and PAs?

Either way...we’ve been seeing DNPs which already confuse patients. I don’t know how new this is, but now I’m seeing doctorates for PAs. More confusion for patients! I think all of this is helping move the MD process into a shorter education to make some of this confusion go away.

Also wondering....are there any programs where a PA can become an MD in some sort of accelerated process? Seems like an experienced PA could become a MD in maybe an 18 month condensed program?

I wouldn’t say the MD program is getting shorter. It’s mostly a financial move since NPs and PAs are cheaper to have on payroll. There may be some PA-MD programs I am not sure, but I don’t think it would be THAT accelerated.

Yeah NP programs are all changing over to DNPs, slowly but surely. (Original goal was like back in 2016 that I knew of, it will be at least 2025 or so). The problem is most of the additional education is nursing theory which is useless. If nursing would focus on the science and procedure, it would be much better. I don’t care about different nurses from years ago’s theories on nursing. Florence Nightingale wasn’t even a nurse in today’s scope. She was a CNA. The main focus in nursing is on care plans, nursing diagnoses, etc. When you get on the floor, you don’t even use these. My manager told me it’s 70s era nursing.

The main problem with nursing is it’s AGED. They need to get with the times, and quit holding on to the way these elderly heads of nursing organizations did things almost 50 years ago.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Dumb question...Is “mid-level” the same as NPs and PAs?

Either way...we’ve been seeing DNPs which already confuse patients. I don’t know how new this is, but now I’m seeing doctorates for PAs. More confusion for patients! I think all of this is helping move the MD process into a shorter education to make some of this confusion go away.

Also wondering....are there any programs where a PA can become an MD in some sort of accelerated process? Seems like an experienced PA could become a MD in maybe an 18 month condensed program?

You will be seeing Doctorates for PAs, PTs, NPs, and Crnas. They will be introducing themselves as " Hello, I'm Dr .... from anesthesia" , when they are not a physician anesthesiologist.This is more to advance them as independent providers than status.

 

[ciestar]

While I was still in nursing school, I worked with nurses with phd’s but thankfully none of them called themselves “Doctor blah blah”

 

[RNtoMD87]

You will be seeing Doctorates for PAs, PTs, NPs, and Crnas. They will be introducing themselves as " Hello, I'm Dr .... from anesthesia" , when they are not a physician anesthesiologist.This is more to advance them as independent providers than status.

And so schools can rip us off for more money.

 

[RNtoMD87]

While I was still in nursing school, I worked with nurses with phd’s but thankfully none of them called themselves “Doctor blah blah”

None of them will when they’re in the hospital unless they’re real *****s.

In class though, “Mrs. Horsley,”

“Let me stop you there. I am Doctor Horsley. Please use my title. I earned it. Please continue.”

“Actually, never mind.”

Some doctors do this to new nurses in the hospital and I think that is ridiculous as well. I still slip up and call doctors Mr. /Mrs. sometimes. I try to throw in a doctor later in the conversation to acknowledge them, but cmon.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Hello, I'm Dr .... from anesthesia" , when they are not an anesthesiologist

FTFY.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

While I was still in nursing school, I worked with nurses with phd’s but thankfully none of them called themselves “Doctor blah blah”

They DNPs on the wards do. Not all of them, but the ones who are in it for independence and status. I used to work with a DNP who was employed in a clinical RN position in same day surgery, and she would introduce herself to all her patients as Dr. Soandso. She would also tell patients when she disagreed with their surgeons' recommendations or orders.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

None of them will when they’re in the hospital unless they’re real *****s.

They do. It is dangerous and often against hospital policy, but they do anyway. When most of the leadership are nurses, they can get away with it, patient safety be damned.

 

[RNtoMD87]

They do. It is dangerous and often against hospital policy, but they do anyway. When most of the leadership are nurses, they can get away with it, patient safety be damned.

I haven’t seen this personally thankfully. Most NPs I see in practice are professional and tend to stay in their lanes. The academic side is where I see the people with a huge head.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I haven’t seen this personally thankfully. Most NPs I see in practice are professional and tend to stay in their lanes. The academic side is where I see the people with a huge head.

I've seen it at community hospitals too. It's pervasive.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Some doctors do this to new nurses in the hospital and I think that is ridiculous as well. I still slip up and call doctors Mr. /Mrs. sometimes. I try to throw in a doctor later in the conversation to acknowledge them, but cmon.

Eh. As long as you're not a dick about it, there's nothing wrong with setting boundaries and telling people how you prefer to be addressed. In the hospital, titles are important--just like in the military. On the ship, I'm GM1 because I'm in charge and responsible for them and our equipment, so if I tell them to do something, it's for a reason, and I need it done. When we step off the brow, I'm Mike.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

FTFY.

Thanks, I used this term physician anesthesiologist to distinguish from the pejorative CRNA term MDA, or MD anesthetist. They use this as a barb to tweak anesthesiologists who do their own cases.I agree that this would appear redundant to most.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Thanks, I used this term physician anesthesiologist to distinguish from the pejorative CRNA term MDA, or MD anesthetist. They use this as a barb to tweak anesthesiologists who do their own cases.I agree that this would appear redundant to most.

Oh, I know. I worked in an OR for almost a decade. I just think it's ridiculous that we have to distinguish like that. I refuse to use that term, and I refuse to every refer to a CRNA as an anesthesiologist.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

They do. It is dangerous and often against hospital policy, but they do anyway. When most of the leadership are nurses, they can get away with it, patient safety be damned.

CRNAs in Ohio awhile back were doing that, got mail order Dr of Divinity degrees and were presenting themselves as Dr.... from anesthesia. State Board of medicine had to get involved to cease and desist