Incompetent Faculty

[xlithiumx]

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I'm removing this post because I don't want to deal with the MD/DO flamewar that will ensue if this thread continues.

 

[JonnyG]

Actually you are implying that as a DO she is not qualified. You wouldn't have mentioned it if you weren't. Yes, she is unqualified to teach you echos because shes in family practice. When she has a patient that needs an echo shes sends them to a radiologist and they perform the test and do the interpretation. A cardiologist might have the ability to describe a heart echo but they would probably have trouble with areas they haven't seen much.

Your school failed for either not giving you an intro to radiology course so you could interpret the echos or having the faculty take refresher courses. People are limited by their training and the current medical structure is that no one needs to knwo how to do everything.

 

[joe6102]

I got the impression that you think she is not qualified, at least in part because she is a D.O. But it's far more basic than that - with small groups, they need a ton of instructors, and this particular one did not do her homework beforehand.

 

[xlithiumx]

forget it

 

[Law2Doc]

So, we were doing a small group PBL'esque exercise today. You know, the typical thing, a patient presents with blah blah blah, what physical exam stuff do you want to do, what labs, test, etc...

We're on CV block, and it came up that we needed an echo. So, they happen to have a video of this patient's echo and the professor could not correctly identify the anatomy on the echocardiogram. Granted, it was not the traditional view with all four chambers, but a sort of oblique view, but still, not that difficult to interpret.

So, this professor is a D.O. teaching at an allopathic school, and she's in the Family Medicine department. Something tells me that although I expect her to be able to accurately describe cardiac anatomy on an echo, she does not have the training or expertise to actually be teaching echo interpretation as part of this case.

I'm not saying that her being a D.O. makes her less qualified to teach at an allopathic school, although I'm kind of surprised they have old osteopaths teaching. At any rate, it is so frustrating to feel like you're not getting your money's worth and dealing with someone whose ability and competence come into question regularly.

Any similar experiences?

More likely she's not qualified for this task because she is a family medicine person and not a cardiologist, rather than her being a DO as opposed to an MD. Cardiology at most places has the monopoly on doing and reading echos, and other doctors who want an echo generally have to refer through them. An MD specializing in another specialty would also probably be equally unqualified to read an echo. So while it's a bummer that you have an unqualified teacher, she is not unqualified for the reason you seem to be implying. The DO aspect is irrelevant unless she was a cardiologist and still didn't know what she was doing.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

I agree with Law2Doc. I'm fine with DO's teaching at my allo school. They tend to be better than MD's in some areas in my personal experience.

 

[colbgw02]

Actually you are implying that as a DO she is not qualified. You wouldn't have mentioned it if you weren't. Yes, she is unqualified to teach you echos because shes in family practice. When she has a patient that needs an echo shes sends them to a radiologist and they perform the test and do the interpretation. A cardiologist might have the ability to describe a heart echo but they would probably have trouble with areas they haven't seen much.

Your school failed for either not giving you an intro to radiology course so you could interpret the echos or having the faculty take refresher courses. People are limited by their training and the current medical structure is that no one needs to knwo how to do everything.

cardiologists typically read echocardiograms, fyi.

 

[Law2Doc]

cardiologists typically read echocardiograms, fyi.

True dat. And since they can self refer, it's a huge cash cow.

 

[Westardly]

We have an MD who is on the OMM faculty at my school, no joke, and I think she kind of sucks at OMM...so there! No, she's actually really good. I was kindding about the last part.

 

[njbmd]

We are not going to get into an MD vs DO battle so I am closing this thread especially since the OP withdrew the original post.