Why do some doctors not list the med school they went to?

[drdan83]

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Just curious why some doctors choose not to list the medical school they went to when it is usually out of the country.

I mean anybody can look it up I guess but if you did go to Guadalajara or India, or the Carribean, why not just put it down on your website?

I was checking the website out of this plastic surgeon that appeared on Jersey Housewives and he's got a great website and all but under "About the Doctor," It only listed his residency with no mention of where he obtained his MD degree. I looked him up on Healthgrades and he went to Guadalajara as I expected.

There is another prominent doctor I know and his site says that he has been in private practice in (insert state here) for the past 25 years and it listed all his accomplishments, Top Doc rankings, and all the stuff he's famous for, blah, blah, blah. And I know he went to school in India.

Then you have doctors who went to Ivy-league med schools who even list the high school they went to! --Like you could care less right?

Here's the weirdest one yet, there is a website of a doctor who lists his high school (very prestigious), THE CITY WHERE HIS COLLEGE WAS (no name is given), skips his med school entirely, and then lists his residency (specifically the Cleveland Clinic!)

Just curious why some people do that. Is it for the same reasons people lie about their height and age?

 

[Whatyousay]

Just curious why some people do that. Is it for the same reasons people lie about their height and age?

Inferiority complex.

 

[Tapepsi]

Yeah it could possibly be that they're ashamed I guess.

And whenever you mentioned the whole height thing you reminded me of a time when my friend told me he was 6'0 even though he's 2-3 inches shorter than me (I'm 6'0 btw). I didn't argue with him though b/c it' wasn't worth it. I don't know why people feel the need to lie about their height.

 

[drdan83]

I'm asking because I know when you're younger you like to lie about certain things to impress your friends but I always thought doctors were like bigger than all of that but some of these docs are in their 50's and 60's.

I mean in the end I guess it all comes down to where you did your residency, how long you have been in practice and your malpractice history but I think the patient should have the right to know where you got your degree from right?

 

[Tapepsi]

I'm asking because I know when you're younger you like to lie about certain things to impress your friends but I always thought doctors were like bigger than all of that but some of these docs are in their 50's and 60's.

I mean in the end I guess it all comes down to where you did your residency, how long you have been in practice and your malpractice history but I think the patient should have the right to know where you got your degree from right?

See and those are what doctors would argue should only matter. They might be afraid that if they reveal to patients that they had to go to a caribbean school that it would make them look less competent (at least that's my reasoning) even though they are at the same level as other physicians.

 

[KTownGT]

FMG's also have anger problems, hate the fed, etc.

 

[womp]

Everyone has little insecurities like that. You think doctors have it bad, take a look at nurses or paralegals.

In the end most patients don't give a damn that you went to Guadalajara etc. Many patients think the NP in the CVS MinuteClinic (hole in a wall) is a real doctor. If you don't believe me, take a look at Yelp reviews of MinuteClinics.

 

[Narmerguy]

I'm asking because I know when you're younger you like to lie about certain things to impress your friends but I always thought doctors were like bigger than all of that but some of these docs are in their 50's and 60's.

I mean in the end I guess it all comes down to where you did your residency, how long you have been in practice and your malpractice history but I think the patient should have the right to know where you got your degree from right?

Haha Actually not.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Everyone has little insecurities like that. You think doctors have it bad, take a look at nurses or paralegals.

In the end most patients don't give a damn that you went to Guadalajara etc. Many patients think the NP in the CVS MinuteClinic (hole in a wall) is a real doctor. If you don't believe me, take a look at Yelp reviews of MinuteClinics.

so true

 

[Law2Doc]

Just curious why some doctors choose not to list the medical school they went to when it is usually out of the country.

I mean anybody can look it up I guess but if you did go to Guadalajara or India, or the Carribean, why not just put it down on your website?

I was checking the website out of this plastic surgeon that appeared on Jersey Housewives and he's got a great website and all but under "About the Doctor," It only listed his residency with no mention of where he obtained his MD degree. I looked him up on Healthgrades and he went to Guadalajara as I expected.

There is another prominent doctor I know and his site says that he has been in private practice in (insert state here) for the past 25 years and it listed all his accomplishments, Top Doc rankings, and all the stuff he's famous for, blah, blah, blah. And I know he went to school in India.

Then you have doctors who went to Ivy-league med schools who even list the high school they went to! --Like you could care less right?

Here's the weirdest one yet, there is a website of a doctor who lists his high school (very prestigious), THE CITY WHERE HIS COLLEGE WAS (no name is given), skips his med school entirely, and then lists his residency (specifically the Cleveland Clinic!)

Just curious why some people do that. Is it for the same reasons people lie about their height and age?

In general, in medicine you are always only as good as the last place you've been. Meaning if you did college, med school, residency, fellowship, etc., nobody cares where you did the first couple of steps on this long road. Your residency and fellowship are where you "trained" and so that's going to be what really matters in terms of your next job, your patients, etc. You aren't still that Harvard Med grad if you are coming out of some malignant community hole in the wall 4 years later. Similarly, you aren't still that dude who barely got through some offshore MD factory if you come out of a decent residency and fellowship with glowing reviews and good training. Med school is important foundation, but you don't learn how to take care of a patient there. In that respect it's more like still being a premed -- you need to do it, but the skills you pick up aren't what's going to affect how you practice, how good you are etc. Your training is what does that. A few dozen overnights in the ICU where you are the only "doctor" around and you get your chops. Until then you aren't really appreciably any more of a doctor at a top ranked school than at some offshore place.

I think a lot of people in pre-allo are so focused on "getting in" to med school that you forget that the game isn't over after that. This is but the first step in a very long climb, and not even the biggest part of the climb. Basically getting into med school is akin to getting to base camp at the start of an Everest climb. The mountain still looms ahead. So don't expect to rest on your laurels just because you get into a good place. You aren't really very much further along this climb than anyone else, yet. A good Step 1 and solid 3rd year evals will go a long way to getting a good foothold on this mountain, but until then, you are still just looking up like everyone else.

 

[drdan83]

In general, in medicine you are always only as good as the last place you've been. Meaning if you did college, med school, residency, fellowship, etc., nobody cares where you did the first couple of steps on this long road. Your residency and fellowship are where you "trained" and so that's going to be what really matters in terms of your next job, your patients, etc. You aren't still that Harvard Med grad if you are coming out of some malignant community hole in the wall 4 years later. Similarly, you aren't still that dude who barely got through some offshore MD factory if you come out of a decent residency and fellowship with glowing reviews and good training. Med school is important foundation, but you don't learn how to take care of a patient there. In that respect it's more like still being a premed -- you need to do it, but the skills you pick up aren't what's going to affect how you practice, how good you are etc. Your training is what does that. A few dozen overnights in the ICU where you are the only "doctor" around and you get your chops. Until then you aren't really appreciably any more of a doctor at a top ranked school than at some offshore place.

I think a lot of people in pre-allo are so focused on "getting in" to med school that you forget that the game isn't over after that. This is but the first step in a very long climb, and not even the biggest part of the climb. Basically getting into med school is akin to getting to base camp at the start of an Everest climb. The mountain still looms ahead. So don't expect to rest on your laurels just because you get into a good place. You aren't really very much further along this climb than anyone else, yet. A good Step 1 and solid 3rd year evals will go a long way to getting a good foothold on this mountain, but until then, you are still just looking up like everyone else.

interesting observation. I guess you are right you are only as good as the last place you are coming from.

I never thought about it like that, I keep looking at the whole picture for some reason.

 

[r1012]

Just curious why some doctors choose not to list the medical school they went to when it is usually out of the country.

I mean anybody can look it up I guess but if you did go to Guadalajara or India, or the Carribean, why not just put it down on your website?

I was checking the website out of this plastic surgeon that appeared on Jersey Housewives and he's got a great website and all but under "About the Doctor," It only listed his residency with no mention of where he obtained his MD degree. I looked him up on Healthgrades and he went to Guadalajara as I expected.

There is another prominent doctor I know and his site says that he has been in private practice in (insert state here) for the past 25 years and it listed all his accomplishments, Top Doc rankings, and all the stuff he's famous for, blah, blah, blah. And I know he went to school in India.

Then you have doctors who went to Ivy-league med schools who even list the high school they went to! --Like you could care less right?

Here's the weirdest one yet, there is a website of a doctor who lists his high school (very prestigious), THE CITY WHERE HIS COLLEGE WAS (no name is given), skips his med school entirely, and then lists his residency (specifically the Cleveland Clinic!)

Just curious why some people do that. Is it for the same reasons people lie about their height and age?

+1 for Law2Doc's post.

I just wanted to throw it out there that the India doc you mention may be an FMG, rather than an IMG, in which case an Indian med school was probably the natural choice (and I have no idea why he wouldn't list it, b/c at the time it would have been insanely competitive). But, it may have seemed like a move (to him) that would result in patients with a bias (esp 25 years ago when he started his practice, etc). I know nothing about the doc, but I feel like if that's the situation, then maybe it's not SO odd after all.

 

[45408]

It's advertising. Why would you list something that would potentially be seen by someone as a negative factor? Have you ever seen someone advertise "NOT Board Certified!" No? Are they ashamed? Maybe, but it would just be stupid to say something like that. If patients have a right to know, then they can go ahead and look it up. I would have no problems listing my med school and residency, but there are plenty of reasons why someone might not.

 

[Law2Doc]

It's more or less the same thing you saw with Dr. Rey on Dr 90210 -- the dude was always in a Harvard shirt, holding a Harvard mug, and his Harvard "diploma" was prominently hanging on his office wall. He didn't specify that he did a 1 year fellowship at Harvard, but did his med school at Tufts. The Harvard name has more cache, so he ran with it. And since it's the last place he had been on this long road, it probably makes sense -- in his practice he was a former Harvard fellow more than a Tufts med student.