Are licensed doctors practicing in the US really worth their wages versus those practicing abroad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. It's more a matter of trusting licensure in other countries.

Do you really believe they don’t trust doctors from UK, Australia, Germany, France, etc…?
They could decide to accept licensed doctors from countries they trust. They are already accepting Canadian licenses.
It’s more a matter of controlling access to the profession to limit competition.
The last thing the American Medical Association wants is a surplus of doctors.

I'm not sure I trust that doctors who went to University of Ghana or University of Benghazi have the same background as US or other first world educated doctors.

[Anonymous]

The real benefit of doctors who practiced in other countries is their experience. I had a friend who was an OB/Gyn in Pakistan. Only the worst complications come into the hospital. She told me about a patient who arrived in shock, suffering from a 3 day old shoulder dystocia. American doctors have never had to deal with those complications, and have only read about them in a book. The flip side is doctors like my friend are less likely to have seen problems as they are developing. That’s what residency here should teach them.

[Anonymous]

US docs also pay a ton more for medical school. That’s partly what drives their need for a higher salary. Hardly anyone would go to medical school if they could never get out of their crushing debt. It’s a tough enough lifestyle as is.

I do agree that physician salaries are a little high, but out of all the people in the medical system I would go after the front line workers last. They are the ones delivering the care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP can go right ahead and trust their open heart or brain surgery to their doctors from Zimbabwe who've never had to pass the boards or do residency here.

Have fun!

Aren’t you precious.

Why not allow them? We trust our homes, children, clean our fresh food and construction projects to cheap labor. Ahh. These are unimportant jobs (not) so doesn’t matter who does them. Got it.

Pretty funny, actually. Not serious

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doctors in the US average about the same $ as a senior software engineer, but with much more expensive education, expensive malpractice insurance, grueling hours, and austere work environments. Why would we want to lower their salaries so that they make what a UK doctor makes, without UK hours and benefits? No. People will just go into other fields.

I get that they deal in people’s lives and theoretically improving them. However, unless doctors and other white collar pros face threats from incoming immigrants, medical costs will continue to rise more and be out of reach for regular people who have to compete with cheaper labor for jobs.

Doctor compensation is not the driver behind increased medical costs.

Correct, and if OP doesn’t understand this, OP knows nothing about US healthcare. Back to the library, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doctors in the US average about the same $ as a senior software engineer, but with much more expensive education, expensive malpractice insurance, grueling hours, and austere work environments. Why would we want to lower their salaries so that they make what a UK doctor makes, without UK hours and benefits? No. People will just go into other fields.

That ship has sailed. Health insurance companies set the cost of doctor visits and/or employ the majority of doctors on salaries. Just look at what part of healthcare industry has the most MBA’s. MBA’s are all about cost containment and redirecting money to CEOs and sometime the shareholders. Health insurance companies have boats of MBAs working for them.

People will still go in to medicine but it is not an industry with rich doctors any more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doctors in the US average about the same $ as a senior software engineer, but with much more expensive education, expensive malpractice insurance, grueling hours, and austere work environments. Why would we want to lower their salaries so that they make what a UK doctor makes, without UK hours and benefits? No. People will just go into other fields.

I get that they deal in people’s lives and theoretically improving them. However, unless doctors and other white collar pros face threats from incoming immigrants, medical costs will continue to rise more and be out of reach for regular people who have to compete with cheaper labor for jobs.

Doctor compensation is not the driver behind increased medical costs.

Correct, and if OP doesn’t understand this, OP knows nothing about US healthcare. Back to the library, OP.

Exactly! I think something like 10% of all health care costs goes for salaries, and that includes ALL health care professionals not just physicians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:US docs also pay a ton more for medical school. That’s partly what drives their need for a higher salary. Hardly anyone would go to medical school if they could never get out of their crushing debt. It’s a tough enough lifestyle as is.

I do agree that physician salaries are a little high, but out of all the people in the medical system I would go after the front line workers last. They are the ones delivering the care.

Yes, this. US doctors often have staggeringly huge loans and other expenses related to their training and practices that physicians training and practicing abroad don’t have. I’m clear about the costs of education; less clear about things like insurances, legal support, and expenses related to getting and maintaining licensure.,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. It's more a matter of trusting licensure in other countries.

Do you really believe they don’t trust doctors from UK, Australia, Germany, France, etc…?
They could decide to accept licensed doctors from countries they trust. They are already accepting Canadian licenses.
It’s more a matter of controlling access to the profession to limit competition.
The last thing the American Medical Association wants is a surplus of doctors.

I'm not sure I trust that doctors who went to University of Ghana or University of Benghazi have the same background as US or other first world educated doctors.

Fair. But even doctors who went the University of Oxford or University of Paris or University of Sydney are not allowed to practice here without going back to school to obtain a US license.
You don’t trust them?

[Anonymous]

Foreign trained doctors need to have part of their training in the US to learn how our medical system works, understand more about the culture of their patients, and learn the standard of practice in the US.

I trained in the US, but would have no idea about cultural norms and how to practice medicine if I were suddenly sent to Zimbabwe or France. It would not be fair to either me or my patients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. It's more a matter of trusting licensure in other countries.

Do you really believe they don’t trust doctors from UK, Australia, Germany, France, etc…?
They could decide to accept licensed doctors from countries they trust. They are already accepting Canadian licenses.
It’s more a matter of controlling access to the profession to limit competition.
The last thing the American Medical Association wants is a surplus of doctors.

I'm not sure I trust that doctors who went to University of Ghana or University of Benghazi have the same background as US or other first world educated doctors.

Fair. But even doctors who went the University of Oxford or University of Paris or University of Sydney are not allowed to practice here without going back to school to obtain a US license.
You don’t trust them?

This. I bet they’d work for less too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US docs also pay a ton more for medical school. That’s partly what drives their need for a higher salary. Hardly anyone would go to medical school if they could never get out of their crushing debt. It’s a tough enough lifestyle as is.

I do agree that physician salaries are a little high, but out of all the people in the medical system I would go after the front line workers last. They are the ones delivering the care.

Yes, this. US doctors often have staggeringly huge loans and other expenses related to their training and practices that physicians training and practicing abroad don’t have. I’m clear about the costs of education; less clear about things like insurances, legal support, and expenses related to getting and maintaining licensure.,

These would be reasons to hire foreign doctors especially from Europe — you know, where health care is so much better

[Anonymous]

Are doctors making good money these days? I think you should check out the stats, medical/dental field has seen no significant growth in salaries for like a decade. It’s actually at a breaking point. Highest educational loans vs salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US docs also pay a ton more for medical school. That’s partly what drives their need for a higher salary. Hardly anyone would go to medical school if they could never get out of their crushing debt. It’s a tough enough lifestyle as is.

I do agree that physician salaries are a little high, but out of all the people in the medical system I would go after the front line workers last. They are the ones delivering the care.

Yes, this. US doctors often have staggeringly huge loans and other expenses related to their training and practices that physicians training and practicing abroad don’t have. I’m clear about the costs of education; less clear about things like insurances, legal support, and expenses related to getting and maintaining licensure.,

These would be reasons to hire foreign doctors especially from Europe — you know, where health care is so much better

We do hire foreign doctors, after they’ve met the standards set by the US government. About 20% of active US physicians graduated from a foreign medical school. It’s not a rare thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:US docs also pay a ton more for medical school. That’s partly what drives their need for a higher salary. Hardly anyone would go to medical school if they could never get out of their crushing debt. It’s a tough enough lifestyle as is.

I do agree that physician salaries are a little high, but out of all the people in the medical system I would go after the front line workers last. They are the ones delivering the care.

Yes, this. US doctors often have staggeringly huge loans and other expenses related to their training and practices that physicians training and practicing abroad don’t have. I’m clear about the costs of education; less clear about things like insurances, legal support, and expenses related to getting and maintaining licensure.,

These would be reasons to hire foreign doctors especially from Europe — you know, where health care is so much better

We do hire foreign doctors, after they’ve met the standards set by the US government. About 20% of active US physicians graduated from a foreign medical school. It’s not a rare thing.

I'm suprized it is as high as 20%. Based on my interactions with doctors, I would say 90% are forgein born. Where are all these US-born doctors?