Do you trust foreign doctors?

[GG2]

Last time I was at a doctor's office was for treatment of possible STD infection and also for treatment for erectile dysfunction and that was a few years back. Now I want to undergo an unrelated medical treatment, so I went to a walk-in clinic. Three female receptionists, one with a head garment which led me to conclude that she's Muslim. All were very friendly and spoke perfect English.

I've now been referred to a specialist whose name is foreign who speaks English and Arabic. The office is located in a house in a residential area rather than a hospital or building.

Is this normal? Also, do medical specialists have to be educated in Canada and obtain their degrees in Canada or are they able to transfer foreign degrees to begin practising in Canada? Is the government protecting me from abuse?

When I was a young lad the receptionists at clinics were not Muslim and the names of the doctors were things like "Daniel" with last names like "Smith".

I'm doing my best to re-adjust to our new world.

 

[Aardvark154]

Two words: Board Certified

 

[GG2]

From what I can find online, my specialist graduated from a university in Egypt in 1971. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assiut_University

"Assiut University is ranked 2404th world wide based on webometrics Ranking of World Universities, it also comes and 5th in Egypt."

I can't lie, I'd feel more comfortable if she was a U of T grad or a grad from any domestic university.

Which board do you guys check for certification? www.cpso.on.ca ?

I've had a recurring nightmare for years and in it I'm being murdered by a radical Muslim. Maybe those nightmares were a premonition in disguise or maybe I'm just paranoid. Maybe Muslims have successfully infiltrated our medical system right here in Toronto and will begin Jihad in the near future. Am I going crazy?

 

[Aardvark154]

This would only apply to some TERBites, but this is an example of what I mean by a Board: http://www.sogc.org/index_e.asp

I'd ask straight out: Dr. Mohamed are you Board certified in Urology, here in Canada?

 

[johnnyone1]

It's my understanding that all Physicians and Surgeons in Canada must be approved to practice by the of College of P & S of the Province in which they practice. If you're not approved, you can't practice.

BTW, you don't have to accept the first person that you are referred to. You can always ask for an alternative referral.

 

[LKD]

they say the best doctors are in India, but I wouldn't bet my life getting treated by them there. I've had a family member who went there for a minor surgery as a precaution and end up dead. One couldn't sue or do much to the doctors there. I've heard of plenty of cases where poor people are duped into thinking they're getting free surgery for a certain complication and find out years later that they have a kidney missing or so, their kidney which was sold in the black market without their knowledge or consent. I also saw on CNN the other day that some Indian doctors were attracting Western clients who paid thousands of dollars hoping they'd be cured from terminal diseases through stem cell treatment. These doctors had no proof, study done or even evidence that it even worked. When asked by CNN on how they derived the stem cell or secret, they flat out went, "Its our secret and cannot be disclosed for fear that someone might profit from it" I can't fathom how some become doctors there with their close-mindedness and stubborn ego to say the least

 

[lurkerjoe]

You can do two things:

First: Check with the regulator, in our case its the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. You need to check if he has a disciplinary record that you can find on the CPSO's website www.cpso.on.ca

Second: Check with the national educator - there is only one national organization that all specialists are all part of and who have to continue professional development to stay in. It's the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Check the Royal College's website's directory to see if he is a Fellow http://www.royalcollege.ca

You can also tell if he's a Fellow if your doc has the designation FRCPC or FRCSC. The first are for medical specialists, the latter are for surgical specialists.

PS: If you ask a doc if he's "Board Certified" he's being polite when he says "Yes" but he's really thinking your an Americanized-dumbass and secretly wished you stop using House, ER or Grey's Anatomy as your reference point to the medical profession.

 

[Thunderballs]

Maybe I'm racist, but third world medical credentials? Pass.

 

[Aardvark154]

Basicly in the U.S. and Canada if you recieved your medical edication in either country or in the U.K. you are pretty much "good to go," and perhaps (I don't know) in Québec if you were educated in France. Otherwise it is a very long hard road to practice.

 

[mykonos]

I've come across some pretty scary 3rd-world ones that WERE Canadian certified. Head south of the border if you care about your health.

Maybe I'm racist, but third world medical credentials? Pass.

 

[SinnamonFairbanks]

I agree with thunderballs. I think my doctor is Tamil and the advice I get from him is terrible. I get more information from telehealth. LIke some of his advice could have sent my friend into anaphylactic shock. He couldn't diagnose eczema in a child and advised me to continue doing the wrong thing making it worse. He tested me for things I was already aware of... he was a no show to an appointment with me, didn't keep records that detailed past visits... There are other things I won't mention... but it really makes it hard to trust his word...

But as far as location, I have met an amazing doctor in the past running a practice out of a walking basement in Toronto. He was an older man, with a lot of information to offer and a great personality. the place was a little shady looking.... it was run down looking on the inside but in a nice area. but when I actually got to meet him I was impressed by how much information he wanted to know and the information he was willing to give to really try and help you understand things. I really wish I could find something like that out here where I live now. I'm not racist but I would give anything to have a white... French or English Speaking doctor.

 

[GG2]

You can do two things:

First: Check with the regulator, in our case its the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. You need to check if he has a disciplinary record that you can find on the CPSO's website www.cpso.on.ca

Second: Check with the national educator - there is only one national organization that all specialists are all part of and who have to continue professional development to stay in. It's the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Check the Royal College's website's directory to see if he is a Fellow http://www.royalcollege.ca

Thanks for the information and links. I did not find anything on CPSO's website. I've emailed them just in case.

She is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

As you are likely aware, your average cab driver and Tim Hortons worker are more likely to be better educated than you.

I've read or heard this before, but let's just say I'm skeptical about the truth of that statement.

 

[massman]

all doctors in canada must pass certifcation exams here, before they are licenced here. That doesnt necessarily mean that they are good, but they have met the same standard required of home grown docs. There are good and bad docs from all different countries, including canada.

 

[blackrock13]

Interestingly enough the GP's that i've had trouble with have been the locally trained ones. Most of the specialist have been locally trained, so a similar comparison is difficult, but I would say 50/50.

 

[james t kirk]

I'd be most afraid of a Canadian born doctor who got his medical diploma in South America, or Eastern Europe, or the like.

 

[GG2]

www.cpso.on.ca responded to me days ago. Looks like all is free and clear with my referred doctor.

I try to be vigilante about my safety when I'm putting my life completely in the hands of others.

Now I have to wait an entire month for my appointment.

 

[buttercup]

Maybe I'm racist, but third world medical credentials? Pass.

People who think they might be racist, usually are. So are many people who don't think they are.

As to third world medical credentials, bear in mind that the medical schools and universities in India were basically set up by the British colonists a hundred years ago. They were then, and largely still are, the equal of their British counterparts.

 

[buttercup]

Picture the crowd of people waiting in the doctors waiting room. Packed. Standing room only.

Another man comes in. Brown skin. Turban. He makes his way through the crowd, up to the door of the doctor's office.

A woman stops him. She speaks clearly and slowly, "You wait. Doctor not here yet."

The man says, equally clearly, "No, you wait. Me, doctor."

 

[GG2]

I should state that the doctor at the walk-in clinic who referred me to the specialist was a brown guy. I was perfectly comfortable with him. I assumed he was Canadian born (or if not, raised here from very early age). He was a young guy - only 26 years old. I asked him his age because he looked so young and we had a few laughs about how good life must be treating him (with me hinting at the fact that he must tap lots of ass, being that he's a successful young professional in a lucrative career). The kind of guy you could be good friends with and smash pussy with. To my mind, he's a Canadian doctor with Canadian credentials. Obviously if he is in fact a Muslim sleeper cell, he fooled me, and I'm fucked.

But I don't think it's wrong to question or investigate the credentials of doctors from overseas for peace of mind. Like others have mentioned, there are cases where our own doctors are not up to snuff.

 

[trm]

Some foreign trained doctors are very good and some are bad. I think the worst doctor I ever had was educated in Greece. Two of the better doctors I have had went to medical school in India. You have to look at the individual, not stereotype a whole group. What you really need to check is where they did their post graduate training. A graduate of a foreign medical school who did the internship and residency in Canada or the US should be good. I would avoid a doctor that did the post graduate training in the third world. And you should not go to a foreign trained doctor whose English is so poor that you cannot communicate with each other.