Journalism Assignment Help!

[Dayfish]

Okay, as some of you may (or may not) know, I am going back to school. I've started my News Reporting course this week, and since I've been working more than I would like to lately, I honestly don't have time to go out and interview 10 random people like I'm supposed to. Yes, I'm being bad, I guess, but seeing as how I don't know a lot of you, your background or where you are all from, the poll is legit and your answers will help me immensely. I thank you all in advance for taking the time to answer my question and follow up.

(I'd ask the customers who come into the store where I work, but it's not even a remotely appropriate question and I have no idea how I would work it into any kind of conversation).

The question is: Do you trust foreign-trained medical doctors?

Why?

Any kind of discussion that takes place in this thread will most definitely help me with my paper, and you'll all be helping me learn as well. :D

[Jai]

It would depend on the country, and the standards there...I'd have to look into it.

[Cacophany_cat]

I asked my mother so that you would have some variation in your interviews.

First off the health system here is the government run NHS.

"A lot of the doctors and nurses here through the NHS system are foreign and have been trained outside of the UK anyway, the one we have at the moment, no we don't trust her as she tends to misdiagnose, but that isn't across the board, the one we had before was Korean and we had known him for years and trusted him in all aspects of our healthcare."

[Michael Ubaldi]

Yes, and I would have no reason not to initially trust them because a) my choice would in part be based on testimonials, and b) state and private evaluations for the right to practice medicine are securely in place.

[Ed Kirchgessner]

I wouldn't say that I mistrust foreign-trained doctors -- they have to meet the same qualifications as anyone else to practice medicine here in the US. Still, I have to admit that I'd be more comfortable with a doctor who grew up in the United States. When matters of health are at stake, I'd rather not have to confront communication barriers.

[Neidren]

For me, where my doctor has been trained has not been an issue for me so much as how comfortable they are in speaking English. Actually, when I moved across the country I had to get a new doctor and the first one I went to was very gruff and made me uncomfortable. She had been born and raised in the U.S. The second doctor I went to made me much more comfortable, yet she was foreign and spoke English as a second language.

[Magiz]

I'd say I'd trust foreign-trained medical doctors. Since I became diabetic over 21 years ago, I've had to get information and help from many of them. As others have said, they qualified to practice in the country, so they should have the same abilities as any in-country trained doctors. The only problem I've ever had with some of them was their accents. Other than that I trust them as much as any other doctor.

[theempyrealwordsmith]

Indeed, i've not had to find myself a doctor as of yet, but my recent history with medical issues led me to many circumstances in which i was working with doctors of quite diverse ethnic backgrounds. This didn't worry me. In general the reason for outsourcing for many companies these days is not because it's cheaper, but because as globalization has increased foreign work ethic has proven far stronger than American work ethic. Thus a doctor in, say, India probably worked more diligently than the American. That's not to say i'd prefer one over the other--American medical practices are very hard to get into and require an equally immense amount of training.

Overall i'd say as long as my doctor understands what i say to him/her (i.e., as has been said, speaks English) i'm fine. Even if this is not the case, my doubt in medical capacity of the doctor is not diminished by the language (not) spoken.

[Dayfish]

I actually had good luck at work today with this question. It was rather slow, so whenever a Princeton University student walked through the door I presented them with this question. As expected, most of the students were very passionate about their responses and didn't waver between a yes or a no, they were 100% certain.

Everyone else I ask, besides a few of you here have said "that's too broad of a question, because it would depend on the country." Too many shades of gray in this question, I suppose! Anyway, I think I have enough material for what I need, so thanks you guys :)

[theempyrealwordsmith]

No problem. I'd be interested to see if the results differed from my opinion--it seemed the majority here are, barring a few potential qualms, generally supportive of the idea.

[Dayfish]

No problem. I'd be interested to see if the results differed from my opinion--it seemed the majority here are, barring a few potential qualms, generally supportive of the idea.

8 out of the 10 first answers I have gotten from people said, "Well, it would have to depend on which country the doctor got their education from. London? India? Okay, sure. But if it was a third world country or the caribbean, then no."

[theempyrealwordsmith]

I see. Honestly i didn't know that third-world country doctors would be able to get certified here unless they passed the same standards everyone else did. I've no real notion of how the medical profession works but i assumed one needed to pass some sort of licensing test to legally practice.

[Jes-ka]

I know I missed out on this but it's too good of a question that not answering would be an injustice.

I think I would know if I could trust the doctor based on what they told me, regardless of where they were from. I guess that means we would have to speak the same language, so that would be my only requirement. But usually when I see a new, U.S. doctor, I kind of gauge how I feel about them based on the questions they ask me and what they decide to explain to me (or not).

I believe that ultimately, in the end, I can choose to take their advice or find someone else that I trust no matter which country I am in.

[Ghengis John]

I frankly don't care what country the doctor comes from. I don't even understand how that's a concern. Doctors from third world countries probably have a lot more experience with disease and trauma, and doctors who may have defected from rogue states aren't going to blow up your leg. Seeing as everyone passes the same rigorous screening to practice medicine and american body parts generally work the same as everyone else's I'm going to say I trust a foreign doctor as much as any american, I have no reason not to.

[Dayfish]

So it seems most of you, it not all of you believe that "until they give me a reason not to trust them, then I see no reason not to." Okay then, thanks a lot guys. You can all keep answering the question. I haven't written my paper yet, so I don't know whose answers I am going to use or not. I just know my professor made it clear that he ONLY wanted ten, and not fourteen, haha.

We'll see.

[the Brayn]

I don't really have a preference if a doctor is foreign-trained, what you have to remember is that even some doctors who are born, raised, and practice in America were foreign-trained. That being said, I have never had a non-American doctor.

This is an interesting topic since this story was on the news a few days ago here in Georgia.

ATLANTA (FOX 5) -- What happens in a medical examining room is between a patient and a doctor. But what if the man performing a private, personal exam is not a licensed doctor? The State Medical Board is investigating one such situation right here in Atlanta. The FOX 5 I-Team has conducted its own investigation. Senior Reporter Dale Russell has talked with six different patients who say they were treated by a man - who is not a licensed doctor.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=1429966991DA71D3C98C7F5F9E6E98A2 ?contentId=5674592&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

Edit: forgot to mention that the "doctor" in question is foreign-trained.

[Dayfish]

Here's a follow up on my assignment. I'm keeping my opinion out of this, but I just thought it was really interesting to see a certain trend with all of the people that I polled.
Those who I polled who were between the ages of 25 - 40 said yes, they would trust a foreign trained medical doctor.
Those who I polled that turned out to be denizens of other countries gave me mixed bag answers, though most of them (not just the ones here) said maybe, but it would depend on which country they are coming from.
Those who I polled that came from Princeton University said no. They did not even waver between a yes or a no, they flat out said no.
Those who I polled that were teachers (and just so happened to be above 40) said that it was too gray of an area, and it would completely depend on a series of other factors before they would allow them to touch their bodies or diagnose them.

Just thought some of you might be curious.

[Michael Ubaldi]

At first blush, I wouldn't have expected those results. Very interesting, indeed.

[Ghengis John]

I've got to agree. I didn't know people were so xenophobic.

[theempyrealwordsmith]

Indeed, that seems a little intense.
Ah well--America fails once again at being a melting pot of cultures and succeeds in forgetting that the cultures it looks down upon are actually the contributers of its own culture.

[Dayfish]

I did have a long, thought out reply to both of your comments but it didn't go through. Poo.

[Ghengis John]

Poo. Which reminds me to always copy my posts to the clipboard before attempts. I've been rather cocky lately and just hitting "post" without insurance. :eek:

[Magiz]

I did have a long, thought out reply to both of your comments but it didn't go through. Poo.
That's really sucks. I'm sorry the forum section went down while you were trying to post. I wonder what happened earlier.