http://www.ctnow.com/news/specials/hc-medschools,0,5477576.storygallery?coll=hc-headlines-specials
Med Schools: Four That Flunk
June 29, 2003
By JACK DOLAN And ANDREW JULIEN, Courant Staff Writers
Quotes below please review links for full article
Other medical schools also fared poorly in The Courant's review, but only
Guadalajara, Howard, Manila Central and Meharry appeared in the bottom 5 percent
of 200 or so schools ranked by rates of disciplinary actions against graduates
in each analysis. Together, these large, well-established schools have produced
more than 600 doctors cited by licensing boards for negligence, incompetence,
sexual assault, drug abuse, fraud or other problems.
Loose Admissions
The Courant's investigation centered on an analysis of national and state-level
databases containing the type of disciplinary information consumers can get
through "physician profile" websites, which are run by state licensing boards
and are becoming increasingly common across the country.
The disciplinary actions ranged from a simple citation against doctors, to
permanent revocation of their rights to treat patients, for offenses that
included negligent or incompetent surgeries and misdiagnoses of fatal
conditions. Others were prompted by ethical lapses, such as having sex with a
patient, or criminal behavior, such as using prescription privileges to peddle
narcotics.
The broadest database, compiled by Public Citizen, contained information on more
than 19,000 physicians disciplined between 1990 and 1999 by state licensing
boards, the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, the Food and Drug
Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In addition to the national data, The Courant also obtained "physician profile"
databases from two large, geographically distinct states, California and Ohio,
which together contain the records for some 240,000 doctors who have held
licenses over the last 50 years. The California database also contains a small
number of malpractice payments made by physicians.
The schools represented were then ranked according to rates of disciplined
graduates. After eliminating small schools with insignificant numbers of
graduates, only Guadalajara, Howard, Manila and Meharry consistently stood out
among the schools with the highest rates of disciplined doctors in all three
databases.
Med School Matters
The Courant's findings challenge a traditional maxim among doctors. Most experts
in academic medicine insist there is little, if any, connection between where a
doctor goes to school and how competent a physician he or she becomes.
"I think it's difficult to draw meaningful conclusions because there are so many
factors involved that have nothing to do with the origin of [the doctor's]
medical training," said James Thompson, who runs the Federation of State Medical
Boards, the national organization of licensing authorities.
In fact, a number of experts said that post-graduate training, including
residencies and fellowships, has more to do with a physician's competence than
medical school. After medical school, graduates can spend anywhere from three to
eight years in hospital-based programs honing skills in their chosen specialty.
"Most people believe that, ultimately, graduate medical education influences
physicians more than undergrad," said Kenneth Ludmerer, an expert on medical
education from Washington University in St. Louis.
"Does a medical school play a role in shaping the future of these people?" asked
Dr. Joseph Gonnella, the study's author and a professor at Jefferson Medical
College in Philadelphia. "The answer must be yes. Otherwise, why would we
require medical school?"
Gonnella said the younger a doctor is, the more likely it is that the doctor's
problems are directly linked to flaws in his or her medical education. As
physicians spend longer in the field, they are subjected to other influences,
from the type of patients they treat to the hospital where they do their
post-graduate training.
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