Quality of medical practitioners?

[V8Ian]

It seems harder than ever before to find a decent doctor in Queensland these days. It's pretty damn hard to find one who is not sub Continental. Where are these doctors trained? Their priority seems to be milking the patient/Medicare for as much as possible, rather than healing.
This is not intended as an opportunity to open up a forum for racism, but an observation in the decline of medical care that I and those close to me have experienced.

[weeds]

i found my doctor around 11 years ago………..he doesn't take any new patients off the street. the only way you can in is if you are a friend or family member of somebody already seeing him

he is old school

[weeds]

oh, i spent a couple of hours a the royal brisbane children's yesterday for a review of the daughter broken arm…….man were they busy. i am not sure of the background of the trainee doctor but he was excellent in his explanation and risks going forward, the specialist that come in after had his head stuck so far up his arse………..

[Chucaro]

In the last 8 years I so 12 GP, one nearly kill me. Of the 12 2 were South Africans, on Indian and the others Australians.
One nearly kill me :mad:
The best a South African in Bundy. I wish that he move to Tasmania
One of the Australians was a GP who specialize in bone and muscular problems. His diagnostic for the neck and throat stiffness was indigestion.
CT scan ordered by other GP has shown 3 disk damaged in the neck :eek:

[Jojo]

It seems harder than ever before to find a decent doctor in Queensland these days. It's pretty damn hard to find one who is not sub Continental. Where are these doctors trained? Their priority seems to be milking the patient/Medicare for as much as possible, rather than healing.
This is not intended as an opportunity to open up a forum for racism, but an observation in the decline of medical care that I and those close to me have experienced.

I cannot tell you much about the present situation in Australia/QLD but when I was working there, all the ones I was working with were well trained and educated, had up-to-date knowledge and adequate practice and manners. This applies to all of them, regardless if they were Australian trained or had at least part of their training abroad. Whilst I can honestly claim that there is not much difference in practical and theoretical knowledge between medical staff trained either overseas or in Aussieland, there exist some cultural differences. I personally think it is here troubles arise as this inevitably leads to difficulties in communication, if ever so subtile, and in the end to some misunderstandings.
IMHO the main reason for the perceived disappearance of "indigenous" medical staff is that those who have the option are looking for more lucrative positions and fields of work where you as a patient will be less likely to encounter them. The more unattractive options are left to those whose choices are limited, usually immigrants.

[Bigbjorn]

It seems harder than ever before to find a decent doctor in Queensland these days. It's pretty damn hard to find one who is not sub Continental. Where are these doctors trained? Their priority seems to be milking the patient/Medicare for as much as possible, rather than healing.
This is not intended as an opportunity to open up a forum for racism, but an observation in the decline of medical care that I and those close to me have experienced.

I would be surprised if an old road train driver could find a physician prepared to examine him except from within a pressure suit and with tongs. Who knows what vile communicable diseases are picked up in Northern Territory road houses.

[V8Ian]

I would be surprised if an old road train driver could find a physician prepared to examine him except from within a pressure suit and with tongs. Who knows what vile communicable diseases are picked up in Northern Territory road houses.

Haha Brian, I couldn't afford to stop at them, particularly the one started by the gay couple from Darwin. I always carried a tucker box, may explain why I'm over camping. ;)

[RHS58]

Seriously people.
What the heck has this got to do with things Land Rover????
If you want to have a rant or chuck a tannie, then go on over to Tracey Grimshaw at A Current Affair.
Best leave this sorta stuff for other forums, surely?
Thats my opinion.

[sheerluck]

Seriously people.
What the heck has this got to do with things Land Rover????
If you want to have a rant or chuck a tannie, then go on over to Tracey Grimshaw at A Current Affair.
Best leave this sorta stuff for other forums, surely?
Thats my opinion.

I suggest you look at the title of this area of the forum.


General Chat Almost anything goes, have a look and drop in a few lines. Think of it as a campfire chat with the kids around.

You have the option to not read any area you wish.

[Chucaro]

I suggest you look at the title of this area of the forum.



You have the option to not read any area you wish.

Bugger Dave, you are to quick :D
I second your comment :D

[BathurstTom]

Whilst I know some "immigrant" Doctors seem to leave a lot to desire, I have experienced some that are excellent. I think you need to be careful not to stereotype them. There are some pretty bad Australian Doctors too. One un -named doctor at my local surgery always finds me in great health. Each time he does this, I have to get a second opinion from within the same surgery within a day or two and find out that there is something wrong with me. I also think that a lot of bulk billing surgeries may not be employing the best Doctors either (my surgery is not usually a bulk biller).


Tom.

[BreakingBad]

It seems harder than ever before to find a decent doctor in Queensland these days. It's pretty damn hard to find one who is not sub Continental. Where are these doctors trained? Their priority seems to be milking the patient/Medicare for as much as possible, rather than healing.
This is not intended as an opportunity to open up a forum for racism, but an observation in the decline of medical care that I and those close to me have experienced.

if you weren't intending to start a racist debate why mention 'sub-continental' ?

Anyway, an answer to why service providers (not just doctors) seem to be milking customers for as much as possible - because they can. All it takes is a small number of less scrupulous individuals to get away with it. Then others think if they got away with it why can't I and so on . . . . The more people do it the more ingrained it becomes.

[frantic]

To end the racist tone, the "milking" started and was caused by Aussie doctors who have limited the places in our universities in the hope of maintaining their limited supply so being more highly valued. The response was import the docs who are trained to the same level to give adequate numbers for our population.
This causes double damage, we don't train our own people who could do it but are cut out, and because we offer a far better lifestyle we take docs from countries that need them, causing a skills/brain drain.

[UncleHo]

After I had my heart attack,I saw a specialist physican in heart problems,he put me on a course of pills, after 8 months I demanded an Angiogram, which showed that I needed a quad by-pass operation, no pills were going to fix that, 1 x quad by-pass later and 12 years on I am still going OK,I enjoy a good quality of life and just keep an eye on my weight and drink only occasionally
but I do enjoy my scotch :)

[RHS58]

I suggest you look at the title of this area of the forum.



You have the option to not read any area you wish.

Well thanks for that.
I am suitably reprimanded (looking bashfully at shoes).
However I do think the thread does border on racism, which is what got up my nose, but that's just my opinion.
It also highlights the failings of Medicare - why do people in Aust expect something of quality if they pay nothing?
Also agree that it's unethical that Aust imports overseas docs (with cultural and training deficiencies) to prop up our system, and taking these same docs from their own countries which probably have a greater need for them. I don't blame them coming over here looking for a better life for themselves and their families. And then we bitch about them.

[sheerluck]

Bugger Dave, you are to quick :D
I second your comment :D

That's what my wife says! :D

Thankfully, according to the recent TV adverts, my doctor (who is very good and of Indian origin) can prescribe something for me to help with that. ;)

[sheerluck]

Well thanks for that.
I am suitably reprimanded (looking bashfully at shoes).
However I do think the thread does border on racism, which is what got up my nose, but that's just my opinion.
It also highlights the failings of Medicare - why do people in Aust expect something of quality if they pay nothing?
Also agree that it's unethical that Aust imports overseas docs (with cultural and training deficiencies) to prop up our system, and taking these same docs from their own countries which probably have a greater need for them. I don't blame them coming over here looking for a better life for themselves and their families. And then we bitch about them.

Reprimand wasn't intended, just wanted to be sure you were aware that the site is not limited solely to Land Rover based discussion. :)

[Chucaro]

That's what my wife says! :D

Thankfully, according to the recent TV adverts, my doctor (who is very good and of Indian origin) can prescribe something for me to help with that. ;)

Is that the Bundy golden nectar? :angel:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

- why do people in Aust expect something of quality if they pay nothing?


Who pays nothing?

[Chucaro]

Who pays nothing?

The Doctors Pedro, they work for free and living in shanty towns, all the money that they get from the government go to charities :p

[ramblingboy42]

Who pays nothing?

I pay nothing, my doc bulk bills and arranges any extras for me with other special care providers who generally do the same.

[richard4u2]

I pay nothing, my doc bulk bills and arranges any extras for me with other special care providers who generally do the same.
same with me

[Chucaro]

I pay nothing, my doc bulk bills and arranges any extras for me with other special care providers who generally do the same.

No mate, the government pay for you and you help the government with your taxes ;)

[Basil135]

I pay nothing, my doc bulk bills and arranges any extras for me with other special care providers who generally do the same.

I am thinking that Pedro was implying that all tax-payers pay via the Medicare levy every year.

Obviously those with minimal taxable income pay little or none.


I think one of the biggest issues is the entry requirements to get into Medicine at Uni.

I know a doctor personally, and his son scored an almost perfect score on his HSC. Passed all the prerequisites for entering medical school, but he stumbled during the interview. This cost him a position. How can this be fair?

When a 18 or 19 yo kid is preparing to spend the best part of the next 10 years of his life learning, why should the yay or nay come down to 1 simple interview?

When my wife ran the medical centre, we got to know most of the doctors there very well. The vast majority of them, (18 doctors in this centre) were wonderful people, and brilliant at their jobs. They came from all different backgrounds, but I can tell you, not a single one was born with a silver spoon in their mouths.

During a power outage, the black doctors (Nigerian) were the first to say they couldn't continue seeing patients, and no-one could see them in the dark. THAT cracked me up.

Sadly thou, the quality of doctors has diminished, as a number of them from overseas just want to get their qualifications, and then head home again, where they will make better money.


Australia's health-care system is not perfect, but it is a damn sight better than a lot of other countries.

[frantic]

I pay nothing, my doc bulk bills and arranges any extras for me with other special care providers who generally do the same.

I pay a large chunk of income tax, then another bucket load of GST with 5 kids, along with all the hidden taxes like fuel etc. Now if they gave me back all my tax I would happily pay the full doctors Bill or a higher level of health fund than I'm in now. In several cases I have paid the almost full specialists bill when the option was 3-6 months wait public or go private and only get a small portion back from Medicare / health fund. In others it was bulk billed by numerous specialists and therapists. Either way I paid directly or indirectly.

[sashadidi]

I think one of the biggest issues is the entry requirements to get into Medicine at Uni.

I know a doctor personally, and his son scored an almost perfect score on his HSC. Passed all the prerequisites for entering medical school, but he stumbled during the interview. This cost him a position. How can this be fair?

When a 18 or 19 yo kid is preparing to spend the best part of the next 10 years of his life learning, why should the yay or nay


.
In New Zealand in the early 1980s when I did medical intermediate year there were interviews but there was a" known" background to those interviews as well. In those days it could much more depend on whether your father was a doctor, you were an excellent rugby player who could help the university continue its winning run, these two helped you get in more easily even with lower grades (B average) also there as a ethnic quota as well if you were of Maori descent as well.
The rest of us poor peasants needed A average and a good( lucky) interview and one of the first questions was what high school you went to which was code for if not a private school of a certain class you stood little chance first time around.
Now it has changed for the better,up to 30% is based on your background and personality(suitably to relate to people etc) they now suggest to sit the compulsory psychological profile test ( about 3 hours) before you go medical school or even sit the medical intermediate year exams as well to test your reactions under stress among other things as you can learn but need to be able to apply that knowledge under stress otherwise all that learning is useless in real life so its definitely improving, the ethnic quota let some people who were really great doctors get into the medical school who would have missed out judging by their grades but who are excellent empathetic doctors especially in general practice but also some who were not capable of passing but demanded extra exams and re sitting of exams because they had failed as well and were never going to pass anyway. All sorts of people in medicine and there is a lot of stress as well and indeed doctors and dentists do have a higher suicide rate than the average population as well. a fair percentage drop out along the way as well.
The medical profession represents a cross section of society with all its flaws as do say the police or similar groups.
Remember they might have already done 85 hours that week especially in A&E and cannot be on top of their game all the time......

[RHS58]

The Medicare levy is a tax of around 1.5% on your taxable income.
Those who pay little or no tax - that is generally old age pensioners, unemployed, disabled etc - don't pay or pay little in the way of medicare levy, and are rightly looked after by the rest of us. That's fair.
However, if you are well off and have a creative accountant, you also pay little tax and little in the way of medicare levy, despite being able to pay your way in health care. The really well off are usually the ones with a need for creative accountants. Middle class average Aussies can't play this game, and just ante up their tax every year. That's not fair.
The crunch however is that all the medicare levy collected off taxpayers only pays for about 1/7th of the health costs in this country. The remainder comes from general taxation. So the reality is that health care sucks up 10% and increasing of the tax/levy dollars.
We have an ageing population, which will mean more and more retirees and aged folk using the system because they are the ones who also have the disease burden that costs so much to treat.
Thus fewer of us workers paying increasing tax and medicare levy looking after a growing dependent population.
Medicare has been a good thing since it started around 1980, but now the system needs changing. Or we'll go broke.
As a for instance moral dilemma , there's a new drug that will keep a terminally ill child alive. It costs $500,000 a year to treat the poor kid. Do we spend $5,000,000 to keep him going for another 10 years, then to die, never having contributed a cent in tax dollars, or do we say sorry, it's too expensive, and the money could be (better?) spent providing perhaps thousands of hip and knee replacement or cataract operations and other treatments benefiting many many more Aussies rather than just one (temporarily).
Personally I don't know the right answer. If it's my kid, I say spend the money.
Anyway, that's a long dialogue....

[benji]

Thats a bit like the cf drug kalidico that's being rallied to be put on the pbs. It's expensive but will give a greater quality of life.

Personally I don't have a problem with this, or paying taxes to experiment with medical marijuana either.

What I don't agree with is propping up medicare for smoking illnesses, and substance abuse.

Two years ago our eldest was diagnosed with Perthes disease. The specialist at the RCH is Europian, the doctor who picked it up is Chinese, and our regular doctor is Egyptian; and we think the world of them all. There are cultural differences of course (a lack of apparent empathy from the chinese doctor for example); but as far as I'm concerned, if your not prepared to work with these cultural differences, then dont bother seeing a doctor.

Every profession has its mediocrity unfortunately.

[Bigbjorn]

In New Zealand in the early 1980s when I did medical intermediate year there were interviews but there was a" known" background to those interviews as well. In those days it could much more depend on whether your father was a doctor, you were an excellent rugby player who could help the university continue its winning run, these two helped you get in more easily even with lower grades (B average) also there as a ethnic quota as well if you were of Maori descent as well.
The rest of us poor peasants needed A average and a good( lucky) interview and one of the first questions was what high school you went to which was code for if not a private school of a certain class you stood little chance first time around.
Now it has changed for the better,up to 30% is based on your background and personality(suitably to relate to people etc) they now suggest to sit the compulsory psychological profile test ( about 3 hours) before you go medical school or even sit the medical intermediate year exams as well to test your reactions under stress among other things as you can learn but need to be able to apply that knowledge under stress otherwise all that learning is useless in real life so its definitely improving, the ethnic quota let some people who were really great doctors get into the medical school who would have missed out judging by their grades but who are excellent empathetic doctors especially in general practice but also some who were not capable of passing but demanded extra exams and re sitting of exams because they had failed as well and were never going to pass anyway. All sorts of people in medicine and there is a lot of stress as well and indeed doctors and dentists do have a higher suicide rate than the average population as well. a fair percentage drop out along the way as well.
The medical profession represents a cross section of society with all its flaws as do say the police or similar groups.
Remember they might have already done 85 hours that week especially in A&E and cannot be on top of their game all the time......

A guy who was one year ahead of me at primary school became a GP. He is long retired. Wealthy father and he inherited well. He reckoned when he applied to UQ to start studies in 1958 a prospective med. student had to have a good Senior pass and was supposed to have passed Latin but this could be glossed over. What was important was one's school, what one's father did, your mother's family, your father's lodge and clubs, and did you play a good game of cricket and/or Rugby Union. Somehow a number of state high school students and catholics managed to scrape in.

[landroverguy]

I don't pay anything, so what's the issue here? :D

[landy]

Thats a bit like the cf drug kalidico that's being rallied to be put on the pbs. It's expensive but will give a greater quality of life.

Personally I don't have a problem with this, or paying taxes to experiment with medical marijuana either.

What I don't agree with is propping up medicare for smoking illnesses, and substance abuse.

Two years ago our eldest was diagnosed with Perthes disease. The specialist at the RCH is Europian, the doctor who picked it up is Chinese, and our regular doctor is Egyptian; and we think the world of them all. There are cultural differences of course (a lack of apparent empathy from the chinese doctor for example); but as far as I'm concerned, if your not prepared to work with these cultural differences, then dont bother seeing a doctor.

Every profession has its mediocrity unfortunately.

Now this is an interesting topic! I hate that smoking related diseases get treated on the public health too. I'm a non smoker and this is wrong....right! Yeah..no.
While smoking is legal, smokers have a right to free health care too. It would be like refusing a hip or knee replacement to a jogger because it's self inflicted. Or, a little closer to home, refusing public treatment of a winching accident because you chose to partake in that activity. While smoking is legal we have to suck it up. No pun intended!
Drug abuse on the other hand, or injuries coursed while under the influence of illegal drugs should be charged at the full cost to the tax payer.

Regards

Nino.

[benji]

Armed forces?
Even then you do, you buy petrol, and groceries don't you?

[George130]

This pay nothing bit and bulk billing. Try living in the country. Only kids get bulk billed! It costs me $30 on top of medicare rebate to see my doc and he is better and cheaper than the main clinic in town.

There are useless doctors of all persuasions. Trick is to find a doctor you trust and can relate to and stick with them. If you disagree with them then get a second opinion.
What sucks is the waiting times for a specialist.

[DiscoMick]

My doctor is a Muslim Indian from Fiji and he's great! I'd recommend him to anyone.

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