After spending seven years studying to become a doctor in her native Mexico, Nidia Payan found herself having to sell tamales to make ends meet when she first arrived in Los Angeles. Later, just to be considered for a part-time job as a medical assistant, she had to start as a volunteer. Full Story »
Posted by J Sinclaire
Narrow discussion of medical training starts with "seven years of training," but fails to state that the training starts immediately after high school, so it consists of fewer years than U.S. doctors have, i.e., four years of college, four years of medical school, and at least three years of residency training. Adding 15 months of training before a residency may or may not ensure training equivalent to that in a U.S. medical school.
This is a feel-good story, seemingly written by someone with little understanding of medical training, and not in-depth coverage. The goal of providing family physicians for our Spanish-speaking population is laudable.