Doctor Brown Will See You Now
The Norman Rockwell-Marcus Welby image of the American doctor — an avuncular white man, often in a bow tie — is rapidly disappearing.
The six members of Medical Team 4 have a lot in common. Each wears a white coat, has a stethoscope for a necklace and has stayed up late this week. They can all start an IV and work up a solitary lung nodule.
They share something less obvious, too. With one exception, none has a grandparent born in the United States.
Med 4 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northwest Washington is the new face of American medicine. Its members happen to come from Georgetown and George Washington universities, but the team is indistinguishable from similar groups of young doctors and doctors-to-be at many of the country’s 125 medical schools.
[ more ]
on Friday, June 1st, 2007, 1:32 am in Brown › 
Email this
› 
Facebook this
› 
Reddit this
› Link
› Reader links
Desi doctors were among the most prominent immigrants who moved west during the ‘brain drain’ era. . . this was much before the tech-boom and the H1-immigration era. The trend continues on…
In the last 8 months I have dealt with four different desi doctors, two female and two male under different circumstances, and I have to admit they were fantastic! Now, that cannot be said for all desi doctors, I have met some terrible ones. One thing to keep in mind with desi doctors born and trained in India is that they are blunt. They will say things and ask you questions that White doctors would dare to pose!!
From Sunday NY Times, Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
Re “America the Generous: A Lost Story of Citizenship,†by Lawrence Downes (Editorial Observer, May 27): When my four grandparents immigrated to this country, every immigrant who was in good health was granted admission at Ellis Island.
Today their grandchildren are making important contributions to our country. Among us are one cardiologist, one Ph.D. researcher, two teachers and two business people.
The energy, motivation, talent and intelligence that immigrants bring to our shores did not end with my grandparents and their progeny. Two years ago my mother’s life was saved by a brilliant, committed geriatrician — who was also a new American citizen of Indian birth.
When we say no to those who are willing to give up their homes, extended families and languages to join us in this great adventure called America, we cut ourselves off from an incredibly vital source of renewal. It is that renewal which is at the core of our greatness as a nation.
Denise Gelberg
Ithaca, N.Y., May 27, 2007