OK Bert,

You don't want to turn this into a flame war? Good!

So you and your friend know, here's the quote that got me going. It's from SoloMio. Peter, is it?

"One point of frustration, now that India is mentioned: in many countries medical school is paid for or tuition is really low, so docs graduate without debt.

Then they can come to the U.S. with no inhibitions to pursuing residencies and fellowships, whereas many of us here are already so debt-heavy we have to start earning right away. Now see in many cities how many foreign (non-citizen) doctors we have and how difficult it can be to find a job. This is just another form of "outsourcing.""

Please note that he's "frustrated" by the fact that tuition in these countries is so "low", and that "American" graduates have to get jobs right after med-school while the "foreign" graduates can go on to fellowships.

This is a form of prejudice that I, and many other "foreigners" don't appreciate. It's rather insulting to us.

My father was also one of those "foreigners" who came here to raise his family. He was a pennyless student.

There may be a lot of rich families in other countries that fully finance the education without a wink. There are plenty of those in this country also.

I attempted to show that the tuition is NOT "low" for the people living in those countries. I believe alborg also tried to show that by giving an example. It's insulting when someone (a physician, no less), insinuates and prejudges that "foreign" docs come from wealthy families and are doing him harm for being so.

My siblings and I are "foreign" US citizens who also came out of school with debt right here in the USA, and we have/will repay it. I certainly won't go around whining about other "foreigners."

Two posts up, your buddy states that his post was not about me. I know. But my wife is one of those "foreign" docs. She was a "non-citizen" doc that he speaks of who is now a US citizen. She struggled to pass her exams, went through residency, and is practicing medicine.

She doesn't come from some "rich" family. Yes, they were well-to-do, but not the way Dr. SoloMio paints the picture. Her parents toiled to pay the bills, and worried about their kids' future, just like anyone else. Their personal savings amount to very little.

So how do I NOT personalize his statements? They hit home.

The remark about Bollywood? That's just childish and stupid.

If your buddy doesn't want to continue fighting, I suggest he stop his adversarial attitute, and not make prejudicial and insulting statements. I'd love to stop this right here.

We're trying out AC and I came to this forum to find info on how to better run a practice, and to discuss the ways to make AC work better for us. I didn't come to find this sort of talk.

In your case, thought, Bert, I appreciate your stating that "if I offended you, that wasn't my intent." Likewise from me. If I offended you, then please know that it was also not my intent.