Are Filipino doctors competitive abroad?

Is There Racial Discrimination On Filipino Surgeons/Doctors In The U.S?

• Well, I'm a high school student and i have a real passion for helping people and saving lives. I want to become a Cardiothoracic Surgeon but my parents keep downing me or discouraging me that i shouldn't become a surgeon or doctor because of racial discrimination of Filipino Doctors. I was born in the Philippines but was raised here in the United States since i was one year old, i'm fifteen by the way. And i just keep telling myself i want and i will become a Surgeon and if i fail, i fail. But at least i know i tried everything and gave it my all to become one. I strive and work hard each and everyday to try to get into Stanford University and in Stanford Medical School. So really please, do you think i should give up because of racial discrimination?

• Answer:

  I am a pediatric intensivist who has been in practice here in the US for 18 years now including residency and fellowship. I went to medical school in the Philippines but did all my post-graduate training here in the US. I read the same books and journals which american graduates read during medical school. I actually performed better than some American gradutes that I did my training with. I passed all the required board examinations and is currently working with several American and foreign graduates alike. You will actually have the advantage if you are able to graduate from an american medical school because it is highly competitive to get in. The alleged discrimination started when some TV shows mentioned Medical School Diploma Mills in the Philippines and when Filipino doctors started migrating to the US to work as nurses. As a foreign medical graduate, I never felt any discrimination and actually felt highly regarded as a physician regardless of my color and medical school background. People earn respect from other people regardless of their profession and skin color. Discrimination can happen to anyone even to white people. My advise to you is continue working hard to reach your goals and achieve your ambition. Do not let other people's perception affect you. Being a physician is a very noble profession.