"Rooney" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 17:04:23 -0000, "Jim Webster"
wrote:


"Rooney" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 16:43:21 +0000, Oz
wrote:

Practical work would be a little tricky.

I wouldn't fancy undergoing surgery at the hands of someone whose
practical experience consisted of two weeks at summer school!


if I remember correctly, in the 19th century, if you failed your first
year
medical exam as a French medical student, you could get a ticket
"competent
to practice medicine in the colonies"

Jim Webster


Ha ha! But to be fair, the colonies were no doubt better off with
first year failures than with what they had beforehand.


And perhaps we should be grateful. For it seems they also started medical
schools and their students now get a "competent to practice medicine in the
UK" ticket.

As for the exams, etc. As we haven't ever tried, in a serious way, to train
those who fail to pass the entrance exams as doctors, we probably have
little idea as to whether the exams are a reliable filter or not. Shipman
passed! Few "alternative" therapists have passed, yet many swear by the
treatments they provide.

Michael Saunby