Quote Originally Posted by BingoBango View Post
This is exactly my point: While foreign-language-speaking doctors may be able to speak English in strict medical terms, we are taking for granted the requirement that medical knowledge needs to be reworded for laypersons during consultations. Sure, it's tough even for fluent English speaking doctors to translate medical jargon for patients. This only reenforces the point. How tough will it be for non-fluent English speakers?
As far as I am concerned, "medical jargon to non-medical term" translation is more a matter of training and habit. It should have nothing to do with how fluent or non-fluent you are in speaking English. The exams that you are required to take to be able to apply for residency involve both a computer and a in person "dummy live patient" component. These exams test for medical knowledge and comprehension along with written and oral communication (to the patient) of one's findings from the patient physicals and your diagnosis. I guess such an exam format should be able to judge basic knowledge of the spoken language and ability to communicate with the patient.

Hence, I feel that the issue can be more about the accent rather than the content and comprehension of spoken and written English. And if it is about the accent than the point made by the OP in his post about bad reviews due to the survey, becomes moot because then you are challenging the comprehension of a person, when there is nothing wrong with the comprehension to begin with.