Well, I like this post. Many doctors are not graded in medical school. Just being accepted to an American medical school is an arduous task of itself with very low probability rates. It's four years of the medical student being closely examined by professors and clinical staff to be weeded out. It's often pass or fail. It's pass national tests, pass direct clinical supervision. Doctors get hundreds of oral and written evaluations before they are allowed to practice and also are directly reviewed and scrutinized by their peers and the hospital administrations when they join a medical staff. They receive over 50 hours of advanced continuing medical education yearly and license renewals as well as testing. They directly interact with their peers daily who relay their opinions if things are going South. Still some are better at diagnosis and treatment than others and that's a fact. Very, very few physicians get by being substandard in their profession. However, even the worst of the doctors is supposed to be competent.
What separates a true professional from an amateur is that the professional has to do a quality job up to standards set in the community whether they feel like it or not, whether they are tired, stressed, have a headache or a sick family member. They do this day after day, regardless if they had a sleepless night or are getting divorced. If you are not getting the quality of work that is the normal for the community, then the job is not being professionally done.
People remember a few things that they always tell their friends: where they had a bad meal, how their doctor or dentist was, good or bad and which of their family members are nuts.
In the case of most tradesmen, you have time to get some quotes. In the case of a doctor, you may have time to choose, you may not have time to choose. And frankly, the only person who could tell you in advance if another physician is any good is another physician! Period.
Absent being a physician, I would always look for Board Certifications in the Specialty, a quality education from an American, Canadian or Western European medical school and then training in the USA at quality programs and lastly, someone with at least 5 years or more practicing, but younger than age 70. This tells you that the doctor has interacted with many, many people who would identify and have them retrained or removed rather than let them skate by.
