[krishanath]

One problem not covered by this story: it takes too many years to acquire a medical degree. In India, you can go to medical college right after graduating from high school. It only takes 5 years in the medical school to become a doctor. By age 22 you are a doctor. Compare that to the US: you have to get degree from a 4-year college before going to medical school. This is wasteful, unnecessary, and increases the cost of medical education, which in turn increases cost of medical care.

[dugmartin]

You don't always have to have an undergrad. A good friend's Dad earned an MD/PhD from the University of Chicago without an undergrad. This was in the 1960s though and he entered after doing a stint in the Peace Corps.

[sjg007]

This is less likely now since competition is so high so undergrad courses/GPA is a filter, but it does speak about how an undergrad degree is strictly orthogonal to the job. You could probably get away with it today based on the MCAT as proof of pre-qualification maybe...

[potatote]

Same in my country (somewhere in SE Asia) too. I went to med school there for 2 years. It takes a total of 5 years there and doctors who are trained there eventually leave the country to practice in UK, US, etc. I have a few friends who graduated in my country and are making big bucks; all of them came to the US as IMGs (international medical graduates) and did well in USMLE exams to get into residency programs and hospitals eventually. That's why I don't think the 4 additional years of undergrad education (implicitly) required in the US is necessary. It only adds more debt to the would-be doctors.