You have to realize that you can't always tell exactly what is wrong with someone just by some of the symptoms they discribe. Many diseases and illnesses share the same symptoms and it is very hard to figure out which one is which, even with the extensive testing we now poses. It is basically a trial and error to help narrow down which disease it could possibly be. There are just a lot of factors that go into treating diseases.

Bighorn: Before you proceed to hurl slurs at a whole and very distinguished profession, perhaps you should disclose what your credentials are for second guessing the judgment and professional dedication of the great majority of dpctors. Your experience, or what you think to be your experience, knowing nothing of the technicalities of the field, does not bestow credibility on your preposterous slanders.

I agree. My aunt was a registered nurse and when I told her about one of my visits to a doctor where I informed him of some alternate care I had been using she said "he probably recommended it to the next ten patients."

Another friend who attended medical school but didn't finish and instead became an MRI tech (which at the time made him plenty of money without a lot of training) told me most of the students were sons and daughters of doctors who made sure their kids made it through medical school even if they couldn't cut it. I know I've been to a few doctors like that. He also told me the most dreaded course for medical students was biochemistry which anyone who knows alternative medicine is the key to good health.

We need to scholarship people truly interested in medicine not just the sons and daughters of the influential. And alternative and preventative medicine needs to be a part of the landscape and not just the health for profit pharmaceutical scam called "modern medicine." But most of the public is too dense and sheeple like when it comes to this stuff.

I have trouble when they stop testing before they figure out what is wrong and have no real clue what is wrong with you. Then 6 months later they send you to the specialist they should have sent you to see when you first walked in the office.

Healthcare in this country is so screwed up it is not funny.

Not sure some of you appreciate the complexity of the human body and the difficulty in diagnosis. You must be a participant in your care.

Bighorn you seem to be an uncommonly bright guy. Why don't you and your brass balls go to medical school then come forth unto the world and change everything you see wrong. They are still accepting applications.

We're living in the age of fakeries. We've had fake politicians like Boehner and McConnell, fake political parties like the so-called Tea Party, fake reality TV shows, fake football players like Gerald McCoy, fake basketball players like Evan Turner, fake baseball managers like Joe Girardi, etc, etc.

Hey, leave Joey alone.

You obviously have a deep seated dislike of physicians. I strongly suggest that when you are sick, you should treat yourself or at least stay away from physicians. After all, they're fake.

How many times have you KNOWN whats wrong with you but you had to go to the doctor to get the meds you need? I spend $80.00 to find out the doctor agrees with me.

dwemd, I hope you're better with a scalpel than you are with a keyboard! It's doctor, not dpctor!

The main thing "real doctors" know how to do is charge an exorbiant fee, just to tell you take some asprin and come back for another check-up and another fee that is gaurenteed to make you sick !!

Exactly.

Clark Rockefeller II !!

Well, Dwemd I don't know on what high mountain YOU live on.........but Bighorn is right on the money. Most of us normal souls that HAVE to go visit a doctor get nothing but a crock of @!$%#. In most cases the doctors I have to deal with are arrogant, at times even rude, they hardly listen to what your complaints are and are very quick to prescribe some sort of medication, which will usually do you absolutely no good and cost you an arm and a leg. I cannot see how in the world a doctor can get a handle on anything when he hardy spends more than two minutes talking to a patient. You'd have us ALL thinking that people like you are MENSA members and border on being gods. Let me tell you something...........Somewhere in this country, thru the process of elimination you are going to have America's worst doctor........and the scary part is that SOMEONE has an appointment with him tomorrow. I'd say you've been taking too much of whatever meds you are peddling.

Hmmm regardless of where you practice, you have to pass the same boards. Those who dont survive the process of elimination dont get to become physicians.

When you go to a mechanic and tell him that you can hear a squeaking noise in our brakes when you stop, he doesnt need to listen to a 30 min story of the squeaking brake. After going through hundreds of patients a year, you know the diagnosis when you hear one. If the stupid healthcare system didnt put so much pressure on a physician and actually gave him time to listen to you then things would be better for everyone. Yet everyones making money and doctors are getting paycuts and family med physicians are barely making money to keep their office open. Every city office has patients waiting in the office for hours because the physician is backed up. Not because hes sipping tea inside, rather hes spending time listening to a patient. No one is ever happy

Lets not ignore the buncha useless lawsuits that people file against their physicians. I totally agree that physicians make mistakes but most times these are utterly useless lawsuits where 'jury of your peers' are people who dont know a thing about protocols and diagnostic medicine yet they get a right to judge a physician.

For anyone who thinks they KNOW serious problems without seeing a doctor then they should really consider relocating to Africa because they need someone who can KNOW problems without any resources. You will be saving lives.

Bighorn, you are absolutley right. I know many of us have made the rounds with "doctors" that have no clue what they are doing and give a range of conflicting diagnosis. The main aim is to bill , bill and bill. I dread going to the dr because I know I wont get anywhere, it is exhausting. I think a pre-rec for being a dr is being partially retarded. And I say this with a half dozen of drs in my family who I like to think are a cut above but my point is I have been around all kinds of drs and it is frightening how moronic most are. Soon Americans are going to have to give up their life savings to go to Europe or Cuba or anywhere to seek real medical care. What a sorry state of affairs. Im not suprised this guy was not caught earlier, anyone can pretend to be a dr, you do not need to know a thing aside from how to bill as much as you can and write prescriptions for your "favorite pharma company". Useless bastards

Try going through medical school and tell me how moronic you have to be to pass your medical boards. Talk about things you know about, not about things you have no clue about.

Oh and you should ask the half dozen physicians in your family who are a cut above, if they get any kickbacks from pharma companies or how much the physician makes with extra billing. The doctor only gets paid for the visit, not for the tests done outside of the office (nearly all docs send out the bloodworks and refer to outside sites for CT/MRI/Radiographs)

mz711 --

I sure hope you're healthy so you don't become exhausted going to those "useless bastards" who have no clue what they are doing, give you a range of conflicting diagnosis (sic), and bill, bill, bill. Then you can use your life savings to go to Africa, where they have "real" doctors -- you know, witch doctors who can cast a spell to cure whatever ails you. And if he fails, he'll just add your head to his collection.

"Catch Me If You Can, the sequel"

Note: different wizard than above.

This is a very good example of the quite often false value attached to possessing a certain piece of paper. There are many people out there in any given field that contribute on a level high above average but that are given no recognition simply because they they lack the "proper credentials". What a travesty. Not fully excusing this individual's false claims, but I strongly suspect that he would not have been allowed to contribute his superior knowledge without them. Sad state of affairs when paying big bucks for a piece of paper holds more value than true brilliance in a field.

@ jchoney.

next time you already "KNOW" your hemorrhoids are flaring up, please dont come to my ER and waste everyone's time including your fellow taxpayers. maybe you could spend your time going to medical school so you could know what the hell you are talking about. please keep trolling webmd if that keeps the ERs clear for people who are actually ill and dont just want a sierra mist.

I KNEW IT! My doctor's an alien.

Interesting story. He may have broken laws and disregarded ethics but he is certainly no dummy. I hope a biography is done. It would be fascinating to hear his side of the story. On the other side of the coin, how was patient care affected by anything that he may have taught in his seminars??? A cornucopia of questions exist that I would like to see answered.

And you have conducted empirical research for your findings?

Remember - 50% of all doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class.

Bighorn, you are so right! We have been fighting a "real doctor" and the hospital that hired her with her terrible record for two years--they permanently disabled my husband (you can see all about this so-called 'real doctor' on our website http://drpphillipshospitalnightmare.webs.com ). She holds medical licenses in four states, but I have only checked her here in Florida; would be interesting to see if she has even more skeletons in her closet elsewhere. I have to wonder how many medical mistakes this "fake" doctor/captain ever made--probably zero or he would have been caught sooner.

Debi, "Catch me if you can" was the first thing that popped into my mind when I read this story!

Not anti Doc's; I have relatives who are Doctors, there are some good Docs' but your sentiment is so on; I could not have said it better. Need I say more. Had it not be for my dogged insistence my wife got a second independent evaluation/opinion, she would have had unnecessary neck surgery, which I almost certain would have left her a cripple. For the most part, medicine is about money/making the most money; nothing more.

Yes, real doctors duped us. My doctor lied to me and I was advised to

work it out with him, but a lie was a lie, and I called it quits. As

promised in a cover letter, I asked for an emergency refill of Xanax

which he would not approve and I went cold turkery and my

blood pressure shot up to 222/77 as verified by a female doctor,

but I survived it. It is a truth that some doctors bury their mistakes.

I am doing fine now, but no thanks to him, and I hope Santa Claus

is not good to him this Christmas. Phyllis Kunz

All you people are slamming physicians and their quality of healthcare based on this man's story. Apparently you all didn't read the article closely. He never treated patients, never worked in a clinical setting & never operated on anyone. He merely spoke at seminars and helped raise money for a university. Did he dupe a lot of people? Yes. Is that wrong? Yes. But so is your judging an entire field of trained professionals based on this man's lies. Are there bad doctors? Yes. But there are bad spiritual leaders, teachers, lawyers, judges, CEO's, politicians, managers, truck drivers, employees....there is no professions in this world free from underperforming people. Remember those who live in glass houses should not cast the first stone.

maybe it has something to do with the paper they got saying they're certified is paid for by mommy and daddy, look at the no kids left behind and tell me some of those kids are not working on your car or teaching your kids at school, I know more drug addicts that work at the schools than I know at the factory I work at, money buys degree's, look up college teachers at school stoned and drunk then get out your pen to sign that check for that school to teach your kid, memeber back in the eighties everytime your car broke down and you took it somewhere it had three problems after they fixed the first one, its called repeat customer(or dum*a&&) mechanics, in this new america home of the half az work ethic if you don't do it yourself then expect that exactly half az'ed work, garaunteed to fail

It often seems like docs are not thinking much when they treat you. This is because:

1) They've pretty much figured you out at first glance because they're really, really well informed.

2) They don't explain their thought process, because you wouldn't understand. You're more likely to argue with them because you have no idea what they're talking about, even when you think you do.

3) Remember back in high school there was maybe just one kid who was the smartest, most successful scholar/athlete--and who was probably musically talented and well-balanced besides? That's the kid who went to medical school.

4) Most often, he knows your body is going to get well on its own. Or else he knows you're not going to get well because you couldn't possibly afford the testing/treatments you really need. So he gives you something to relieve a couple of symptoms for a few days.

5) You see incompetence and greed because you can't imagine the complexities of human physiology and pharmacokinetics.

this is borrowed from bens round

Phyllis Kunz you have a drug problems not a doctor problem, but you would never understand that because you doctor sucks

"Healthcare in this country is so screwed up it is not funny."

Healthcare works fine, the patients are the one to screwed up it is not funny, everyone is grossly fat, doesn't eat right, doesn't exercise, smokes to much, drinks to much, is addicted to narcotics and xanax or ativan and has 95% of their degree from medical school.

Guess you would be man enough to do what Little Joe did when he broke his leg, pull the bone back in and tie a stick around it! LOL! You wouldn't make it past the first five minutes without crying like a baby! Hope you could find some "reaL doctor" to fix that leg before it rotted off!

From Chefaz -

On the other side of the coin, how was patient care affected by anything that he may have taught in his seminars???

I would venture to say, patient care was improved. The healthcare system has involved into such a complex environment, that physicians need to function as part of a team. Sadly, a lot of the MDs practicing now are still a part of the Dr. Marcus Welby era, where in they could do no wrong, and fix everything.

Training is changing and adapting, but it will take time. This individual, even without being an MD, was probably helping a lot. Sort of sad that this incident will take away from his work.

@ Contrari Tom

Remember - 50% of all doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class.

I think that's only podiatrists, knee and gastro-intestinal specialists.

Thunder, thanks for a positive and objective spin on all of this. I definitely agree with your comments since I am a long time hospital worker and have a brother who is a doctor so I do see how things have been and are changing. Without the team work involvement by so many in hospital settings, patient care would suffer. I've been very privileged to see so much good done and it would not have happened without that team work.

Having worked as an RN for many years I can truthfully say that dude, you are correct! I have worked with doctors that had no clue about what to do for a patient. This occurred many times. One doc was so screwed up on cocaine he couldn't even use his keys to unlock his car. to be fair, there are many good doctors that have the best interests of their patient as the number one goal. Some doctors do what is referred to as a "billfold biopsy"! Simply pot, they check to see if the patient has insurance or means to pay their fees. I worked with one surgeon that had 10 thumbs. He was incompetent and that is being nice! The public has no idea how many doctors couldn't find their butt with both hands, a map and a flashlight! There are a number of docs that are impaired by drugs and or alcohol! be careful, very careful in choosing a doctor!

Bighorn: Maybe like Rodney Dangerfield's obstetrician, yours should have slapped your mother.

I love that despite the hatred on this thread, all of you will end up lying for help... wanting help and all the while threatening the physician who is doing nothing but trying to help you. Ordering test to properly diagnose you, not to make money because hes not getting anything out of your meds or your tests but to make sure you feel better. Silly stories of thing you have heard about doctors or the few are annoyed that the doc didnt fill your prescription of xanax in the ER are just downright sad.

No one forces you to go to a doctor. Seems like most people here can do surgery and diagnose without any trouble so good luck and please keep our ERs less crowded for acute patients who actually need help.

Go hate the person who will be pushing epi and giving his everything to save your life someday and see if anyone cares when you wake up and start cursing physicians

Not only drugs you don't need, but the latest invention from Big Pharma which they all push with samples to every patient that has any related symptoms for the buck. Medicine is all about profit now. Who cares if people die.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Phyliis!!!!! Emergency Xanax refill.......yeah, right You obviously are addicted to it and overdosing on it to have that reaction when you don't get it for a day or two! That is why some doctors keep close track of what prescriptions they are filling and won't refill without first checking their records at the office.

For those that don't think a doctor can make a diagnosis within just a few minutes of seeing you....I beg to differ.....I am an RN with many years experience in critical care, and even I can make a diagnosis the majority of the time just by looking at a patient......obviously, so can doctors.....the testing and numbers just prove what is already known.

Of course there are always those that really don't care and also those that don't seem to have any common sense when diagnosing and treating, and are just "book smart".....but those are way in the minority.....if you run into a doctor like that, you need to get another physician......there is nothing wrong with getting a second opinion if you don't like the first

wow...

Sometimes just beacause one has a degree (PHD) does not mean they will solve a problem. He obviously solved a problem for most to believe in him or simply they were less confident than he was not to question some of the work he might have done that contradicted basic knowledge. But, if he did everything right then he was as good as the real md's (if there are any) or the real ones are fake as well the fact they did not recognize fakery.

Ditto!

I wouldn't mind having him as my commercial pilot, either.

It means that brillant doctors can be led by the nose just like people who watch Fake News.

Ahhh the antithesis of Doogie Howser/

-- I am not a doctor on TV -- I just play one in real life.

pffft Dont they all ?

lol..............well put Hatchet 101

Evidently, most of you have had bad experiences with doctors...I find that very odd. As a nurse for 32 years, I've had the privilege of working with and for some brilliant drs. I've been a patient to brilliant drs. Only TWO Drs in all these yrs have been less than.

Don't let my User ID throw you off. I graduated with honors, thank you very much.

What's really scary is that the lie was discovered by a clerk. None of the real doctors recognized that he had less training than their average intern. Maybe the medical education system needs to be remodeled.

Whats really scarry was that the clerk was the one that screwed up to begin with

Excellent point, Legend!

This is about as true as it gets, once someone can put MD or PhD after their name no one seems to question their intelligence or what they claim to be fact. In the event you do question them you get the "what are you credentials" argument in an attempt to dissuade any additional need to defend their treatment or action.

I agree there are more MD's and PhD's out there that are great individuals to work with but there are many others that need to attend people skill classes to learn the advanced degree doesn't mean you're always right, no matter how uneducated the one asking the questions are.

This individual did his job apparently quite well because it was PERCEIVED he was a Dr. and I didn't see where his lessons were wrong or endangered the patients. The only crime I see is he lied about his credentials, which in the medical profession is a major problem because I would prefer the doctor with his/her hand on my beating heart wasn't trained at a vet clinic somewhere in Asia.

Everyone makes mistakes and everyone can learn more. Physician or no physician... any doctor that thinks he knows it all, is kidding himself

@ Rick in Fl

A large percentage of med school students are those that could not make it into a vet school.

@ cold cowboy.

yeah. i'm sure thats true...where do you come up with that drivel? why would anyone interested in medicine want to become a vet? unless you're already "in to" animals and just need a degree to validate your love for beasts.

Nah I would say cold cowboy is dead on, there are many more and easier colleges for med school than vet.

you guys cant be serious....

Yup... much tougher to get in Vet school. Vets have to deal with multiple different species.

All regular doctors have to deal with is a single specie of unimaginable DUMBASSES like Bighorn and the rest of the "I have the right to healthcare and a good lawyer" group of idiots. Fortunately, they are in the minority, we can see them coming a mile away, and they are treated with more understanding than they have the brainpower to comprehend. The vast majority of patients need and receive high-quality, evidence-based medical care.

Although disturbing....I think cowboy is right. Animals cannot speak and tell you where it hurts. With the broad amount of species a Vet has to deal with, I almost hold them in higher regard.

I have looked into what it takes to be a veterinarian, and it is most definitely harder to get a degree in that field, than it is to be a Human physician.

Stunned that academia didn't actually check to see if his resume was legitimate?

It doesn't surprise me. There's very likely many more people cheating the system than just him.

The USA has basically arrived at the point where every institution, every corporation, every organization is plagued with rampant corruption.

If you've dealt with doctors you would know why he did it. There are many, NOT ALL, doctors that flat out think that an individual without a doctorate cannot possibly know more than they do about something dealing with their job. I've seen this with nurses, radiology technicians, med techs and numerous engineers.

So in order to ensure he was able to be taken as educated to the level of those he was instructing he fabricated a few things. It's no different than the majority of people do on their resumes to land a job hoping no one finds out. In this case they did but only after he had been doing the job for quite ahile, so yes he is to blame but so are a few other people.

The majority of people don't care also that illegal aliens fake their credentials. The consequences are not judged to be serious since it only affects us average people.

Reason=GREED!

"I hope that the next time I take a commercial flight, it's not a cardiologist in the pilot's seat."- Good stuff!

What is wrong with a cardiologist being a pilot. People can change profession as long as they get training. His pilot licence is said to be clean. He can not be any worse than some pilot whom you do not know if he would have a heart attack or seizures while in air.

As long as the cardiologist actually has a pilot's license.

Mike, why do numb nuts like you ALWAYS label a person as UNBALANCED just because YOU don't understand the man's motives??? Everyone who was in on his lectures and training say how knowledgeable he is, how dedicated, and efficient he was in his training so WTF do you come off saying that the man is unbalanced??? I think the only one who is unbalanced is YOU........and oh yes.........personally, if a man has extensive knowledge of HOW to fly and land a plane, I could give a f__k if he's also a baggage handler on the side. Seems to me he couldn't do any worse than alot of pilots who have been caught flying on no sleep or under the influence. If you had half the brains that this man has, you'd probably take them out and play with them

O. Figueroa

OK, he's not imbalanced, rather he's just a guy of above average skill / intelligence that lies about his training, experience, education, and likes people to call him doctor even though he never earned a doctoral degree. I stand corrected.

The way everyone in the story is falling in line with the exact same story

-he never touched/treated a patient

really? How do we know that?

Does anyone really believe anyone at that hospital would say he DID treat a patient or two? here's your pink slip, Nurse goody2shoes

I think more that a few senior staff either knew from the start and kept silent

or worse , found out he was treating patients without a degree and couldn't say anything because the hospital would close down after all the lawsuits...

There is some serious behind covering going on here you got to see that

then why on earth did he need to pretend to be a doctor at all? he could have done that stuff without it..

Yeah Joe, and it wasn't mike............lol

The movie is called "Catch Me If You Can", and is based on a book by an incredible con-man by the name of Frank Abagnale. I am right in the middle of reading the book, and among the professions that Abagnale pretended to be qualified for was airline pilot and doctor, including a stint with an Atlanta hospital. I wonder if this guy had read Abagnale's book?

It's certainly leaning towards that way.

When Frank Abagnale (Catch Me if You Can) was hustling his bank security lectures in Houston in the mid-70's, I was one of the police officers working at one of the banks that required their employees to sit through his lecture. While his presentation was interesting, he offered nothing that an experienced teller didn't already know. A few of the police officers got curious about Frank - who was NOT in any manner what could be called handsome - and checked out his "stories." Not surprisingly, nothing about Frank's background checked out. He kept changing the "facts" when confronted with our investigation. When his book came out, there was a testimonial by an "assistant district attorney" here in Houston. The "assistant district attorney" was a prosecutor in traffic court; an assistant city attorney, and well-known for his gullibility.

I was amazed when he sold his BS to Hollywood. I saw one of the movie trailers and reached for my phone to call my old police partner. The phone rang as I was reaching for it, it was my old partner calling to tell me about Frank's greatest scam of all time.

Another day, another scam; that's entertainment . . .

Why do you read AP's articles? And why are you commenting on boards generally used by people interested in the topic?

Did you read the article? He did not "practice" medicine. He taught "seminars" about teamwork between medical professionals.

""He really didn't need to be a physician to do what he was doing. He could have been successful without titling himself," said Weaver of the cardiology college. "He made a very serious mistake."

Everyone associated with him made mistakes but the man was not treating patients.

Why? Did he kill anyone? Did he not DO THE WORK? What about the so-called 'doctors' who DID finish med school and have all the credentials and the right letters and forms and papers, but can't tell a cough from a sneeze, and because of which like, malpractice insurance has caused medical costs to soar astronomically? Who is the more wrong here? I'd say, not this guy!

There is no justification for passing oneself off as a Medical Doctor, and the fact that there are people on here defending what he did makes me wonder why, exactly, are they doing that?...

Lies! Lies! Lies! Our country is being run by liars and incompetents!

On a related note, the lack of intellectual competency in all areas is frightening. (He is obviously an exception in that area.) My daughter teaches a nursing course, and many of the students are unable to pass an online, short answer or multiple choice exam. (With help from the book, each other, anyone else they decide to ask, and all online resources.) SCARY!!!

So, the solution is to just give them a diploma regardless of how they do?

Or if they fail just print out a fake one and pretend and hope no one dies?

Well True 2u.............guess again. This ariticle IS TRUE and yes.........TRUST ME..........it's very scary just HOW many hospital can be just that stupid. In the 70's when I was in college, I did an experiment for a psychology class where I dressed up in a business suit carrying a briefcase and just waltzed into what was then known as the Crocker Towers in downtown L.A. They had a security desk in front with security personal dressed neatly in shirt, trousers and a sharp blazer. I just walked in there like I belonged , walked up to the security desk and told the individual that I was working for IBM and needed offices open on the 32 and 33 rd floors. Without blinking an eye, he just dutifully followed me up to the floors and opened up every office I asked, never doubting that I was who I said I was..........even told me to call him should I require any further assistance. My point is that if you have enough "balls" and nerve, nowadays you can pull off just about any number of cons and most people are too stupid or lazy to follow up on it. Yes........SCARY

I thought you said nothing was done wrong here? No harm no foul?

Now what he and his pals did was

SCARY

Well, hopefully that attorney will realize that since he didn't actually touch a patient that the better argument would be misrepresentation and not malpractice.

p>thank god, someone read the article and understood it!

Apparently no one that read the article is concerned with the fact that the Doctors who attended Hamman's sessions will not lose their Continuing Medical Education credits. Why were doctors attending these sessions AND getting continuing medical education credits if the sessions were not meant to help increase their knowledge of the profession and help them to better treat patients?

Now, if Hamman's courses were actually relevant to the doctors attending the course, shouldn't someone be concerned that the doctors actually took some of the information they learned from the session and started applying it?? I am having a hard time trying to understand exactly what Hamman was teaching and why it would be considered continuing education for doctors. Maybe that is another problem the medical profession should look into...

Regardless, this makes the medical profession look like a joke. I think there are some very dedicated and intelligent doctors in the US, but I am sure that a large majority of Americans have walked out of a doctor's office feeling scammed. For all of the doctors that are offended by people's generalizations about doctors being money hungry and insensitive to patient needs, get over it, it is up to the profession to clear the bad name it has earned.

ap2486, It would be troubling if Hamman were teaching diagnostic or surgical techniques, but he wasn't. He was teaching team building techniques, i.e. how to use auxilliaries more effectively in medical practice. This type of training could help in any environment where a person manages a staff and delegates duties. One wouldn't even neccesarily have to be a doctor to benefit from it. The reason he got away with this for so long is because he wasn't treating patients. If he were the hospital would have had to credential him, he would have had to provide proof of malpractice insurance which can't be obtained without medical licensure, which requires passing medical boards part I-III and having a minimum of a 3yr residency and probably 5-6 for cardiology, etc... Hamman knew that his credentials wouldn't undergo as much scrutiny if he stuck to lecturing. He also knew that his lectures had to be limited to something universal like team building because cardiologists in general are too familiar with medical literature to be fooled by a layman discussing such an esoteric field.

J.biggs

"One wouldn't even neccesarily have to be a doctor to benefit from it." I quote. I like what you said.

Its about time that people should understand what "DOCTOR" means, its not just giving diagnosis and medication but rather more on teaching, educating and preaching as well.

One great Physician in the Bible i know is Jesus Christ, he did not go to medical school, nor, have a degree but people come to Him for healing. Does that makes sense to all the doctors out there. Think it through.

Unfortunately, not only was Jesus Christ not a physician, he's a fictional character

Boo, Giggly. Boo. Playground bullies need to grow up.

What an original thought. Lets get Obama to create a bill that says that everyone already in this position should start doing their jobs.

But that's the very point, THIS MAN DIDN'T HARM ANY PATIENTS! As a Licensed or Registered nurse yourself, don't you know any properly credentialed folks who DID do harm to patients, whether through negligence, oversight or just plain incompetence?

If someone saved my life, I wouldn't give a rat's patootie if he/she were credentialed or not.

Really not that hard to out who is who if they are legit. People who graduate from the same professional schools all remember each other. They also remember who failed out. The guy was recognized by a fellow med student who knew he did not graduate. He phoned in and that was the end of the fraud. The liability issues he presented to his employer are something that most posters cannot begin to grasp. His employment more than likely cost someone there job even though not mentioned in the article. Thank goodness he made no attempt at practicing any procedures,

What are you? Twelve, TaoMokoda? There is a reason the educational system is structured the way it is. That he didn't hurt any patients isn't the point at all; that he passed himself off as an MD/PhD, and took large sums of money to support that pretention is a problem on many levels..

TaoMokada............well said..........lol............Who give's a rat's ass .........this man did alot of good and harmed no one

So, by your logic I should be able to perform open heart surgery on you or your loved ones because I read a lot of medical journals and love to watch "Quincy M.D.," and "House" when they're on T.V.? Really?

I understand your argument to a point, but here's what happens in real life--that person practices without a license, something bad happens, and everyone lines up to sue the practitioner, the hospital, their insurance, etc. etc. because they let someone practice outside of their scope. The liability is way too great to ever allow that to happen.

You're last argument is your most salient--there are some clinicians that don't have a clue and shouldn't be practicing. That can also be said of some people who work at Starbucks, or WellsFargo, or Wal Mart. Lumping everyone together doesn't solve the problem, but timely reporting of those who DO make mistakes would help solve the problem and prevent these events from happening again and again and again.

To answer your first question, if you know what you're doing, yes, absolutely. If you don't know what you're doing, I don't CARE what papers or titles you have.

Don't you get it? Granted, I intentionally exaggerated the point in order to make it more thought-provoking, but the point is the same. Heck, one of the best pieces of medical advice I ever got, and which I still follow to this day and it's saved me perhaps thousands in office visits, treatment and drug costs, was given to me by an old PAINTER.

Then let the old painter remove your appendix if it ruptures. You are completely missing the point. Any MD, whether involved in patient care or not, who is employed by a hospital MUST BE credentialed. EVERYTHING must be VERIFIED. If this was done, he would have been exposed as a fake immediately.

lol yeah you should totally go to your painter for medical advice.

TaoMakada...........again, Kudos to you.......very well said. I too work as a measly X-ray tech in a hospital and I can't tell you how many times I saved a doctor's bacon by pointing potential errors on the procedures he was about to perform on some patient. I have see everything from doctors operating on wrong body parts to puncturing a patients "GOOD LUNG" trying to drain a hemothorax , to leaving surgical implements inside of patients. There was one occasion where a doctor straight out told me to take an elderly patient back to his room before he died. I said "excuse me" and he said. "he's got a little internal bleeding" Turns out the good doctor had a TEE time he didn't want to miss and figured since it was an elderly patient who probably wouldn't last too long, his TEE time was much more important than staying behind and doing the right thing. You can bet your ass I reported this doc!...:))))

TaoMakada, don't bother trying to explain it to him.........it's obvious that he's clueless............his mind is incapable of grasping your concept.

It's truly gratifying that you are out there saving the careers of all the docs...

Xray tech, cardiologist. what's the diff right? just some dumb old credentials..

and like 8 more years of school and training

Well, I am now a psychiatrist and diagnosing you with Delusions Of Grandeur

You must be just loved at the hospital... do you tell the janitor his job as well?

You should be Director by now

Are u available anytime soon for a double bypass? My doc is...so so..you sound much better

Im sure a radiology tech can totally understand the risk/benefits of operating on an elderly patient with a non-life threatening GI bleed... or know that most GI bleeds resolve on their own and their H/H is usually monitored. I am also sure that he totally understands the challenges of placing a chest tube in a patient where you are trying to sneak a plastic tube between a balloon (lung) and a saran wrap (pleura)

Seems like everyone here is a doctor... or at least think they are so please stay out of hospitals so the patient load eases. When something serious happens, someone will get you to the hospital one way or another where physicians there will try their best to help you live

Diana,

what expertise does the average person have to determine whether their physician is competent? In this case the "doctor" was doing administrative non patient centered training. Per the article there is no indication he ever treated a patient. Per the doctor who attended his seminar it was not about treating patients. It's because he was not in patient care that the ruse went on so long. It not suprising when he tried to get privileges at the hospital, that's when it all fell apart. 

The problem with the situation is he misrepresented what he was. How would you like your young daughter being pulled over by someone who was not a cop while driving a cop car, with the badge the gun the cuffs the taser? What you got on your hands with both situations is a nut.

This guy was not a doctor... not a medical professional... Some comments here are bashing doctors based on an article about a guy who was not a doctor. Slight disconnect here...

Chris, you're an idiot................you're trying to pass off an orange for an apple. AGAIN, for any other small pea brains like you...........THE MAN DID NOT PRACTICE MEDICINE NOR DID HE HAVE ANY HANDS ON CONTACT WITH ANY PATIENTS!!!!!! At best, your argument can be compared to someone who teaches police tactics and arrest methods to police officers, without EVER acting as a peace officer or making any actual arrests. Nuff said

so will he be running a catheter thru your heart next month?

What could possible go wrong? My 2 year old could do it...

2 times out of a 1000

oh, does the "someone who teaches police tactics and arrest methods to police officers, without EVER acting as a peace officer or making any actual arrests"

go to the police academy first? if not, he's a liar and a criminal and you are grasping at very short straws

By your logic, I can arrest you for that...I'm not a cop but I can make a mean pancake

i kinda doubt your 2 yr old can cardiac cath someone 2/1000... you should see those coronaries :p

I agree. How many people did he harm? How many people did he help? That should be the question here. Did he botch any surgery? Did he endanger people? Truly, let the punishment fit the crime. How many certified "doctors" accidentally KILL people?

Johngalt,

It appears that most of his research was related to the interface of aviation and medicine. He was a "high level" pilot so he probably had good ideas. Per the article, an MD was not needed to do what he was doing (he did not treat patients) so it's unclear why he made up the ruse to begin with.

Why does everyone have such a problem with the concept of lying being unacceptable? Regardless of how "qualified" he is, if he didn't get his degree, he is being dishonest in calling himself an MD. Everyone is screaming for truth from the government, but here everyone is defending the fact that this man "only" lacked papers. You can't have it both ways.

Yeah, that's right............after all, congressmen and diplomats do it all the time...........they lie to the american people and masquerade as honest men looking out for the best interest of the American People. Regardless of how qualified they are to be congressmen, they are STILL scumbags playing make believe,, right??? They aren't held accountable for lying............so what's your problem??..........at least this man lied to do some good.........vs the scumbags in congress that lie in order to line their pockets!!! So who's the REAL criminal??

Do you have other sources of information? How do you know what his motive was? Maybe it was nothing more than line his pockets If he had made it through medical school, he wouldn't have had to lie about being an MD. It's still lying to the American people while pretending to look out for their best interests.

O.Figueroa: Regarding your response, 21.4 to Just Me-1436687; You are completely and totally wrong! All the names and appellations you have previously ascribed to others clearly apply to you.

LYING IS LYING! Two wrongs DON'T make a right, even when ones a politiscum.

Your mode of thought is what is wrong with this country. All the extremist act the same way; "It's OK with me, it should be OK with everyone. I object, it should be illegal. Anyone who dares to disagree is WRONG and whatever aspersions I can cast!"

They used to call that a "pissant!"

I think I can say that is the dumbest thing I've read here yet..

"Credentialism" ???

OK, we need a heavy equipment operator...

Oh yeah? You gonna get all uppity and want some guy who got some 'credentials'?? or you gonna hire your best bud me???

Well...ok, but what if you kill someone or yourself because you never operated one before? or WORSE, someone finds out!!

oh..well..if someone finds out we say you never knew and that I actually never operated the equipment :)

well, that would make us both morons...but ok!!

everyone is convinced based on the merits of his work that he is qualified

No, they all ran for cover and lied for him and themselves and told us he never 'practiced' medicine

You are on to one thing, credentialism has hurt the medical profession on the whole... Like when you need brain surgery and you get all 'Credentialized' on the surgeon.. like making sure he's not a heavy equipment operator making some extra $$$

should taxi drivers need a license?

how about engineers? I've never built anything before..but ok, how hard can the golden gate be?

not very safe tho

Yeah Really, I agree! Why is this man still free? Why didn't he have to pay any of the money back? Not fined neither? Hmmmmmm.........

Paul B.........don't be an idiot. The difference between this man's situation and your examples is that this man was NEVER in any position to put anyone in harms way. In your example it's easy to see that anyone playing cop or fireman can easily put lives at risk. He was basically EDUCATING professionals in the fine art of INTERACTING in a POSITIVE way with REAL PEOPLE!!! If you open up your eyes, it's something that most people can use some lessons in, not only in the medical field but in how to treat people in general. Wow, what a crime.

It's still illegal (as well as unethical) to state you have credentials you don't have and to accept employment based on that falsified information, especially in professions such as medicine, law, etc.

maybe there are some co workers who are afraid he'll rat on them that they are doing the same :)

and BTW every one has bought the 'he didn't do any medical stuff on PEOPLE' line..

Does running heart catheters through the arteries of heart patients count?

maybe that's just something you watch a couple of times and you got it!

Mark my words, as this story gets read more and more, there are going to be a lot of people who were treated by this 'Doctor'

Wow, he sure saved some people a lot of $$ in lawsuits...guess that's why he wasn't punished in any way....

And the Barefoot Bandit rots in jail.....just another dabbler

What's next? I wonder if you would be so understanding if it was the other way around..

Like..oh...you found out the pilot of the 747 you are flying in has never flown before...turns out he's a doctor

dude what did u smoke before posting here... i can barely keep track of your thoughts in a single sentence, much less your entire post.

Oh please. Read the article, he didn't have patients, it was research and seminars. He says it best, "the work is the work." The credential system is flawed if it excludes guys like this who can do the work, but don't have the degree.

Since, as you say, no patient was harmed, I think the larger question should be what are we going to do with these VALIDATED, CREDENTIALED folks who ARE harming patients!

JohnGalt$ --

It's not the credential system that's flawed, it's the individuals who feel that you don't need to earn the degree to profit from the use of the title.

Well, Mr. Troubled Citizen, I can only guess that he was compelled to action after seeing the state of unqualified so called "professionals" in our medical facilities. Maybe you have to work in the medical field to actually see how bad and unqualified some of these people entrusted with people's lives actually are. Some of these people have no morals and worse.......no common sense. As someone who HAS worked in medical facilities I can tell you that I have seen doctors who are more interested in making their millions or what vacations or toys they are going to buy than their patients. I have seen doctors who tell their secretaries to schedule patients in 15 minute intervals to squeeze more patients in per day. They put profit ahead of spending quality time per patient. I have also seen doctors come in to do procedures on patients where they muff the procedure, or almost mistake the wrong procedure on the wrong patient. This all happens because doctors don't spend enough time talking to their patients. getting to know them or actually LISTEN to what the patient is saying. They get desensitized and fall into this "assembly line" mentality vs. individual attention and specialized needs of specific patients. Talking to, listening to and caring for people is an ART.......and like painting a Picasso..........not everyone has a knack for it..........in spite of how many degrees you own. This too takes time and training to achieve but most of all, it takes alot of practice to be good at. This man is not an MD but he DOES HAVE medical training seeing how he attended med school but for whatever reason dropped out. It is OBVIOUS that he ALSO has great "people" skills.........:))))

You're right. You're guessing. It's a little arrogant of you to generalize about how many incompetent, immoral and senseless doctors their are based on your prior experience in what appear to have all been substandard situations.

Of COURSE his employers are going to say that, how do we know

that no patient was harmed..

cause his track record with truth is so great? He wouldn't lie about THAT

O. Figueroa, sounds like some sour grapes there..did you flunk med school?

are you really suggesting that forcing Doctors to get their accreditation is a waste of time?

Well, I , if I were sick, would take a BAD doctor with a med degree over a...blogger..

Don't blame the docs who went to school for 12 years...lol

Patty,

read the article. He was doing non clinical work. That is, non patient related. He did not treat patients. It's no accident that he was found out when he tried to get on staff at a hospital. The hospital does the most serious searches to verify credentials.

This guy got away with this because he spoke mostly about aviation and the transferring of methodology. As clearly stated in the article there was no need for an MD to do what he did. He lied for no good reason and thankfully his lie was exposed.

Patty, this is so true. but unfortunately it's not only in the Medical field, we have a serious cancer in all aspects of our society that needs to be excised.......starting from the top. What we need in this country is a good Revolution to cleanse this "who gives a sh_t about you as long as I get what I want" mentality Anymore, scumbags in our society..........in all levels and institutions have the mentality that "as long as my gravy train doesn't derail, I could give a sh_)t about your situation"

Hospitals "credential" physicians, which means they verify education, training, affiliations, license, and peer references. Some hospitals do a better job than others, but there is no excuse for him being on staff at a hopsital without having his credentials verified.