Private vs Public Med Schools: Who's the Better Doctor?

Are Doctors from Private Colleges “Less Real”? Let’s Dissect the Myth with a Scalpel

Let’s start with a bitter pill: some doctors genuinely believe that where you studied defines your entire clinical worth. If you’re a graduate from a government medical college, you’re a “real” doctor. If you’re from a private college? Welcome to the shadow realm of half-doctors, cheque-book physicians, and “Dr. Parent’s Money”. Sounds ridiculous? Because it is. Yet, this myth continues to hang around the corridors of hospitals like an uninvited ghost.

The Origins of the “Not-Real-Doctor” Myth

• Historical Elitism: Back in the day, government medical colleges were the gold standard. Entry was cut-throat, fees were subsidized, and the infrastructure—though not always five-star—was time-tested. Graduates of these institutions earned bragging rights. Private medical colleges, on the other hand, were viewed as backup options, places where money “compensated” for merit. And thus, the divide began.
  
  
• Media Misrepresentation: “Private medical college scams”, “students buying MBBS seats”, and headlines about malpractice involving private college graduates haven’t helped. These stories stick in public consciousness, and unfairly generalize a whole community of trained professionals.
  
  
• Toxic Medical Hierarchies: Let’s be honest—medicine has its own caste system. From undergrads to consultants, there’s always someone ready to judge your worth by your badge, your batch, or your alma mater. It’s never about your differential diagnosis skills; it’s about where you interned in 2012.

The Reality Check: Licensing Doesn’t Lie

• Whether you graduate from a private or public institution, you take the same final exams.
  
  
• You sit for the same licensing boards.
  
  
• You sweat through the same 36-hour shifts.
  
  
• You insert the same cannulas, treat the same pneumonias, and diagnose the same strokes.

There is no extra “fake doctor” question on the FMGE, USMLE, or PLAB for private-college grads. You either pass, or you don’t. If you practice medicine ethically, legally, and competently—you are a doctor. Period.

Private ≠ Inferior: Let’s Talk Facts

• Faculty Credentials: Many private colleges have professors who moonlight at government institutions or have impressive research portfolios. They’re not plucked from thin air.
  
  
• Clinical Exposure: Yes, some private colleges may lack massive patient footfall. But many others, especially those tied to charitable hospitals or major metro cities, rival government facilities in patient diversity and case load.
  
  
• Facilities and Equipment: You might be shocked to learn some private colleges have simulation labs, robotic surgery training units, and better MRI access than their government counterparts. Money talks—but sometimes, it invests in quality.

Where the Stigma Comes From—Within the Profession

• The Rank Complex: A NEET rank is treated like a caste mark. Government college students often assume superiority because they “earned” their place through merit. But merit is multifactorial—access to coaching, location, language, even privilege. Being good at MCQs doesn’t guarantee you’ll be good at medicine.
  
  
• Hazing Culture: Junior doctors from private colleges often bear the brunt of ridicule in teaching hospitals during postgrad training. Snide remarks like “Oh, you wouldn’t know, private background” aren’t uncommon.
  
  
• Insecurity in Reverse: Ironically, some private college doctors develop impostor syndrome, feeling they must “prove themselves” at every step. This internalized doubt is the most damaging myth of all.

Examples That Bust the Myth

• Many private college grads are acing the USMLE and matching into top-tier residencies abroad.
  
  
• Some of the most-followed doctor influencers on social media, top scorers in AIIMS PG, or founders of successful telemedicine startups—are private MBBS alumni.
  
  
• Ever met a brilliant doctor, worked alongside them, respected their skill, and only later found out they were from a private college? That’s the point.

When the Degree Doesn’t Matter (And When It Does)

What does matter is:

• Your clinical judgment.
  
  
• How you talk to patients.
  
  
• Your capacity to learn, adapt, research, collaborate, and teach.

What doesn’t matter:

• Your college’s brochure.
  
  
• Whether your tuition was INR 10,000 or 10 lakhs.
  
  
• Whether your hostel had a canteen with A/C.

However, let’s not ignore that not all private colleges are created equal. Yes, some institutions do exist where the quality of training, ethics, and patient care is questionable. But the same is true for some government colleges too. The issue is systemic, not sector-specific.

Let’s Play a Game: Spot the Doctor

Imagine this scenario:

• Doctor A is from a government college but sleeps through ward rounds and has no empathy.
  
  
• Doctor B is from a private college, constantly updates their knowledge, and handles patients with skill and kindness.

Who’s the “real” doctor?

See?

What Needs to Change in Our Culture

• Medical Students: Stop apologizing for where you studied. You’re a doctor, not a discount product.
  
  
• Patients: Ask about your doctor’s experience, not their educational financing.
  
  
• Hospitals: Hire on skills and attitude, not college tags.
  
  
• Senior Doctors: Set the tone—mentor, don’t mock. You were once a confused intern too.

Fun Signs You Might Be a Private College Grad (and It Doesn’t Matter)

• You spent more time in air-conditioned classrooms than in crowded wards—but you made up for it with clinical postings abroad.
  
  
• You took more selfies in your white coat than in the dissection hall—but you nailed your OSCE.
  
  
• You were told “you’ll never make it” by a government college friend—but now they refer patients to you.

Let’s End This Medical Tribalism

Medicine is hard enough without intra-professional bullying. The white coat doesn’t come with a “from” label. When a patient crashes, no one cares whether the CPR was performed by a state-tuition doc or someone whose parents paid their way in. They care whether you saved a life.

So let’s stop calling people “not real doctors”. If you’ve held a retractor in a seven-hour surgery, been vomited on during a night shift, cried after losing a patient, and celebrated when a NICU baby finally goes home—you’re as real as it gets.

Let’s retire the myth. Not everyone walks the same path, but the destination is the same: healing people. And that's the most real thing of all.