Doctors’ Orders: The Making of Status Hierarchies in an Elite Profession

Abstract

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Approximately 70% of the United States physician workforce consists of graduates of American MDgranting medical schools. The remainder is composed of osteopathic physicians and graduates of international medical schools.1 To medical regulators, all of these licensed physicians — regardless of their educational background — are created equal. Yet, to the general public and among their physician peers, status hierarchies often shape the way these doctors are viewed and the practice opportunities that they will receive. How does this social scale get established — and why does it persist?