>>>Just out of curiosity, what's the difference, if any, in medical training? I've always understood that the reason doctors charge a lot is because they spend 11 or more years (4 years of college, 4 years of med school, minimum of 3 years residency) post-high school getting trained.
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>>5 year college, 1 year residency for your general practice doctor, plus 2-4 years to specialize, depending on what (i.e. neurosurgery takes considerably longer than, say, orthopedia).
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>So roughly half as long as American doctors.

I'd say it's about 8-9 years vs 11, plus the time they wait for a specialization slot to open, which may also be a couple of years - which they spend working as general practice. They do spend about three years less in a teaching institution.

>I guess the follow-up is also how that's paid for. Here, college and medical school are at the student's expense, with costs varying depending on whether it's a public or private school. Residency pays, but my understanding is that the pay is poor, so it isn't until a doctor gets into practice that he or she can really begin paying the debt accumulated during training. (I found one source that said in 2004, average debt for new doctors was between $100,000 and $150,000.)

Last time I had access to those data, the resident's pay was about $33 thousand or thereabouts, depending on experience and overtime.