Is Melba Ketchum a "Real" Doctor?

http://www.awesomehospital.com/2010/10/dr-bigfoot-for-the-cbldf/

This post is in answer to the claims that I have seen circulating regarding Dr. Melba Ketchum not being a "real" Doctor, and not being qualified to perform a genetic study.  So let's take a look at what it takes to become a Veterinarian in the United States, and what "Title" that entitles one, pun intended, to use.  Currently in this country to be accepted into Veterinarian School you have to have completed a 4 year degree in a scientific discipline (Bachelor of Science) as well as fulfilling other qualifications of grade point average, character, experience, and potential, just like Medical School.  Sometimes a person is admitted without a 4-year science degree if they have other outstanding experience or qualifications, but this is the exception.  Vet school takes 4 years, just like Medical School, upon which many Vets then take internships/residencies, just like Medical School, if they want to specialize in a certain area of medicine or kind of practice, but unlike Medical School completion of a “Residency” is not a requirement. Many Vets specialize in certain areas such as Nutrition, or Radiology, or Genetics, just like regular Doctors. This can entail doing specialized work while in Vet school or completing Masters or Ph.D. programs concurrently or after Vet school.  At my time attending and working at U.C. Davis, which has a School of Veterinary Medicine, I knew many Vets who chose to go into research or teaching, instead of practicing medicine.  This is true of some Medical Doctors as well.  In the United States Veterinarians receive a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, which makes them “Doctors”.  They then have to pass a State Board of Examination in order to practice in the state of their choice, just like Medical Doctors.  
 

Are the requirements in Texas the same or as stringent as other states?  Maybe not.  Were the Texas requirements the same at the time of Dr. Ketchum’s acceptance and completion of her degree as they are now? (Current Texas A&M Vet School Prerequisites).  Perhaps not.  Would Dr. Ketchum be able to pass the California State Board of Veterinary Medicine?  Possibly not.  Are her Texas State Board Qualifications currently up to date?  What were her pre and post Veterinary School degrees in, and do they exist?  I have looked into these questions and what I have found so far from the Texas A&M Alumni Office are as follows:  Dr. Ketchum Graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1976, and was part of the Graduating Class of 1978 receiving a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.  Those dates would indicate that the requirements for becoming a Vet at that time took only 2 years instead of 4.  So yes Dr. Melba Ketchum IS a real Doctor.  But her seeming 2 years of post graduate work becoming a Vet is in no way comparable to the time it takes to finish a Ph.D in research, which would usually be 4 years at a minimum, and I know one person who took 12 years as her area of research was more demanding.

And as Doctors, Veterinarians take their own version of the Hippocratic Oath upon receiving their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degrees:

"Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine,

    I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of livestock resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.

    I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.

    I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence."
 

http://www.reproductive-revolution.com/resource/index.html

But how did Dr. Ketchum become qualified to work in the area of genetics and genetic testing?  She makes the following claims on her company website: "Dr. Ketchum is a past three-term Chairperson of the International Society for Animal Genetics Equine Genetics Standing Committee. She has also been Dog Map Chairperson and a Committee member on the Dog and Cat Parentage Committee. She is a former Treasurer for AFDAA, The Association of DNA Analysts and Administrators."  But she does not list any Degrees, Certifications, or indications of further education or training beyond her Veterinarian Degree.  That does not mean these do not exist, but it seems odd that someone making the extraordinary claims that she has regarding the Sequencing of Bigfoot DNA, and her year/s long attempt at bringing her findings to an esteemed Peer Reviewed Journal, would not have released her Credentials or her Curriculum Vitae by now.  These are commonly circulated amongst members of the Academic Community, and I am sure something of the sort was submitted along with her paper to the Journal/s she has been working with.  Her Genetic expertise may well have been gained on the job while working in the labs of others before she founded DNA Diagnostics Inc. in 1985, which is quite a valid form of learning and training, but that information could be relaid by making public her CV.  Doing so would go a long way to setting the minds of many to rest who have serious doubts about her credibility, doubts based on her own statements and public association with members of the "fringe" of Bigfoot Research, those claiming on the one hand that Bigfoot are "human" yet on the other hand that Bigfoot are capable of all manner of paranormal and other-worldly abilities and behaviors.  And they have yet to bring forth any evidence of the abilities and behaviors they are claiming their Bigfoot are capable of which would withstand any manner of scientific scrutiny or substantiation.

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/cv-advice

I think another legitimate question might be has Dr. Ketchum violated the "principal of veterinary medical ethics" in that above oath?  Well since her lab provided a genetic identification service, and not a medical diagnostic service which could have resulted in the harm and suffering of animals due to the negligence indicated by her Better Business Bureau "F" rating and customer complaints, probably not.  But this is a gray area and may be interpreted differently by others, as she is using her title of Doctor in her DNA Diagnostics  Bio Page which I am sure her customers used in their decision to do business with her.

So Dr. Ketchum I call for you to please release your academic history and qualifications by making your Curriculum Vitae part of the public record, along with the extraordinary claims of success in sequencing the entire nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of several specimens of Bigfoot that you were so eager to share with us before any data substantiating those claims had been released. 

Read more about DNA Diagnostics Customer Complaints at the Bigfoot Lunch Club.

 






And you can read what an actual geneticist feels about Dr. Ketchum's claims here:
Dr. Disotell is a Professor of Anthropology at New York University