Seven doctors from Hershey Medical Center are among the best in the nation, according to a recent health care consumer guide.

The doctors were featured in the sixth edition of America's Top Doctors, which is a health care consumer guide published by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., released early this month.

Cardiologist Gerald V. Naccarelli, neurosurgeon Robert E. Harbaugh, pediatric gastroenterologist A. Craig Hillemeir, psychiatrist Thomas W. Uhde, pulmonologist Rebecca Bascom, reproductive endocrinologist Richard S. Legro and vascular surgeon Robert G. Atnip were the Medical Center physicians featured in the consumer guide.

In addition to working in the hospital, the seven recognized physicians also teach medical students at the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey.

The new book features more then 5,000 prominent American physicians in more than 60 medical specialties and subspecialties, said William Liss-Levinson, vice president and chief strategy and operations officer for Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. He added that the guide is designed to help patients choose the right doctor for the treatment of more than 1,700 diseases and medical conditions. The publisher believes the featured doctors represent the top one percent of specialists in the U.S., he said.

Liss-Levinson said each year that thousands of medical specialists around the country are asked what other doctors they themselves would seek treatment from in their own specialty. After this peer nomination process, telephone interviews are conducted with the nominees and a research team investigates the credentials of each doctor, he said.

Naccarelli said he felt very satisfied with the recognition knowing that it came from his peers.

"When other doctors say they feel comfortable coming to you or sending their family to you, its very gratifying," he said.

Harold Paz, senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the College of Medicine and Medical Center chief executive officer, recognized the excellence of the featured physicians.

"These are individuals that have achieved many great things in their fields and they are known as not only outstanding physicians but excellent researchers, teachers and administrators. They certainly merit this type of recognition," Paz said.

Luanne Thorndyke, associate dean for professional development at the Medical Center, said while she thinks all of the featured doctors are highly qualified and deserve to be included in the book, there are many qualified and caring physicians that are not listed.

"Some people argue against the mechanism that is used to name physicians in publications such as America's Top Doctors. There is a degree of subjectivity and selectivity in all of these kinds of listings," she said.

Naccarrelli agreed that many qualified physicians are not included in the guide and that the nomination system may be somewhat biased.

"Once you are included in the book, the company always comes back to you and asks you to participate in the nomination process again. So, there is some artificiality to it," Naccarelli said. "We have 500 to 600 unbelievably well-trained faculty here. There are many excellent doctors that just don't make it in."

Hillemeier noted the recognition not only reflected the skills of the individual doctors, but also the quality of the Medical Center.

"I wouldn't say that [being included in the guide] helps my practice as much as it gives testimony to the high level of care that we give at Hershey Medical Center. The fact that one person gets named in the book is just an indication of the fantastic talent we have all across the board," he said.