Certification Need
The Need for Board Certification is Acute!
Increasingly, efforts to boost quality and gain better value from the world’s most costly healthcare system are including attention to the Acquisition and Maintenance of Board Certification [AMBC], a little-understood but rigorous process by which physicians receive and maintain board certification.
For example, former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, in laying out the quality portion of her three-part healthcare reform plan in 2008, specifically touted these programs as a key step in enhancing medical quality.
From the presidential campaign trails to hospital and health plan board rooms, to ARRA, HITECH and the healthcare reform debates of 2009, the Acquisition and Maintenance of Board Certification [AMBC] is a growing force in the healthcare industry today; and in 2010 and 2011 … and beyond.
Click here: Letterhead.FARC.Board Certification Need
Click here: Letterhead.FARC.Inc
ABPS Statistics: ABPS Statistics
FARC Order Form [Comprehensive]
Re-Certification Need
I was on your website looking at your products. I am re-certifiying for my second 10 year recertification in foot surgery for ABPS. I originally took my Boards in 1992 and recertified in 2002.
I am not sure what materials to purchase for the 2010 recertification exam?
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Markus Giacomuzzi, DPM
Texas Gulf Coast Medical Group
Hi Doctor G,
The comprehensive library study guide is a great place to start. Then, consider the QAs for surgery [re-certification versions].
Here is the order form:
http://podiatryprep.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/order-form.pdf
Or, I can assist; prn
Thank You.
Ann
ANN MILLER; RN, MHA
Executive Director
http://www.PodiatryPrep.com
http://www.ePodiatryConsentForms.com
Dear Ms. Miller
Thank you very much for your quick response. How did you know that everyone calls me Dr. G?
Markus Giacomuzzi, DPM
More on the Need to Re-Certify
For the first time since leaving medical school, many doctors are having to take tests to renew board certification.
For some specialists, this is the first year many are going through retesting. They used to do this once and be certified for life. That changed in the 1990s – doctors certified since then must retest every six to 10 years. Older doctors also are feeling the heat. More than a quarter of a million of them were “grandfathered” with lifetime certificates, but are being urged to retest voluntarily to show they still know their stuff.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304620304575165902933059076.html
Research shows that what doctors think they know does not match what they do, and that performance declines with years in practice, two members of the American Board of Internal Medicine wrote recently in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The authors of an opposing essay – a medical school dean, a professor who teaches primary care, and a practicing physician – complain that testing emphasizes recall of facts rather than making full use of available sources of information, such as electronic references and the Internet, as modern doctors are taught to do. The recertification tests are a work in progress.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hFbQcjnGgsOcNb7QYIAC2dfkJ51QD9ET1C3O0
In the future, some boards plan to include assessment of a doctor’s communication skills with patients. Eventually, testing may include rating a doctor’s technical skills and directly observing performance. Continue at The Associated Press.
Source:
Is There a Competent [Board Certified] Doctor in the House?
A program at the University of California San Diego known as PACE – for Physician Assessment and Clinical Education – is being used by a growing number of hospitals and state medical boards to assess the competency of troubled doctors, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal special report on Innovations in Health Care.
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/04/12/is-there-a-competent-doctor-in-the-house/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed+%28WSJ.com%3A+Health+Blog%29
Will DPMs go this route for board certification?
Ann Miller; RN, MHA
[Executive-Director]
ABMS Certification in Podiatry
The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), a not-for-profit organization, assists 24 approved medical specialty boards in the development and use of standards in the ongoing evaluation and certification of physicians. ABMS, recognized as the “gold standard” in physician certification, believes higher standards for physicians means better care for patients.
http://www.abms.org/
The EDITORS
Board Certification – What Does It Mean?
By Stephen Barrett, MD
Question
I live in a Florida city that has a high percentage of retired people and as a consequence, a large medical services population. In their advertising it seems almost all the MD’s are “Board Certified”, but the board is never mentioned. Somewhere, I heard that there are a few boards considered to be “legitimate” that require a high level of experience and recommendation, and who have passed stringent exams in their specialty. Somewhere I learned there are boards whose main purpose is to allow the use of “Board Certified” after the name. Could you comment on this? Is there a way to tell the difference?
Answer
Because scope of modern medical knowledge is vast, most medical school graduates take additional training before entering clinical practice. Those choosing to become specialists take at least three years of residency training during which they are designated as PGY 1 (postgraduate-year-one resident), PGY 2 (postgraduate-year-two resident), and so on. The recognized standard-setting organization is the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS, which is composed of 24 primary medical specialty boards and six associate members: the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, Council of Medical Specialty Societies, Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, and National Board of Medical Examiners. The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) sets standards for osteopathic physicians (DOs) who undergo residency training at osteopathic institutions. (ABMS also certifies DOs who train at MD-run programs.)
Medical specialty boards require high standards of training and performance and ensure them by rigid examinations. Successful applicants receive diplomas and are considered “board-certified.” They are also referred to as “diplomates” in their particular specialties. The number of ABMS-approved credentials has risen sharply during the past ten years. Certificates are now available for 37 specialties and about 75 subspecialties [1]. Most certificates expire within seven or ten years and require reexamination for renewal.
Physicians who complete all requirements for certification except the examination may be identified as “board-eligible.” Although the American Board of Medical Specialties has officially abandoned the term, it is still in common use.
In 1995, Medical Economics magazine reported that more than 75 boards not ABMS- or AOA-affiliated had issued certificates to thousands of physicians. Although a few of these self-designated boards are run legitimately and may eventually achieve ABMS or AOA recognition, most do not require residency training in their specialty. The author stated that “some physicians use fringe board certification to attract patients, who usually don’t know the difference. . . . And only a handful of states restrict the advertising of board certifications or specialties.” [2] Certification by any of the following suggests that a pracitioner is involved with dubious methods:
* American Board of Chelation Therapy
* American Board of Holistic Medicine
* American Board of Environmental Medicine
* International Board of Environmental Medicine
Most physicians identified as specialists in the Yellow Pages have completed accredited specialty training. However, telephone directory publishers rarely attempt to verify credentials, so self-proclaimed specialists may be listed also. The ABMS Verification Service provides a simple way to check whether a doctor has ABMS-recognized certification. The Board also has been placing lists of board-certified physicians in many telephone directories, but many board-certified physicians are not included because they do not wish to pay the required fee (over $200 per year).
Source: http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/QA/board.html
Reference
1. ABMS Web site, July 1998. The list spans seven pages. To navigate, use the “Next Page Down” link at the bottom of each page.
2. Terry T. Visit Vegas! Get your boards while you’re there. Medical Economics 72(3):26-36, 1995.
Podiatric Board Certification and Career Advancement
There are a number of certifying boards for the podiatric specialties of orthopedics, primary medicine, and surgery.
Certification has requirements beyond licensure. Each board requires advanced training, the completion of written and oral examinations, and experience as a practicing podiatrist. Most managed-care organizations prefer board-certified podiatrists.
Opportunities will be better for board-certified podiatrists because many managed-care organizations require board certification.
Source: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos075.htm
The EDITORS
Physicians Face Expiration of Board Certification
http://www.healthcapital.com/hcc/newsletter/05_10/Physician.pdf
Ann Miller RN, MHA
[Executive Director]
Is Board Certification a “Big Deal?”
While controversy swirls over Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul not being certified by an accredited board of ophthalmology, there is a surprising lack of medical literature to support the assertion that board certified physicians achieve better outcomes, notes a recent piece in Physicians Practice examining some of the research.
http://www.fiercepracticemanagement.com/story/how-big-deal-board-certification/2010-06-22?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal
Until the 1990s, a physician’s certification in his or her specialty was good for life … [this included DPMs]. Now, a change in the law has some doctors across 147 specialties facing a retest of their skills for the first time since they left [podiatric] medical school.
Read more: Some physicians facing test to renew certification:
http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/some-physicians-facing-test-renew-certification/2010-04-06#ixzz0rgsflFFL
Hello!
I am a sophomore preparing for the National Boards. Which, if any, of the products are recommended for this exam?
Thanks!
Dieter Fellner
/////////////////////
Dr. Fellner,
We have a PMLexis prep CD with QAs for PML II and III.
We also have a library study guide product for PML II and III.
Nothing for PML I yet; as the market is too small.
Thank you for your interest.
The Editors
New Website Provides Docs’ Certification Info
The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has begun publicly reporting whether specialists are meeting the continuing education requirements necessary for maintaining board certification. Seven member boards — the American Boards of Dermatology, Family Medicine, Nuclear Medicine, Otolaryngology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Plastic Surgery, and Surgery — are the first to report via the ABMS.
Information is available on physicians certified by those boards at http://www.certificationmatters.org. Search results show the name of the certifying board, and a “yes” or “no” as to whether the physician is meeting the maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements for that board. A link will take the searcher to the certifying board’s explanation of its specific requirements.
The remaining 17 member specialty boards will make maintenance of certification status available through the ABMS by August 2012. The MOC program “assesses and enhances [physicians'] medical knowledge, judgment, professionalism, clinical techniques, and communications skills,” according to the statement.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/GeneralProfessionalIssues/29024
The EDITORS
NBPME Update – December 2011
NBPME Seeks Volunteers for Pilot Clinical Encounter Examination
The National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners (NBPME) has reached a critical juncture in part of its effort to address the goals of APMA’s Vision 2015. The NBPME has spent more than a year of investigation and deliberation with the assistance of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) in their Clinical Skills Evaluation Collaboration (CSEC) to determine the feasibility of instituting a test component for podiatric medical students comparable to that offered by CSEC to allopaths. The Board now needs the assistance of fourth-year students to participate in a pilot examination in Philadelphia next February.
Pilot Program
The pilot examination will involve ten patient encounters with typical podiatric presentations and will require a day to complete. The Board needs to test 100 to 200 candidates to obtain useable statistical data for consideration of whether to pursue a live examination in 2013. Students will be offered a $100 honorarium and entry in a drawing for an iPad. Interested students are asked to learn more details and obtain an application form at apmle.org. Charles Lombardi, DPM, chair of the NBPME committee reiterated the importance of this effort to the advancement of podiatric medicine. “This is an essential step in the NBPME’s contribution to Vision 2015. We hope students will take advantage of this opportunity to contribute to their profession.”
Source: PM News #4320
It’s time to look critically at the concept of board certification
Re-broadcast by Edwin Leap, MD
In 1994 I was thrilled to become certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. I had worked very hard. I studied and read, I practiced oral board scenarios and even took an oral board preparatory course. It was, I believed, the pinnacle of my medical education. Indeed, if you counted the ACT, the MCAT, the three part board exams along the way and the in-service exams, it was my ultimate test. The one that I had been striving for throughout my higher education experience.
I am now disappointed to find that my certification was inadequate. In fact, all of us who worked so hard for our ABEM certification find ourselves facing ever more stringent rules to maintain that status. And it isn’t only emergency medicine. All medical specialties are facing the same crunch. Our certifying bodies expect more … and more … and more.
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2012/01/time-critically-concept-board-certification.html
But, what about podiatry today?
Quick question
Would u happen to have surgery boards for the American Board of Podiatric Medical Specialties?
Thank you.
Melinda Zellars, DPM
###
Quick Answer
Dr. Zellars,
Yes, and we are endorsed by the [APMSB] AMSBPod.
See page 19:
http://www.ptcny.com/pdf/PCPS.pdf
Ann Miller RN MHA
FARC, Inc
###
OK
Good to know and thanks.
Dr. Zellars,
MOC in Podiatry
This week, a colleague and I were at our clinical staff meeting in which the subject of MOC (Maintenance of Certification) was the main agenda item. With the continued push of medicine towards quality measures, and related to future reimbursement, it was decided that all staff members will have to participate in their specialty MOC. This does not relate to just taking your re-certification exam, but rather to a 4-part process of continuous learning.
This was rolled out by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 2006, and is being implemented in different ways across each specialty board. To my understanding, we as podiatrists have no such system. Does anyone have knowledge that this process is in development or on the radar for our boards? I believe this will become an issue for providers in the future.
Elliott Hudson DPM
Round Rock, TX
via PM News #4,467