Board Certification

[DoriC]

My son,who's a physician, just emailed me some information I had asked him about that I thought would be interesting to the forum. He usually doesn't like to talk "shop" with me so I left out some of his "silliness". "Doctors' board certification can expire. Certification means a doctor has had special training in his field of expertise and passed a rigid exam proving knowledge. People who became doctors in recent years( he doesn't remember the year), must be retested every 5 -10 years to keep their certification current. Older doctors are not required to renew certification if they were certified before it became mandatory for their particular specialties. Many are doing so voluntarily anyway to prove they are current in their particular field. I have no problem with patients asking if I'm currently board certified and when the current certificate was issued. If anyone is reluctant to ask those questions they can contact the American Board of Medical Specialties".

[DreamDiver]

If anyone is reluctant to ask those questions they can contact the American Board of Medical Specialties".

I've heard that many doctors say they're giving up practice because the malpractice insurance is too high. I wonder if that's considered a more 'graceful' excuse than simply not being able to pass the boards. With the rise in regulatory hoops, it's no wonder why so many pcp's are going into specialties or working as governmental advisors.

[Crayongrl]

Every 7 years my husband starts his board certifications over again. He's board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care Medicine. They all term out at 10 years, but at different intervals. He's board eligible for Hyperbaric Medicine, but I'm not sure he'll take those boards. Let's just say that every 7 years, there's a 3 year period in which he spends his free time with his nose in the books. We're free for a few more years now! I miss him those 3 years. Plus he's very grumpy!

[BernieRay]

With all the work that goes into maintaining certifcation, I now know why all of my doctors display their degrees/certs in their exam room. Makes it easy to see that they're current.

[Janknitz]

I've heard that many doctors say they're giving up practice because the malpractice insurance is too high. I wonder if that's considered a more 'graceful' excuse than simply not being able to pass the boards.

Unfortunately, because of our litigious society, it IS a detriment to have these certifications because you are held to a higher standard than a doctor without such certification. But the other side of the malpractice sword is competency--a physician practicing in one of these areas that carry board certification without it may be practicing outside his or her level of competency. It's a jungle out there!

[DoriC]

If anyone is reluctant to ask those questions they can contact the American Board of Medical Specialties".

I've heard that many doctors say they're giving up practice because the malpractice insurance is too high. I wonder if that's considered a more 'graceful' excuse than simply not being able to pass the boards. With the rise in regulatory hoops, it's no wonder why so many pcp's are going into specialties or working as governmental advisors.

While it's true that physicians are in a well paid profession, I can tell you from my experience as medical office manager (I even worked for my son for 2years helping him get set up,very gratifying most of the time ) that at least 50% and more of their income goes towards student loans, taxes, office overhead, malpractice,CPAs and other expenses connected with the practice of medicine. And don't forget charity care. A lot of their medical treatment is written off for those who have no insurance or refuse to pay especially when they're called in as a Consult for a hospitalized patient who was really confused at the time or maybe didn't make it. In most cases the expense and paperwork incurred for the services of a collection agency is not worth the time or money. There's a lot more to it than what we as patients see.