What Exactly is Board Certification?
Board certification is the recognition of individuals who have
demonstrated an interest in a field of specialty within their profession, have met
specific specialized educational requirements in that field of interest, have
shown their specific medical knowledge through written and oral
examination, and have demonstrated a practical standard of competency in that
area of specialization. It is a rather long and arduous process, and any podiatric physician who has been certified by a
particular board has passed the rigid standards of qualification and examination
set forth by that particular board of examiners.
Common
Misunderstandings About Board Certification
Many myths exist regarding board certification. One common
misunderstanding by the laity is that all physicians need to be board certified
to legally practice medicine. They don't. Board certification is an
extra level of achievement beyond school, residency and licensure.
Another erroneous belief is that board certification is the
same as passing the provincial or state licensure board. It's not.
The board certification exam process is much more strenuous--and it's an
optional one. Only those physicians who wish to demonstrate interest and
achievement in a certain field attempt to achieve board
certified.
Another common myth is that all boards offering
board-certification are the same. They're not. In fact, there
may be several boards that offer board certification. But only those
boards that are recognized by their professional association are seen as
credible by that profession.
For example, the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA)
recognizes only two boards:
1.
The
American Board Of Podiatric Surgery
2.
The American Board of Podiatric
Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine
What's the difference
between these two boards?
Podiatric
Surgery is the medical specialty of foot and ankle surgery. It
integrates the surgical and medical management of foot diseases,
deformities and trauma, and those structures that affect the foot and ankle.
Podiatric
Medicine and Orthopedics (Orthopedics is the Canadian spelling) is the medical specialty concerned with the
comprehensive and continuous foot health care of patients. It integrates the
biomechanical, rehabilitative, biological, clinical and behavioral sciences and
encompasses first contact care, continuous care, long term care and general
medicine.
What
Is The Board Certification Process?
The board certification process varies somewhat with each
medical discipline, and it has evolved over time. But today, for podiatric
medicine, the process begins after getting your doctorate, and proceeds as
follows:
1. Completion of a particular type of residency or alternative education
process and training that is recognized by the board of examiners.
2.
The next step requires the candidate to undergo a rigorous and
comprehensive written examination carefully constructed by
professional examiners to maintain the highest standards. This
exam tests the academic and clinical knowledge that is necessary to
achieve certification. Sitting for the written test for either
of the podiatric boards had traditionally
meant a trip to Chicago, though this has changed in recent years.
The test may now be taken in regional centers around the U.S..
3. Once the candidate passes the written examination, and demonstrates basic
sound understanding of his or her field, the candidate must demonstrate
that he is able to translate that basic knowledge into a competent level
of practice. At this stage, the candidate goes back into practice
and has up to seven years to assemble a diverse array of cases for
approval by the credentials committee. These cases involve
actual patients treated by the physician. The documentation consists of
the charts, x-rays and other imaging, consults, operative and
perioperative notes, and other information of the involved
patients displaying the outcome of the physician’s treatment. This
qualification serves to ascertain that the physician is performing at a
high level, as established by leaders in that particular medical
field.
4. After case approval is achieved, the candidate must fly to
Chicago to undertake timed oral examination to evaluate the
candidate’s clinical judgment and reasoning skills. Conducted
over two days, the exam involves multiple, one-on-one interviews with different
examiners, where the candidate is given a clinical situation and is
required to rationalize the proper diagnosis based on limited information.
The candidate must also identify treatment options based on the conclusion
he has reached.
When a board certification candidate passes the examination, the
board-certified physician is called a "Diplomate" of that
organization. In order to retain this status, Diplomates must maintain
continuing education and re-certify on a regular basis.
If there are two
recognized podiatric medical boards offering board certification, does this mean
individuals certified by both boards have undertaken the above process twice, in
different disciplines?
Yes. And as you might imagine, doing
this twice is a particularly long and difficult undertaking.
The process requires a great deal of studying to pass both the
written and oral examinations, a great deal of cost and effort trying to
assemble all the materials required simply to be allowed even to sit for the
examination, and a great deal of cost and inconvenience to take time
off from one's practice to repeatedly fly to Chicago, and to stay
in hotels for several days each time.
Are there any
podiatric medical certification boards in Canada or other countries?
There
are no separate podiatric medical boards in different countries.
Doctors of Podiatric Medicine in
the U.S., Canada and other countries are all certified by the same boards--the The
American Board Of Podiatric Surgery and
The American Board of Podiatric
Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine.
So how should the
patient consider board certification?
Board-certified podiatrists have, by a rigid and difficult
examination process, set themselves apart from other non-certified
physicians by demonstrating a particular level of interest, training
and basic competence in certain areas of medical specialization.
In podiatric medicine, patients may wish to use board
certification by one of the two recognized podiatric boards as one
factor to consider when choosing a podiatrist. For more information about
these boards, please visit their websites by clicking onto the board in which
you are interested:
The
American Board Of Podiatric Surgery
The American Board of Podiatric
Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine
|