To all Residents: Here’s the latest on board certification.

By: Dr. Manny Konstantakos, MD

It’s good to have options isn’t it?

So why isn’t there an option when it comes to taking your boards? In other words, can’t residents have a say with which board to become certified with once they’re done with their residency?

Besides, isn’t board certification supposed to be an option and not a requirement? So why are we led to believe that there is only one option for our boards during residency? Shouldn’t there be more than one option then?

Well there’s good news for you. The answer is yes. You definitely have options. There are other boards for your initial written exams (and that also includes the oral exams for those of you becoming surgeons).

Fact: There is not just one board out there to get certified with as many tend to believe is the case during their residency.

During my chief year as an orthopedic surgery resident, several of us found out that are three (and only three) truly legitimate physician board certifying bodies in America: the ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties), the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), and the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS).1

Historically, the ABPS was the first to certify both allopathic and osteopathic residents nearly over half a century ago, while the AOA was only able to certify osteopathic residents, and the ABMS only certified allopathic residents.2

Fact: The ABMS is the largest and most well-known certifying board (and therefore the most monopolizing board).3 That being said, nearly every resident is steered towards taking the ABMS boards after they graduate from residency.

Let’s now take another board for example such as the ABPS. The ABPS consists of 12 governing boards that oversee physician board certification for various specialties and subspecialties. These include:

Anesthesiology
Administrative Medicine
Dermatology
Diagnostic Radiology
Disaster Medicine
Emergency Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine Obstetrics
General Surgery
Geriatric Medicine
Hospital Medicine
Integrative Medicine
Internal Medicine
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Opthalmology
Orthopedic Surgery
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Psychiatry
Radiation Oncology
Urgent Care Medicine

Boards such as the ABPS aren’t some sort of quick online deal nor are they some type of onsite certificate you would get after attending a really nice drug rep dinner. They are a time tested, verified, and trusted source for board certification for both initial and recertification exams.1

And in case you’re wondering, I don’t work for or have anything to gain from informing you about any other board. I just want you to know that you have other valid options when it comes to taking your boards, regardless of what you’re made to believe during residency.

So at this point you may be asking yourself, why hasn’t an article like this ever been written before?

Well, the answer is quite simple: It’s called Monopoly.

Just as we trust that there isn’t another sun in our solar system, we are basically streamlined into thinking that there is only one valid organization for board certification. In fact, I remember as residents we never even considered any other board simply because we had never heard of any other board.

Final Fact: The American Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) was founded by the ABMS.

The ACGME only accredits residency programs that lead to an ABMS-approved board certification and further requires that only ABMS certified physicians may direct and instruct these residency programs.4 That being said, it is clear why nearly all residency training programs in the country (regardless of field or specialty) only inform their residents about only one board.

Here’s the deal. There is never a universal 100% passing rate for any board.5 Any large monopolizing board that has brainwashed its test takers into thinking that they have no other choice but to pay and sit through another round of their organization’s annual exam wins. This happens time and time again. Year after year. It’s simple but clever math.

Monopolies are bad. Very bad.

Given the above facts (eye-opening and disturbing to say the very least), it’s no wonder why almost all residents aren’t aware of any of this.

But isn’t it supposed to be good to have options?

Dr. Konstantakos is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. He finished his orthopedic surgical residency at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio followed by a Sports Medicine fellowship at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois.

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1.Board Certification. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_certification
2.Historical Perspective of the ABPS. https://www.abpsus.org
3.U.S. Justice Department Supports More Board Certification Options for Physicians. https://www.abpsus.org/us-justice-department-supports-more-board-certification-options-for-physicians/
4.Accreditation Council For Graduate Medical Education, Bylaws, Article IV (effective September 29, 2018), available at https://www.acgme.org/Portals/0/PDFs/ab_ACGMEbylaws.pdf.
5.Internal Medicine and Subspecialty Certification Examinations: 2015-2019 First-Time Taker Pass Rates. https://www.abim.org/~/media/ABIM%20Public/Files/pdf/statistics-data/certification-pass-rates.pdf