Board Certification

Last week, the mail brought great news for me.  I passed my American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) Certification test.  The test culminated a multi-year process to re-certify.  Most patients don’t realize that physicians have to constantly attend lectures, review their charts, and take exams to keep the title of Board Certified.  Organizations make these standards for every specialty in medicine and most doctors must recertify every ten years.  After practicing for twenty years, this is my second recertification process.  

This whole process of testing physicians began about twenty-five years ago.  Before then, doctors became Board Certified for life and never had to provide proof of competency.  Patients can look up to see if their doctor is board certified by following the link to the ABO above.  As for me, there is no time to rest.  Medicine moves so fast, that we as physicians, have  duty to our patients to constantly keep up and improve.